Tattoos at non tattoo conventions

[Rob I]

Curious what folks here think of non tattoo conventions hosting tattooers.  

I, like most others here, have other interests outside of tattoos. I have noticed that folks are getting tattooed at conventions that have absolutely nothing to do with tattooing. Examples are: the annual Shot Show (a yearly gun industry convention) and also at Blade Show (Similar but for knives). 

I am not sure that these events are set up to be conducive to sanitary tattooing, and have heard a horror story, from a local tattooer around here, about a dude who spent 2 solid days getting tattooed at the shot show only to walk away with a wicked case of MRSA as his reward. Apparently the dude almost lost his leg the infection was so bad.  I was so confused as to why someone would go to this big industry event to get tattooed.  You've gotta imagine there has to be a few legit shops in the guy's area (apparently he's local, and yes there are).

I can't imagine buying a gun at a tattoo convention, and I can't imagine getting tattooed at a gun convention.  I am fairly open minded (my wife would seriously disagre) and am curious as to what the great folks here think of this.  

i don't normally start new threads so go easy..

 

[polliwog]

I wouldn't want to get tattooed at a non-tattoo convention.  Not only would the sanitation issue concern me, but it would be weird to me that (presumably) part of the money I'm paying for a tattoo would then go to a business that had nothing to do with tattooing.  I don't know much about this issue, though--are there reputable tattooers that do this?

Edited May 24, 2016 by polliwog

[Rob I]

@polliwog I don't know who the tattooers are. I recently became aware of this. A very popular knife company posted today about a tattooer that will be working their booth at the blade show. His work seems to be mainly realism and new school so not someone I am familiar with, but (and take this with a grain of salt) has quite a few Instagram followers. 

I would think that overall, the answer is probably no. 

 

[bongsau]

I got tattooed at the comic con in town last year. But only because the tattooer was in town for the show. The comic con organizer also owns and operates a popular tattoo studio / collectible shop in town so there is a dedicated area for the tattooing. 

It was a funny experience. Lounging half naked in my sunglasses with people in cosplay outfits getting nerd tatts. The newspaper photographer was all jacked (and polite) asking to take a photo of me once we started the tattooing. Some hipster Lucas Films tattoo artiste said all the white in my backpiece was "so unnecessary". And I saw the black power ranger while getting my smallest tattoo. It was fun but I was in-out and went home and ordered pizza.

 

Edited May 24, 2016 by bongsau

[Graeme]

I think I'd have to take it by a case by case basis, but in general, I'd say no to this.  I don't like the idea of getting tattooed being used by a business to sell something that isn't tattoos.  The last tattoo I got was posted on the Black Claw instagram to show how good their needles work, and that's cool because that's tattoo-related, but fuck a bunch of "tattoo lifestyle" bullshit like hipster beard pomade or whatever fuckery people pitch at tattooed people.  That seems really vulgar and tasteless, and not what I want from tattoos.

[Rob I]

I appreciate the replies!

@bongsau that must have been a really weird experience!  Have an area dedicated to tattooing is what I assumed went on at these non-tattoo trade shows, however today i saw a post on Instagram by a pretty big knife company,  advertising a tattooer that they are hosting in their booth at Blade Show. They are  booking appts for him! That's right on the main floor and I just can't imagine it's a good idea.

@Graeme I'd have to imagine this knife company is taking a cut of what the tattooer brings in. It is their booth after all.  You would really have to love the knife company to be cool with it. It's bizarre. 

Like selling bicycles at a bake sale.  

[El Dolmago]

I remember Dan Smith and Mario Desa running a Tattoo booth at the Hello Kitty 40th Hello Kitty Con a couple of years ago. Two heavy hitters there.

[lape]

Got a source for that MRSA from SHOT? You'd think that stuff would end up on at least a blog from the firearms industry considering the insane amount of press there. What I can find is from SHOT 2015 is Eric Fritz and Jeff McIntosh tattooed as a part of a AIATT Foundation fundraiser. I also heard about tattoos at the 2016 show as well, but I can't find anything on it at the moment.

If the tattooer is a professional, I wouldn't really care if it's at SHOT, Comicon or whatever tattoo convention. They all use the same convention venues anyway... I'm pretty sure they didn't sterilize the entire carpet floor at the Vancouver tattoo convention the two times I've been there, so is there a higher chance of getting MRSA at a non-tattoo convention vs a tattoo convention?

[polliwog]

@El Dolmago I loved Mario's Hello Kitty tattoos!  I should modify my original answer to say that the presence of respected tattooers at a non-tattoo convention would reassure me that people weren't being exploited.  I would've gotten a Hello Kitty tattoo...

Edited May 27, 2016 by polliwog

[Rob I]

@lape yeah, Jason Loui posted about it and the cover up pics on Instagram. 

good to know that for the most part that it's sanitary at these conventions. In the case of the knife company hosting a tattooer in their booth at blade show, it just seems a bit weird. 

Edited May 27, 2016 by Rob I

[LizBee]

In my work I treat patients with MRSA and it is everywhere.  You can pick it up anywhere in the community now, not just hospitals and nursing homes. For most of us, hand washing and general common sense, keeping wounds covered, etc. will be enough, but if your a drug addict or otherwise have a compromised immune system you can get it easily

[marley mission]

resisted the urge to get tattooed this weekend at the Walker Stalker Con that my daughter and I attended in central jersey - the tattooers that were there seemed quite busy most of the time - but we were pretty busy meeting the cast, attending panels, etc - was an awesome time for both of us - you can see the many pics on my IG

[Hogrider]

I played at a biker festival over the weekend. There was a guy there tattooing so I went to take a look. OMG, pics of his work loud and proud and people still letting him tattoo them. No pity for anyone that got one of those god-awful tattoos.

[Synesthesia]

At this point, no. MAYBE once I'm more heavily covered, I'll look into getting tiny, goofy, impulsive filler tattoos. But I'm just not too interested in that style of tattooing now, and certainly not at a place where the artist's quality might be suspect.