mario desa

nice. mine's not as cool! 1995, 20 yrs old. a band of X's around my forearm at a skinhead house in milwaukee! i took the bus there with my little brother, on the way home we were stoked! i'd never even seen a tattoo machine before that.

about 7 years ago, when i worked at deluxe, i was doing a kanji on this chick's lower back. she was doing ok, then got a little light-headed. so, we stopped, i let her sit down, got her some water, her friend gave her candy. waited about ten minutes, she was feeling better, chatting, color came back in her face. she seemed totally fine. so, we decide to finish up( there was literally one minute left on the tattoo.) she takes a final swig of her water and takes two steps toward the trash can, to throw out her cup. SHE PASSES OUT STANDING UP. !!!CRACK!!! she hit the floor unconscious, no reflexes, face first. it sounded like a bat hitting a baseball. it was the scariest sound ever, and we were stunned. for a second we all just stood there with our mouths open, then the silence was broken by the chick's eerie moaning. blood was pooling out around her head and she seemed REAL confused and in a lot of pain. she was crying and not getting up. so, i called 911, they show up pretty quick, paramedics come in and i tell them what happened. in the most non-challant way, dude glances at her, then back at me and pulls his sleeve up to show me an old armband..."hey bro, how much would it be to fix this up?". i repeated that she was bleeding and in pain and he says "she'll be ok, probably just broke her jaw." his buddy is behind us looking at flash! so, they finally take her out on a stretcher and off to the hospital. i start cleaning up the blood, and notice her teeth left an indent in our floor. SHE HIT HARD. so, her friend is on her way out and is quietly giggling, and i ask what is so funny? she says "well, in the last week her boyfriend dumped her, her car got stolen and she got fired. she was hoping this tattoo would turn her luck around." it was the kanji for "lucky".

i got tattooed at 222 by scott in '99. that experience changed me, as a new tattooer...

yeah that sucks...i think they should have etiquette classes in schools.

man, julio, you hit it on the head! haha. ever notice the dudes getting superman logos are never tough? they can never take the pain.

man...sometimes people say we're too far from their neighborhood. i'm talking like 3-5 miles away! in the same city! if you don't drive or bike, there's cabs, buses and trains! i don't get it. i used to take the greyhound an hour each way to get tattooed

ditto. flew 2,000 miles to get tattooed by scott sylvia at 222, drove 800 miles to baltimore to see seth c. just this summer drove 1,000 miles to nj/nyc, got a rose from bert krak. it never ends. used to take the greyhound an hour each way to get tattooed and drive down to chicago, 1 1/2 hrs each way. i do it without thinking...still!

people who walk in on their phone and try to ask questions while STILL ON THEIR PHONE. or answer their phone as you're answering their question. i just walk away. also, spoiled college kids who lay on our couches and put their feet up, and people who ask "so, what ELSE do you do?", implying there's no possible way i could actually earn a living tattooing!