THE GYPSY GENTLEMEN...

I remember the first time I got zapped...I think it was 3 or 4 years ago? It was at Regeneration Tattoo in Allston, MA. Massachusetts actually has a interesting tattoo history but I won't get into that right now. Anyways, I was going to go to another shop (too embarrassed to mention), but my dad (Hated of the World) Chris wouldn't let me. He wanted to make sure I went to a "good shop" with "good tattooists" before I made any brash decisions on who was going to do my work. I said to myself, there are tons of "good" artists anybody can do what I wanted – and I wasn't quite sure what he was really getting at...

At that time, I had done a fair amount of research & knew exactly what I wanted... Fuck I've been holding out getting tatted for 10 years by that point and I was so anxious on finally deciding! Even still at 100%, I hadn't yet fully grasped why he was so gung-ho about "good" traditional style tattooing and "good" traditional style shops. But I learned. Real quick. And I'm glad.

I will now get boring with you guys for a minute and talk about my perspective on Tattoos for a bit. I know I'm a shitty writer so bear with me. Tits will come later to make up for it, promise! :D

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Anybody who tattoos or has a bunch of them knows what it's about. I know tattooing has become a bit mainstream these past few years (everyone wants tats, Miami/LA/NY Ink is the rage, etc.), but for the most part the good stuff is still relatively in tact. Yes, sometimes a tattoo is just 2 hours of a painful needle, and walking away with some rad looking shit so you can show your indie or hardcore/edge friends in Brooklyn how cool you are. Tattoo culture in the broadest sense, is what it is. It's everything. No more, no less. Sometimes it's a Spring Break accident, sometimes it's some Suicide Girls shit, sometimes it's some Jersey Shore tribalmania shit, sometimes it's a tribesman in his transition into manhood type shit, and sometimes it's about remembering something or someone. We can go on forever, but for a professional tattooer – it's a job, a responsibility, and a passion.

As you journey through the various stages of tattooing you also grasp how it mirrors the various stages of your life. And it's then you begin to absorb the culture & community you've chosen to become part of. Not only has having ink changed my life in the visual sense, but it really opened up the doors of a underground & often misunderstood art form and group of people; a subculture & community of talented artists who in a way chose the path less taken. Sure, I was psyched to get work done by some extremely well known individuals, but what I really prided myself in was the opportunity to get to know them and their stories, one session at a time...which brings me to today's post!

Marcus Kuhn recently started a online video magazine entitled: The Gypsy Gentleman. The 1st Episode was filmed in NYC with Thomas Hooper and Virginia Elwood (2 top peeps in the game in my book) to share some insight on tattooing & their lives.

Still wake? Good!



You have to do what feels right. Be real comfortable in your own skin (pun intended). That's maturity. Tattoos aren't for everybody, nor should they be. It's an important life choice, and as with any choice in life, just use your fucking brain! At the end of the day to each his own as I'm never one to judge. But what I do hope is that this gives a lot of the younger boys & ghouls the encouragement to understand that there's a whole world of radness beyond the tattoo shops on Hollywood Blvd. I hope you educate yourselves on a life changing decision. Rather than focus negative energies on stuff such as "Tattoo School" on TLC, I'm hoping that this series will help shed light to more positive aspects of the culture. So if you have some time to kill, grab a cup of coffee, take a break and watch this thing. Looking forward to the next installment!

So now I'll finally finish this shit up! Big hugs go out to Brad Stevens, Uncle Allan, Amelia & Lucifer, Jim Sylvia, Steve Byrne, & Thomas Hooper, Fun City, Daredevil, NY Adorned, and Smith Street for continuing to do tattooing right whilst breathing new life into it.

Good tattoos ain't cheap & cheap tattoos ain't good.