June 3, 2021 • 27 mins
Jada takes Gammy and Willow on a special field trip for a magical bucket list surprise! She’s secured a coveted spot on renowned tattoo artist Dr. Woo's mile-long waiting list… and they’re all getting matching tattoos! During this intimate ink session, the notoriously private Dr. Woo opens up about his Chinese-American roots and how he talks to his young children about racism.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, fam, I'm Jada Pinkett Smith and this is the
Red Table Pop podcast all your favorite episodes from the
Facebook watch show in audio produced by Westbrook Audio and
I Heart Radio. Please don't forget to rate and review
on Apple Podcasts. They said this day would never come questioned,
my integrity, challenged, my word. Little did they know they
(00:25):
were in for the surprise of a lifetime, a major
bucket list experience. We are making a house call to
the most exclusive doctor in Hollywood. If you two remember,
(00:50):
we had a behind the scenes chat about tattoos after
Willow got Hers. We had another conversation about whether we're
going to be in agreement with us getting the three
of us getting tattooed. We talked about that, and you
keep vacillating back and forth about it. Yeah, okay, Well
(01:11):
what tattooed would you like to get? Gam Well, I
know specifically what I want to get on my hand,
I want to just get um grateful gratitude. But we
were trying to think of something that we could all
get together. That's I like, I mean, I can do
and I'm not doing gratitude right here, but we could
take something maybe three circles. That's what That's what I
(01:31):
said to you so long? Did you yes? And you
were like M I said, three interlocking circles to look
kind of like this. We can do three interlocking circles.
I'm down for that. You heard it right, I did
table Yeah, I mean that you could do a show
about it, like Little Long Eyed Wing. So to keep
(01:55):
my word, I lined up something really special. We are
taking a field trip to the one and only a
Doctor Who. I'm so excited. He has a waiting list
a mile long, and we are going to his studio
(02:16):
and we're finally going to get our matching tattoo. So
now they're oh, my good day, welcome, thank you to
Mr Woo. Honey made the time, my goodness. I love that.
I've always wanted to get tattooed by Dr Woo. Dr
(02:39):
Wu is one of the most in demand tattoo artists
in the world. He has millions of followers around the
globe and his wait list can be years long. Doctor
Who's signature style is extraordinarily intricate and very distinct, created
by a single needle technique, unlike most tattoos that use
eight needles at once. His delicate and detailed creations have
(02:59):
been inked on some very famous bodies. Drake's praying hands,
this tiny peach on Justin Bieber's neck, a jar of
vegemite on Miley's arm, and a picture perfect town on
Blake Griffin, plus countless others. His black and gray meticulous
masterpieces will leave you in all doctor who is making
time for us? Ladies? We can get grateful to you.
(03:23):
Get whatever you want, gam whatever you want. We're going
to Dr wool studio. Doctors. What you want to do?
Tell what you want to do? What tell Doctor wou
what you want to do? What you want to do,
what you wanna do? Here you go. I'm so excited.
(03:44):
What are what is going on? When? When are we going?
In two days? Oh? Wow? You know what we could get?
What lotus? But a tiny lotus, like like a shaded lotus,
down a realistic lotus. I'm down for that. That's perfect.
I'm down for the lotus. Down for the lotus, lotus, lotus,
(04:08):
lous loadus. The weight is over. It's time for the
field trip to our first ever three generational tattoo experience.
We're headed to the legendary Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, home of
Dr Woo's secret studio he calls the hideaway. Oh, this
(04:30):
is a hell of a studio. This is this is armor,
this is your studio. This is this is this is
such a vie. This is a real vibe. I love
(04:50):
that there's just a full motorcycle just in the tattooing room.
That's my old motorcycle. Figure out what we are doing.
Willow wants us to get matching tattoos, so we would
(05:10):
think about going on like you know low this Yeah,
and then I heard maybe you wanted it was like
a blossom. I wanted to get like a bud. It's
like starting to get out of the sea. And then
the full lotus. Do you have any area that you
think would be best. I mean I always like the arms.
Then you can always control how much it's visible. Yeah, exactly,
(05:33):
what about right here? Mom? That doesn't hurt too bad?
That she didn't hurt too much. Right. I have a
light hand as well, so I don't mind, like on
the same area, but on this side, I'll make some
stencils and then and then you guys take everything in
and I'll come back in a second. Brig Anda rich
and nowa rich and now alright, this is one of
(06:12):
the one that was kind of like more like it's
just kind of autlanes, more shot, I probably like shaded
a little softer. And then this is more of like, oh,
kind of cool, you know, more of a graphic kind
of artistic. I really like this. There's something really charming
about this. Yeah, this is gorgeous. Oh wait, okay a minute,
(06:33):
hold it. I really I really want this all three
of the three of them. That's pretty How about that?
Do you see this? Look at that gorgeous mom that's beautiful.
That's a really beautiful that's gorgeous. I love that. Yes,
(06:55):
it's having a movement. That's it. So who's going to
go first make ourselves at home. Then we will set
up for Jada. I can't wait to see how mommy.
You mean once you've had babies, it's like, yeah, whatever.
You know, we tend to be a little hairy. My
(07:15):
arm definitely has some fuzz. Usually, you know, we make
a stencil so we can get the placement just right
and see where everything is. It's kind of look a
little blueprint for me to follow, because the chricky thing
about this spot is on the top of your arm.
You see, how like there's this gap at all you
do is like any twist kind of distorts it. Do
you want it more center, like when you're natural or
kind of when you pull up you kind of see it.
(07:37):
It's probably when I'm natural. Huh yeah, check it out,
you think, look at that smile. You can lift and
move it around in a little bit to see see
how it falls in different places. Do you think it
should come down just a little you turn around? I mean,
if you did it like race, Yeah, let's try. It's mama.
It's mama. She's getting tad about dr Which it's mama.
(08:02):
That has a different vibe. There we go. Yeah, yeah,
it's like we're right there. It's right in the middle.
That's beautiful. That's dope. I want to see it every day. Yeah,
it's a remind. Yeah, it's a beautiful reminder. M hm,
you're gonna be okay. I know. So how long have
(08:23):
you been doing this? You've been doing us a fourteen
ye so wow of time. I've had people talk about
him like they we're gonna go see Kid Cuddy concert
like Dr Brule, Like do you need to see this?
If I ever got the chance, like going on like
this is crazy that's so. What do you think was
(08:46):
the moment you realized you made it? It wasn't overnight.
There was one time I do remember, though, like choose
a day, like the first Monday of every month, say
if you want an appointment and you live in l A,
just come to the shop and and make it in person.
And I remember I pulled up to the shop and
there was a line around the block on Sunset and
I was like, oh my god. It was very crazy.
(09:09):
And you're kind of like, oh wow, that's okay. I
think there's someone too something here. Have have you been
able to stay so grounded? You see, my such a
cool person. You've got such a relaxed, joyful demeanor. It's
because my family and my wife, my kids, and I
grew up in the city, so I had a lot
(09:31):
of chances to see people that don't take success and fame. Well,
then you see how people started treating people. I was like,
I don't want to ever be like that. You know,
I never want to treat anyone lesser than to me
in that sense. You know, once you get a family
and you kind of understand how you want your kids
(09:52):
to treat other people, that's a whole other thing and
then you have to leave by example. So over time,
I think that's just goes. How many kids do you have?
Have two boys? You got two boys with their ages
ten and six. Oh wow, okay, have a real daddy
mode there a while too. One of his kid's names
(10:15):
is Raife, and I was like, my mom would love
that name. Yeah, and Lion Lion I like that one too.
What made you decide that you wanted to become a
tattoo artist? You know that's the thing. And it wasn't
like a conscious decision. I was getting tattooed by my
(10:36):
mentor Smart Mahoney, that Shamrock on the Sunset Strip for
a long time, and he's you know, super famous, super
legendary in the world. So when he offered to teach me,
I was like, how do you turn that down? I
couldn't pass that up, so quit my job the next
day and they started there. Why did he offer to
teach you? I was his client for like ten years
(10:57):
before that, just kind of like a shop kid hanging
all the time. You had a Jedi heart he saw. Yeah.
I wasn't your typical tattoo artist. No. It was like
a first generation immigrant here and my parents were Chinese.
You don't grow up around that stuff. Whereas like all
the other tattoos in the shop, parents were tattoo artists
(11:18):
or you know, they come from the biker games. Like
if you walked into the tattoo shop in like the nineties,
it was a very un known world before. It wasn't
a commonplace for people. There was no TV shows, there
was no Instagram or Facebook, and it was pretty taboo,
very taboo, very taboo for the first part of my career.
(11:41):
I mean nine percent of people that were getting a tattoo,
like we're heavily tattooed. There was for tattoo connoisseurs. Now,
you know, eight out of ten it's like their first tattoo.
I'm tattooing lawyers and doctors, politicians. The taboo has definitely
been lit it a bit. Parents feel about you, Yeah, well,
(12:05):
I need listen to say. I'm sure you assume from
first generation immigrant Asian parents, they are as much Asian
traditional parents as you would expect. I did not give
them an easy upbringing. I was very rebellious, and you know,
there was a culture shock at home. I was hearing
and learning one thing, and when I was at school
(12:26):
and with my friends and something else, and I didn't
really know who I was. So for me to like
kind of do this was not what they their visions.
That's not their story that they're going to tell. We didn't,
you know, immigrate to America so our firstborn son can
become a tattoo I I don't know. You know, it
was supposed to be a lawyer, doctor, go to a
(12:49):
u c l A. Like that whole thing. They're so supportive. Now,
my mom was so proud, But it wasn't an easy
transition to that point. It definitely took them a little
bit to understand and what this was. I think they
understood that success isn't determined or defined by what, you know,
the social standards of it is. That's what we define
it is, and if we're happy in doing what we love.
(13:11):
When I first had my kids, the first thing I
did was called my parents and say, you know, I
am so sorry, Like I like, I took it all
for granted, because now I understand. I don't think you
can really understand until you understand what that responsibility is.
I don't want to ask you something everything that's been
happening in our country lately just around the violence towards
(13:36):
you know, Asian who. How has that affected you or
you know, I feel like I had such a tough
skin growing up and I didn't really understand. I mean,
of course I understood racism and all that, but I
didn't grow up with a lot of Asians, you know,
I grew up in the mixed community. But now I
(13:57):
see it. And right before lockdown, my kid is than
I were in a store and the kids pick something up.
I rack and it fell and some old man's are
yelling at him, and I was like, you know, don't
don't yell at my kids, like he's up and he
told us to go back to where we came from.
And my kids are mixed, so they have no They
were like, we'll go home, Like yeah, back to the
(14:19):
Silver Lake. Like I don't understand because in our house,
we never talked about rates or you know what I mean, Like,
it's just we are who we are. And that was
the first time I kind of felt like, Wow, this
guy doesn't see me the way that I feel like
I see myself. And then I kind of felt this
is how so many people feel and I just kind
of like been blind to that fact, you know, and
it's been an interesting time. It's been hard to find
(14:39):
the definition of being so open minded and having no
hate in your heart. It sounds as cool as I say,
like everyone has to work together and admit that, you know,
we all have flaws, you know, and we have to
work together against white sprises. You know, there's a common enemy.
You know. Some people don't want to hear it. Even
(15:00):
my parents. Yeah, you know, I try to talk about
with them because they are Asian elders and they kind
of are afraid of conflict and they don't want to
engage that way because they that's been there and of
kind of thriving in this country is like like not
not causing a disruption. If they don't bother us, we
don't bother them. After that moment, did you feel the
(15:23):
need to then have a conversation with your your boys
and your wife as a family. So we're talking about
it a lot with him now, especially the little one,
because my wife is her mother is Irish and Italian
and her father is Native American and half black. They
have a quarter A lot of stuff, a lot of stuff.
(15:46):
After this whole thing, the little one has been saying
a lot like, oh, I'm Chinese. I'm like, WHOA, yes,
part but not all. And they're like, well, how come
you're full. I'm like, because my parents are. And but
that's the beauty of building a family and everyone can
love each other and there's no boundaries, you know, like
you can be Chinese and you can be white, you
(16:08):
can be Native American, you can be black, and it
doesn't matter, you know. I tried to explain to them
in that sense, and they're just starting to get it.
But I think they're so innocent that they don't even think.
They don't even think about it. It's like it's so
difficult to explain the concept of separatism to a child. Yeah,
they're like they're not on the playground, Like that's white
(16:29):
Billy and it's Chinese John. Like, it's just they're the kids.
And I remember my older one we were talking about
and I literally saw like he was perplexed in his eyes,
and I was like, wow, I don't do I pursue
this because I don't even want to break that still. Yeah,
but it's hard to ignore now. But I think just
showing them the right way and not telling them how
(16:51):
they should feel, but giving them tools to do themselves
educate them. We have to take our time out and
really tackle some of those topics with them because the
school is not going to write. But at the same time,
how do you protect your child's innocence? Yeah, part of
you wants to obviously do that, and the part of
you wants to, like you said, protect your innocence. But
(17:12):
I think we just got to do our best to
give them the best foot forward as they grow, because
they will. I think it is really just your home
life and who your parents are and raising them, right man,
So beautiful, Yeah, perfect, willow your next My god, this
(17:36):
is gonna be so fire. I think this might make
more sense instead of wrapping. That's beautiful, all right. I'm
just so excited to finally be added by a doctor
woo and to tell everybody, honestly, the longest had two
(18:01):
you ever done? Dr Boum. One time I did one
of like ten hours. Whoa, I can't work in that
capacity anymore. It's a lot, I was gonna say, that's
a lot for the artists as well as for the client.
The lotus represents spiritual enlightenment, and we hear the saying
like through the mud grows the lotus, and I think
(18:24):
that my story, yes, and I think all of us
from different perspectives in life have had that journey, the
bud to the little blossom to the bloom. Also, I
feel like expresses the spiritual journey, but also the three
of us. I'm the youngest, you know, my mom is
the middle and Gam Gam is the fully bloomed lotus.
(18:46):
And it means something, you know, different for each of
us because our stories, our journeys are different, but it's
still represents us so well. I just I thought that
was brilliant, Thank you, Gam. Out of the mud, it
comes to lotus, you have to go through the mud,
the dirt, and it's still something beautiful was created. And
that kind of described my journey. I've been through some
(19:08):
really tough times, you know, but I'm still worthy, you know,
and there's still room for me to grow and change.
Even now at sixty seven, I'm still growing and changing
and trying to be better. Yeah, so getting the lotus
was just like everything. It feels like my little kitten
(19:33):
Lolo when I first got her, playing biting my arm.
How many tattoos do you have? Game three? Three tattoos
and wow, fifteen piercings and three tattoos. Now we were
looking on your page and there was a little boy. Yeah,
I also want to drus because I want to be
(19:56):
a tattoo artist. Oh you do? Okay, what if they
grow up to also tattoo? I don't know. I was
very fortunate to be able to like carve myself a
little place. I mean, their father being doctor, who they
(20:17):
might even be like, I'm never going to pick up
a tattoo pin because if my thought as good as his,
then I'm you know, I get asked that a lot,
and I never know how I feel about the answer.
And maybe they want to make an impact someplace else,
someplace else. That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, you know,
it's not easy walking in your parents. It's really not.
(20:40):
That's why I'm like, damn, that's I really respect that
because I knew my parents. Obviously they wanted me to
do what I wanted to do, but I definitely knew
that they wanted me to be an artist and like
any kind of artist, you know what I mean. And
I also feel like they wanted me to do that
because that was what they knew and they could like
(21:00):
me in that world like they could be instrumental in
my growth in that world because they had knowledge about it.
It's something they could relate to totally. Yeah, have wisdom
in it. Yeah. I love the studio. We call it
the Hideaway because it's kind of a little hideaway. Once
you're here, you don't feel like you're part of the
(21:21):
hotel exactly. They had the first oscars here. What this
hotel is. It's some hauntings that hotel room right, there
are costs. It's like where Marilyn Monroe lives. There's a
mirror that people have been saying that if you look
in the mirror, you see her in the reflection. So
they actually removed the mirror. That's so scary. I'm on
(21:46):
the last one. I've never gotten shading in a tattoo before.
When I leave here, I'm going to go to the
studio and making a theme song immediately doctor who get
that good? Good? With a nice little synth jingle on
the end. I'll send you some sounds, yeah, so I
(22:09):
can just put it in there. You can sample some buzzing. Yes,
it's already catching on. All right, Wow, you're just a
freaking jet Like, what come on, look at dad? This
is just a detail. I just love you. You have
(22:30):
it back, has it cleal? It feels amazing and it
looks even better. Guys, this is my first shaded doctor
Woo tattoo. It's damping. Hey, damn you did that? Fends
(22:55):
It looks where I say, perfect dad Willow, Damn you
next to want to go. Dr Lou was able to
design the three stages of the lotus, representing the stages
of our lives and stages of our lives and the
stages of our spiritual growth. Yeah, it's pretty dope. Yeah. Ready,
(23:20):
I'm ready for you. I think I want to do
it right, gotcha, whatever you feel, because you're the one
that's going to be seeing it the most. Oh my goodness,
Oh my goodness, that's going to be beautiful. My mother
has more tattoos than me because that isn't due just crazy,
because she's got stogetically that's whyetically, So honey, don't get
(23:44):
it twisted. Have a seat, lady. Okay, I'm feeling good.
You know I have a pretty high towerance for pain.
Did you guys ever think we would be here doing
this because Jada was half stepping No half stepen, sorry,
(24:08):
oh no, Henny, he said, who said will. He was
actually the one that I was most nervous about. Like
I showed my mom the art for my past sleeve,
like I want to say, like three weeks before I
got it, and but I didn't tell my dad because
(24:28):
I was like he's going to be like, my baby,
absolutely what And I knew he be like what the hell?
But he called me it was like I want to say,
like two or three days after I had gotten it,
and he was like, hey, I heard you gotta cattoo.
And I was like from who, And he's like, it
doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Obviously it was you. And
(24:51):
I was like okay, And then I showed it to
him and he was like everything is in divine order.
Your path is your path, and I just love you
and I'm glad that you got something that actually looks nice.
And I was like, thank you. You got that boom, Yeah,
you got that game. And she's just like has anybody
(25:12):
ever come to you and been like, man, I can't believe,
like you know, three years later, like did you give
me that tattoo? You know, it's always a tattoo of
a lover a name, and I tell anyone that it's
a curse. Yeah, I don't think I've ever done it
where the couple stayed together one time, literally the couple
(25:34):
got it the night before and the next day they
came in regretting it. Wow, just like is there any
way to remove this? Is? Like what or like yeah,
like what do I do? Like, don't don't be so
hasty next time? I mean, game is almost being brought
to tears. Your dream came true. Gam, you gotta take
a picture. That's beautiful, right it is. That's gorgeous. Gam,
(25:59):
He's so dope. Oh my god, so beautiful. You got
your dream game? Fetch three got all right, and I
love it right there. It's like, yeah, we got them
all in different places place. I love that we did that. Yeah,
(26:21):
we finally did it. And every day we look at this,
we're gonna remember our spiritual growth. We're gonna remember there's
a beautiful time in life. Absolutely. It makes me want
to just get a big old lotus on my back. Yes, yes,
thank you. Hey, this is how I'm gonna be every
(26:44):
day now. She'd be like, oh yeah, so yeah, just chilling,
you know, like over there did you see that? Like
like over there, Yeah, totally it's gonna be like Hello
to join the red table Talk family and become a
(27:04):
part of the conversation. Follow us at facebook dot com
slash red table talk. Thanks for listening to this episode
of Red Table Talk podcast, produced by Facebook, Watch, Westbrook Audio,
and I Heart Radio.
Hey, fam, I'm Jada Pinkett Smith and this is the
Red Table Pop podcast all your favorite episodes from the
Facebook watch show in audio produced by Westbrook Audio and
I Heart Radio. Please don't forget to rate and review
on Apple Podcasts. They said this day would never come questioned,
my integrity, challenged, my word. Little did they know they
(00:25):
were in for the surprise of a lifetime, a major
bucket list experience. We are making a house call to
the most exclusive doctor in Hollywood. If you two remember,
(00:50):
we had a behind the scenes chat about tattoos after
Willow got Hers. We had another conversation about whether we're
going to be in agreement with us getting the three
of us getting tattooed. We talked about that, and you
keep vacillating back and forth about it. Yeah, okay, Well
(01:11):
what tattooed would you like to get? Gam Well, I
know specifically what I want to get on my hand,
I want to just get um grateful gratitude. But we
were trying to think of something that we could all
get together. That's I like, I mean, I can do
and I'm not doing gratitude right here, but we could
take something maybe three circles. That's what That's what I
(01:31):
said to you so long? Did you yes? And you
were like M I said, three interlocking circles to look
kind of like this. We can do three interlocking circles.
I'm down for that. You heard it right, I did
table Yeah, I mean that you could do a show
about it, like Little Long Eyed Wing. So to keep
(01:55):
my word, I lined up something really special. We are
taking a field trip to the one and only a
Doctor Who. I'm so excited. He has a waiting list
a mile long, and we are going to his studio
(02:16):
and we're finally going to get our matching tattoo. So
now they're oh, my good day, welcome, thank you to
Mr Woo. Honey made the time, my goodness. I love that.
I've always wanted to get tattooed by Dr Woo. Dr
(02:39):
Wu is one of the most in demand tattoo artists
in the world. He has millions of followers around the
globe and his wait list can be years long. Doctor
Who's signature style is extraordinarily intricate and very distinct, created
by a single needle technique, unlike most tattoos that use
eight needles at once. His delicate and detailed creations have
(02:59):
been inked on some very famous bodies. Drake's praying hands,
this tiny peach on Justin Bieber's neck, a jar of
vegemite on Miley's arm, and a picture perfect town on
Blake Griffin, plus countless others. His black and gray meticulous
masterpieces will leave you in all doctor who is making
time for us? Ladies? We can get grateful to you.
(03:23):
Get whatever you want, gam whatever you want. We're going
to Dr wool studio. Doctors. What you want to do?
Tell what you want to do? What tell Doctor wou
what you want to do? What you want to do,
what you wanna do? Here you go. I'm so excited.
(03:44):
What are what is going on? When? When are we going?
In two days? Oh? Wow? You know what we could get?
What lotus? But a tiny lotus, like like a shaded lotus,
down a realistic lotus. I'm down for that. That's perfect.
I'm down for the lotus. Down for the lotus, lotus, lotus,
(04:08):
lous loadus. The weight is over. It's time for the
field trip to our first ever three generational tattoo experience.
We're headed to the legendary Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, home of
Dr Woo's secret studio he calls the hideaway. Oh, this
(04:30):
is a hell of a studio. This is this is armor,
this is your studio. This is this is this is
such a vie. This is a real vibe. I love
(04:50):
that there's just a full motorcycle just in the tattooing room.
That's my old motorcycle. Figure out what we are doing.
Willow wants us to get matching tattoos, so we would
(05:10):
think about going on like you know low this Yeah,
and then I heard maybe you wanted it was like
a blossom. I wanted to get like a bud. It's
like starting to get out of the sea. And then
the full lotus. Do you have any area that you
think would be best. I mean I always like the arms.
Then you can always control how much it's visible. Yeah, exactly,
(05:33):
what about right here? Mom? That doesn't hurt too bad?
That she didn't hurt too much. Right. I have a
light hand as well, so I don't mind, like on
the same area, but on this side, I'll make some
stencils and then and then you guys take everything in
and I'll come back in a second. Brig Anda rich
and nowa rich and now alright, this is one of
(06:12):
the one that was kind of like more like it's
just kind of autlanes, more shot, I probably like shaded
a little softer. And then this is more of like, oh,
kind of cool, you know, more of a graphic kind
of artistic. I really like this. There's something really charming
about this. Yeah, this is gorgeous. Oh wait, okay a minute,
(06:33):
hold it. I really I really want this all three
of the three of them. That's pretty How about that?
Do you see this? Look at that gorgeous mom that's beautiful.
That's a really beautiful that's gorgeous. I love that. Yes,
(06:55):
it's having a movement. That's it. So who's going to
go first make ourselves at home. Then we will set
up for Jada. I can't wait to see how mommy.
You mean once you've had babies, it's like, yeah, whatever.
You know, we tend to be a little hairy. My
(07:15):
arm definitely has some fuzz. Usually, you know, we make
a stencil so we can get the placement just right
and see where everything is. It's kind of look a
little blueprint for me to follow, because the chricky thing
about this spot is on the top of your arm.
You see, how like there's this gap at all you
do is like any twist kind of distorts it. Do
you want it more center, like when you're natural or
kind of when you pull up you kind of see it.
(07:37):
It's probably when I'm natural. Huh yeah, check it out,
you think, look at that smile. You can lift and
move it around in a little bit to see see
how it falls in different places. Do you think it
should come down just a little you turn around? I mean,
if you did it like race, Yeah, let's try. It's mama.
It's mama. She's getting tad about dr Which it's mama.
(08:02):
That has a different vibe. There we go. Yeah, yeah,
it's like we're right there. It's right in the middle.
That's beautiful. That's dope. I want to see it every day. Yeah,
it's a remind. Yeah, it's a beautiful reminder. M hm,
you're gonna be okay. I know. So how long have
(08:23):
you been doing this? You've been doing us a fourteen
ye so wow of time. I've had people talk about
him like they we're gonna go see Kid Cuddy concert
like Dr Brule, Like do you need to see this?
If I ever got the chance, like going on like
this is crazy that's so. What do you think was
(08:46):
the moment you realized you made it? It wasn't overnight.
There was one time I do remember, though, like choose
a day, like the first Monday of every month, say
if you want an appointment and you live in l A,
just come to the shop and and make it in person.
And I remember I pulled up to the shop and
there was a line around the block on Sunset and
I was like, oh my god. It was very crazy.
(09:09):
And you're kind of like, oh wow, that's okay. I
think there's someone too something here. Have have you been
able to stay so grounded? You see, my such a
cool person. You've got such a relaxed, joyful demeanor. It's
because my family and my wife, my kids, and I
grew up in the city, so I had a lot
(09:31):
of chances to see people that don't take success and fame. Well,
then you see how people started treating people. I was like,
I don't want to ever be like that. You know,
I never want to treat anyone lesser than to me
in that sense. You know, once you get a family
and you kind of understand how you want your kids
(09:52):
to treat other people, that's a whole other thing and
then you have to leave by example. So over time,
I think that's just goes. How many kids do you have?
Have two boys? You got two boys with their ages
ten and six. Oh wow, okay, have a real daddy
mode there a while too. One of his kid's names
(10:15):
is Raife, and I was like, my mom would love
that name. Yeah, and Lion Lion I like that one too.
What made you decide that you wanted to become a
tattoo artist? You know that's the thing. And it wasn't
like a conscious decision. I was getting tattooed by my
(10:36):
mentor Smart Mahoney, that Shamrock on the Sunset Strip for
a long time, and he's you know, super famous, super
legendary in the world. So when he offered to teach me,
I was like, how do you turn that down? I
couldn't pass that up, so quit my job the next
day and they started there. Why did he offer to
teach you? I was his client for like ten years
(10:57):
before that, just kind of like a shop kid hanging
all the time. You had a Jedi heart he saw. Yeah.
I wasn't your typical tattoo artist. No. It was like
a first generation immigrant here and my parents were Chinese.
You don't grow up around that stuff. Whereas like all
the other tattoos in the shop, parents were tattoo artists
(11:18):
or you know, they come from the biker games. Like
if you walked into the tattoo shop in like the nineties,
it was a very un known world before. It wasn't
a commonplace for people. There was no TV shows, there
was no Instagram or Facebook, and it was pretty taboo,
very taboo, very taboo for the first part of my career.
(11:41):
I mean nine percent of people that were getting a tattoo,
like we're heavily tattooed. There was for tattoo connoisseurs. Now,
you know, eight out of ten it's like their first tattoo.
I'm tattooing lawyers and doctors, politicians. The taboo has definitely
been lit it a bit. Parents feel about you, Yeah, well,
(12:05):
I need listen to say. I'm sure you assume from
first generation immigrant Asian parents, they are as much Asian
traditional parents as you would expect. I did not give
them an easy upbringing. I was very rebellious, and you know,
there was a culture shock at home. I was hearing
and learning one thing, and when I was at school
(12:26):
and with my friends and something else, and I didn't
really know who I was. So for me to like
kind of do this was not what they their visions.
That's not their story that they're going to tell. We didn't,
you know, immigrate to America so our firstborn son can
become a tattoo I I don't know. You know, it
was supposed to be a lawyer, doctor, go to a
(12:49):
u c l A. Like that whole thing. They're so supportive. Now,
my mom was so proud, But it wasn't an easy
transition to that point. It definitely took them a little
bit to understand and what this was. I think they
understood that success isn't determined or defined by what, you know,
the social standards of it is. That's what we define
it is, and if we're happy in doing what we love.
(13:11):
When I first had my kids, the first thing I
did was called my parents and say, you know, I
am so sorry, Like I like, I took it all
for granted, because now I understand. I don't think you
can really understand until you understand what that responsibility is.
I don't want to ask you something everything that's been
happening in our country lately just around the violence towards
(13:36):
you know, Asian who. How has that affected you or
you know, I feel like I had such a tough
skin growing up and I didn't really understand. I mean,
of course I understood racism and all that, but I
didn't grow up with a lot of Asians, you know,
I grew up in the mixed community. But now I
(13:57):
see it. And right before lockdown, my kid is than
I were in a store and the kids pick something up.
I rack and it fell and some old man's are
yelling at him, and I was like, you know, don't
don't yell at my kids, like he's up and he
told us to go back to where we came from.
And my kids are mixed, so they have no They
were like, we'll go home, Like yeah, back to the
(14:19):
Silver Lake. Like I don't understand because in our house,
we never talked about rates or you know what I mean, Like,
it's just we are who we are. And that was
the first time I kind of felt like, Wow, this
guy doesn't see me the way that I feel like
I see myself. And then I kind of felt this
is how so many people feel and I just kind
of like been blind to that fact, you know, and
it's been an interesting time. It's been hard to find
(14:39):
the definition of being so open minded and having no
hate in your heart. It sounds as cool as I say,
like everyone has to work together and admit that, you know,
we all have flaws, you know, and we have to
work together against white sprises. You know, there's a common enemy.
You know. Some people don't want to hear it. Even
(15:00):
my parents. Yeah, you know, I try to talk about
with them because they are Asian elders and they kind
of are afraid of conflict and they don't want to
engage that way because they that's been there and of
kind of thriving in this country is like like not
not causing a disruption. If they don't bother us, we
don't bother them. After that moment, did you feel the
(15:23):
need to then have a conversation with your your boys
and your wife as a family. So we're talking about
it a lot with him now, especially the little one,
because my wife is her mother is Irish and Italian
and her father is Native American and half black. They
have a quarter A lot of stuff, a lot of stuff.
(15:46):
After this whole thing, the little one has been saying
a lot like, oh, I'm Chinese. I'm like, WHOA, yes,
part but not all. And they're like, well, how come
you're full. I'm like, because my parents are. And but
that's the beauty of building a family and everyone can
love each other and there's no boundaries, you know, like
you can be Chinese and you can be white, you
(16:08):
can be Native American, you can be black, and it
doesn't matter, you know. I tried to explain to them
in that sense, and they're just starting to get it.
But I think they're so innocent that they don't even think.
They don't even think about it. It's like it's so
difficult to explain the concept of separatism to a child. Yeah,
they're like they're not on the playground, Like that's white
(16:29):
Billy and it's Chinese John. Like, it's just they're the kids.
And I remember my older one we were talking about
and I literally saw like he was perplexed in his eyes,
and I was like, wow, I don't do I pursue
this because I don't even want to break that still. Yeah,
but it's hard to ignore now. But I think just
showing them the right way and not telling them how
(16:51):
they should feel, but giving them tools to do themselves
educate them. We have to take our time out and
really tackle some of those topics with them because the
school is not going to write. But at the same time,
how do you protect your child's innocence? Yeah, part of
you wants to obviously do that, and the part of
you wants to, like you said, protect your innocence. But
(17:12):
I think we just got to do our best to
give them the best foot forward as they grow, because
they will. I think it is really just your home
life and who your parents are and raising them, right man,
So beautiful, Yeah, perfect, willow your next My god, this
(17:36):
is gonna be so fire. I think this might make
more sense instead of wrapping. That's beautiful, all right. I'm
just so excited to finally be added by a doctor
woo and to tell everybody, honestly, the longest had two
(18:01):
you ever done? Dr Boum. One time I did one
of like ten hours. Whoa, I can't work in that
capacity anymore. It's a lot, I was gonna say, that's
a lot for the artists as well as for the client.
The lotus represents spiritual enlightenment, and we hear the saying
like through the mud grows the lotus, and I think
(18:24):
that my story, yes, and I think all of us
from different perspectives in life have had that journey, the
bud to the little blossom to the bloom. Also, I
feel like expresses the spiritual journey, but also the three
of us. I'm the youngest, you know, my mom is
the middle and Gam Gam is the fully bloomed lotus.
(18:46):
And it means something, you know, different for each of
us because our stories, our journeys are different, but it's
still represents us so well. I just I thought that
was brilliant, Thank you, Gam. Out of the mud, it
comes to lotus, you have to go through the mud,
the dirt, and it's still something beautiful was created. And
that kind of described my journey. I've been through some
(19:08):
really tough times, you know, but I'm still worthy, you know,
and there's still room for me to grow and change.
Even now at sixty seven, I'm still growing and changing
and trying to be better. Yeah, so getting the lotus
was just like everything. It feels like my little kitten
(19:33):
Lolo when I first got her, playing biting my arm.
How many tattoos do you have? Game three? Three tattoos
and wow, fifteen piercings and three tattoos. Now we were
looking on your page and there was a little boy. Yeah,
I also want to drus because I want to be
(19:56):
a tattoo artist. Oh you do? Okay, what if they
grow up to also tattoo? I don't know. I was
very fortunate to be able to like carve myself a
little place. I mean, their father being doctor, who they
(20:17):
might even be like, I'm never going to pick up
a tattoo pin because if my thought as good as his,
then I'm you know, I get asked that a lot,
and I never know how I feel about the answer.
And maybe they want to make an impact someplace else,
someplace else. That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, you know,
it's not easy walking in your parents. It's really not.
(20:40):
That's why I'm like, damn, that's I really respect that
because I knew my parents. Obviously they wanted me to
do what I wanted to do, but I definitely knew
that they wanted me to be an artist and like
any kind of artist, you know what I mean. And
I also feel like they wanted me to do that
because that was what they knew and they could like
(21:00):
me in that world like they could be instrumental in
my growth in that world because they had knowledge about it.
It's something they could relate to totally. Yeah, have wisdom
in it. Yeah. I love the studio. We call it
the Hideaway because it's kind of a little hideaway. Once
you're here, you don't feel like you're part of the
(21:21):
hotel exactly. They had the first oscars here. What this
hotel is. It's some hauntings that hotel room right, there
are costs. It's like where Marilyn Monroe lives. There's a
mirror that people have been saying that if you look
in the mirror, you see her in the reflection. So
they actually removed the mirror. That's so scary. I'm on
(21:46):
the last one. I've never gotten shading in a tattoo before.
When I leave here, I'm going to go to the
studio and making a theme song immediately doctor who get
that good? Good? With a nice little synth jingle on
the end. I'll send you some sounds, yeah, so I
(22:09):
can just put it in there. You can sample some buzzing. Yes,
it's already catching on. All right, Wow, you're just a
freaking jet Like, what come on, look at dad? This
is just a detail. I just love you. You have
(22:30):
it back, has it cleal? It feels amazing and it
looks even better. Guys, this is my first shaded doctor
Woo tattoo. It's damping. Hey, damn you did that? Fends
(22:55):
It looks where I say, perfect dad Willow, Damn you
next to want to go. Dr Lou was able to
design the three stages of the lotus, representing the stages
of our lives and stages of our lives and the
stages of our spiritual growth. Yeah, it's pretty dope. Yeah. Ready,
(23:20):
I'm ready for you. I think I want to do
it right, gotcha, whatever you feel, because you're the one
that's going to be seeing it the most. Oh my goodness,
Oh my goodness, that's going to be beautiful. My mother
has more tattoos than me because that isn't due just crazy,
because she's got stogetically that's whyetically, So honey, don't get
(23:44):
it twisted. Have a seat, lady. Okay, I'm feeling good.
You know I have a pretty high towerance for pain.
Did you guys ever think we would be here doing
this because Jada was half stepping No half stepen, sorry,
(24:08):
oh no, Henny, he said, who said will. He was
actually the one that I was most nervous about. Like
I showed my mom the art for my past sleeve,
like I want to say, like three weeks before I
got it, and but I didn't tell my dad because
(24:28):
I was like he's going to be like, my baby,
absolutely what And I knew he be like what the hell?
But he called me it was like I want to say,
like two or three days after I had gotten it,
and he was like, hey, I heard you gotta cattoo.
And I was like from who, And he's like, it
doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Obviously it was you. And
(24:51):
I was like okay, And then I showed it to
him and he was like everything is in divine order.
Your path is your path, and I just love you
and I'm glad that you got something that actually looks nice.
And I was like, thank you. You got that boom, Yeah,
you got that game. And she's just like has anybody
(25:12):
ever come to you and been like, man, I can't believe,
like you know, three years later, like did you give
me that tattoo? You know, it's always a tattoo of
a lover a name, and I tell anyone that it's
a curse. Yeah, I don't think I've ever done it
where the couple stayed together one time, literally the couple
(25:34):
got it the night before and the next day they
came in regretting it. Wow, just like is there any
way to remove this? Is? Like what or like yeah,
like what do I do? Like, don't don't be so
hasty next time? I mean, game is almost being brought
to tears. Your dream came true. Gam, you gotta take
a picture. That's beautiful, right it is. That's gorgeous. Gam,
(25:59):
He's so dope. Oh my god, so beautiful. You got
your dream game? Fetch three got all right, and I
love it right there. It's like, yeah, we got them
all in different places place. I love that we did that. Yeah,
(26:21):
we finally did it. And every day we look at this,
we're gonna remember our spiritual growth. We're gonna remember there's
a beautiful time in life. Absolutely. It makes me want
to just get a big old lotus on my back. Yes, yes,
thank you. Hey, this is how I'm gonna be every
(26:44):
day now. She'd be like, oh yeah, so yeah, just chilling,
you know, like over there did you see that? Like
like over there, Yeah, totally it's gonna be like Hello
to join the red table Talk family and become a
(27:04):
part of the conversation. Follow us at facebook dot com
slash red table talk. Thanks for listening to this episode
of Red Table Talk podcast, produced by Facebook, Watch, Westbrook Audio,
and I Heart Radio.
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