Tattooing and Triumphs: Mike McAskill's Story of Perseverance

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hello, hello, hello.
This is Zach Batista from B2ZPodcast with my co-host, Brennan
May.
What's up everybody, and todaywe have another amazing guest,
Mike McAskill.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hello, all right, Mike McAskill.
Alright, M mike McAskill.
This is, uh, I call him CoachMike, coach, Mike, M mike
McAskill.
The reason I wanted to bringMike on Is his habits.
He's one of the tattooers outthere that stay super consistent
and is, uh, an artist that isable to do A wide variety of art

(00:44):
styles.
There's a lot of tattoo artiststhat specialize.
An artist that is able to do awide variety of art styles
there's a lot of tattoo artiststhat specialize.
Mike has this niche of makingeverything his own and making
his own style, but still able toadapt to realism, traditional,
neo-traditional, all of thoseelements like soft, chicano,

(01:05):
black and gray.
Um, his work is like a printer.
This dude is insane.
This dude's insane.
Um, I'm constantly chasing tobe better than this dude.
He's one, he's on the hit list.
You feel me?
He made the hit list.
So just people that I'm like,yeah, I gotta fuck his shit up.
So, yeah, mike is a good one.
Um, hey, where you at, whereyou from, mike?

Speaker 3 (01:27):
yeah, yeah, mike is a good one.
Um, hey, where you at, whereyou from, mike?

Speaker 2 (01:30):
um corona.
I grew up in corona.

Speaker 3 (01:31):
Okay, california, corona, california.
For the most part, I movedaround a lot, okay, growing up,
but I ended up there in likeseventh grade in with xeritel.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
I graduated high school yeah what was your
upbringing like was it?
What was your shit?

Speaker 3 (01:46):
It was cool, I had a good time.
I I mean, I skateboarded mywhole life.
I know you guys had Zach onhere.
I met Zach throughskateboarding when we were like
14 or 15 or something, somehow.
We ended up working togetheryears and years later, but I
skateboarded every day.
Yeah, that's what I love doing,and I miss it, I'm just old and

(02:11):
concrete hurts now and I'm notbuilt like a fucking bird bones
over there, yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
You know, yeah, I remember you a few years later
or a few years back, getting aboard, yeah, and fucking around
and like all right, right.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
I think I'm gonna.
I got hurt immediately too.
I was like I'm done with thisshit.
Yeah, so it didn't last long.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
That it's hard to, that's all right.
Maybe you can answer thisquestion for me.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
I skated a lot too younger.
I felt like once you startedlifting weights you said you
were a football player felt likeyou start packing on the muscle
weight well, I did that when Iwas young too.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
I just I did lift a lot of weights when I was young,
but I was a lot lighter.
So as I've aged, I just totallygotten so much more dense, yeah
how would you, how would youdescribe your art style?
oh uh, any, anything anybodywants, I'll do it.

(03:08):
I don't have like a.
I wasn't like a artist, youknow, I always considered myself
.
I'm a commissioned artist.
So whatever you want, I'll makeit.
I'll make it tattooable andI'll make it so the tattoo lasts
forever.
Make it tattooable and I'llmake it so the tattoo lasts

(03:30):
forever, because I think overtime, when I was learning, I was
taught how to do a tattoo theright way, and so I build
everything to make sure it lookslike a tattoo and that tattoo
is going to last you for therest of your life.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
I've watched you learn different techniques or
attack different techniques.
One was faces, uh.
Another one was, uh, waves andflames um, you attack those with
a really heavy tone.
You know you just really go inwhen you decide all right, maybe

(04:01):
I suck at this and I need to bebetter at this.
Well, yeah, yeah, as far asprogression, is that how you see
you progress best?
Why is it that you attackthings with such vigor when
you're, I think.

Speaker 3 (04:15):
I think it's nothing ever has been super easy for me
to learn, so I'll just overdo it.
Like I'll overwork it and I'llmake sure like I'll get it right
until it's done, like for like,when I was first learning, like
I couldn't draw well, I canalways draw, but I couldn't draw
well.
And then I would take it to theguy who taught me Brant Van and

(04:40):
he'd be like that fucking sucks, do it again, do it again.
And then over time I would justI would draw like thousands and
thousands and thousands ofthings and eventually, you're
going to end up with somethinggood.
I think you know, and you know,you just have to keep putting in
the work.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
Was apprenticing easy under him, or was it hard?
It was super easy.

Speaker 3 (05:01):
Well, for me it was easy.
Why, how he was harsh, but hewas cool with me.
Like you know, back in the dayeverybody was a little bit
rougher, but I was okay withthat.
I had been at a previous shop,I got an apprenticeship at 18,
and they treated me like shit,like straight shit.

(05:24):
And they treated me like shit,like straight shit, yeah, and I
was like I could take a lot.

Speaker 4 (05:30):
But at a certain point I was like, man, fuck
these, there's a lot.

Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yeah, I was like I didn't know who I still don't
know who any of those guys are,you know, because I wasn't there
very long.
I was there like two weeks,three weeks maybe, and I would.
I would come in and and, uh,they weren't even cool, like
they'd be like, hey, fuck you.
Oh, bitch, blah, blah, blah,like just talk to me, like I'm a
total piece of shit which is,like you know, after a couple of

(05:54):
weeks of being in a shop everyday, like you expect that to
kind of chill out.
Yeah, but it didn't chill out.
And, um, the final straw was,uh, I, I, because I was super
young and I had a bad attitude,but uh, I was doing everything.
I was told they had me, uh,stay.
After one night, after Icleaned up and like, hey, you

(06:16):
want to smoke weed?
I was like, yeah, so I sort ofthought I was in, you know yeah
and uh, I go in the back roomand they like pass around the
the ball or whatever, and I hitit and then they're like, okay,
pack a ball.
And I was like, oh, I don'thave weed, you know.
And then like five of thesedudes just like started
surrounding me and they're likeI'm gonna fuck you up.

(06:37):
You better give me my fuckingweed right now.
Blah, blah, like you're gonnafucking die.

Speaker 2 (06:43):
And I was sitting there like I'm gonna get jumped
right now, you know like I waslike dude, I didn't know.

Speaker 4 (06:50):
You guys asked me if I wanted to smoke.

Speaker 3 (06:52):
You know I'm not getting paid here, I don't have
any money and I'm doing all yourbitch work, like which is cool.
I think you should have to doall that work, um.
But it was super weird and Iwalked out of there because they
were like oh, you better bringme a fucking two g's tomorrow,
you know two grams.
And uh, I never went back.

Speaker 1 (07:13):
I was like man look, looking back on that, I mean you
probably don't even care, butwas you think that was part of
the hazing?
You think they would haveplayed it off, or they were the
type of guys I think?

Speaker 3 (07:22):
because, because, if I really think about it now, I
think a couple of those guyswere like pretty gnarly tweakers
.

Speaker 4 (07:29):
Oh they're already kind of twisted up.

Speaker 3 (07:30):
Yeah, and um, uh, yeah, I don't think it was part
of the hazing and all.
I think it would have gottenworse.
Yeah, and cause nobody was cool, like nobody.
Like when I got anapprenticeship with brant later
on, it was like a year or twolater like it was amazing, but
it wasn't the same like it was.

(07:51):
It was like hey, do thecinnamon challenge, like can you
eat this spoonful of cinnamon?
And you can't.
Nobody can't like fun stuff.
Yeah, he's like all right offthe floors but it was like
joking around.
It was way lighter and he, hewas super cool and the guys that
worked there were so cool withme, like eric eweasy from tattoo
revolution.
Um, that guy is like my bigbrother dude, like I still I'll

(08:15):
go see him every once in a while.
I'm like guys so cool and hetaught me a shit a little while
I was there too.
Okay, um, but they just treatedme like who owns Tattoo
Revolution.

Speaker 2 (08:25):
Bram Van.
Okay, yeah, was who ownsTwilight.
Do you know Twilight, twilightFantasy?
I don't know.
Are they connected in any way?

Speaker 3 (08:36):
I have no idea.
I don't think they are, butMaybe just the name.
I don't know.
I'm associating.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
They've been around for a while though.
Yeah, I thought trike Are theystill around.
I believe so.
Oh, okay, I believe so yeah.

Speaker 3 (08:49):
Yeah, I don't know if I ever met anybody there when I
came to.

Speaker 2 (08:53):
Elizabeth street.
Mike got put with the task ofcoaching me.
Uh, remember I had tore-apprentice, go back and check
those episodes.
I had to re-apprentice when Icame over to Elizabeth.

Speaker 3 (09:04):
Street.
I don't know if it was a fullapprentice.
It was not a fullapprenticeship.

Speaker 2 (09:07):
I wasn't able to tattoo, I just had to be open to
restructure A restructuring, Iguess.

Speaker 3 (09:16):
Or a development.
I think you just had to think alittle bit differently.
Yeah, you know it's hard to say, because when you're in it, you
don't necessarily know.

Speaker 2 (09:24):
You know.
That's why I'm asking thesequestions, because I can get a
perspective.
When you got given the task toto coach me how did that shit
even come about?
Did Brian come to you and belike, oh, I got this guy coming
through like I don't know?

Speaker 3 (09:38):
I think when somebody comes in here like I think at
least me and Jim, we're all kindof like well, we're here to
help anybody if they're needhelp with anything.
So I don't think it was afull-on.
I can't remember, it was a longtime ago now, but um, maybe it
was just.

Speaker 2 (09:56):
He was using you as a reference and I took it heavier
because I was new in my careerand everything was heavy at that
time maybe.

Speaker 4 (10:02):
Yeah, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (10:03):
Like oh, that's the guy to teach you.
All right, that's coach.
You know, maybe that's memaking it heavier, Maybe because
I don't think you needed alittle work.

Speaker 3 (10:13):
You didn't need that much, but I think that might
have been a you thing, dude.
Yeah, like maybe you're justlike, all right, I'm going to
get coached, or whatever.
But I don't think I ever hadthe conversation with Brian,
because we're all under anunderstanding, like when
somebody comes in here, we wantto make them better too.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (10:35):
So what were you guys' first impressions since
we're on it?
Like when you met him, youstart, you know, you felt like
you could call him coach.
Like what was your firstimpression of him?
Like, oh, this is just anotherguy I can coach.

Speaker 3 (10:45):
Did you show up when I was gone?
When I showed up On the showyou had?

Speaker 2 (10:49):
no, I showed up before the show when your back
was fucked up.

Speaker 3 (10:53):
Yeah, my back was real bad, yeah, so I wasn't here
that much, nah you?

Speaker 2 (10:58):
weren't here, and Mike was an angry motherfucker
at that time.
He was a cripple.

Speaker 4 (11:02):
Yeah, it's like he had came off of like a year long
fucking bout with his back.

Speaker 1 (11:08):
Well, I couldn't walk for a year.
What would you?
What'd you do if you don't wantto be asking uh?

Speaker 3 (11:11):
I.
I ended up we went to a.
It's a big, long, okay story,but we went to a convention in
reno and, um, I was lifting alot of weights at the time.
We drove nine hours no sleep,got up in the morning like 6 am.
I hit the gym before theconvention so I was like 27.

(11:32):
Couldn't do stuff on no sleepat the time.
And I remember at the gym I wasdoing a back workout and I felt
like a twinge in, like under myshoulder blade.
Yeah, like bad when I was, likeI started in like under my
shoulder blade.
Yeah, like bad when I was, likeI started sweating and shit, it
was an upper back.
Yeah, it was my upper back, soI kind of ignored it and I

(11:54):
finished the workout like anidiot.
And then I was like, oh man, Ithink I need to stretch out.
But I'm in a cold sweat thewhole time for hours and I hit
the pool and I go my first likestroke in the pool.
I felt it felt like somebodyhit me in the head with a
baseball bat, oh shit, and I wasall dizzy and I was like seeing

(12:18):
stars.
That true pain it was.
Yeah, it was crazy, but I wasstill dumb enough to like.

Speaker 4 (12:24):
I let's finish this workout.

Speaker 3 (12:26):
Let's swim some more.
I just like barely.
I was like I got a little tear.
That's crazy about dudes thatdo that.
It gets worse because I went tothe convention.
I tattooed three days and thenevery night we were partying,
partying, were partying,partying, partying, partying.

(12:47):
Like I fucking was drinking Idon't know like 20 beers a night
, you know, and like, yeah, weended up on like saturday night
we're in the bar, we're gamblingin the alleyway, and then we
end up, uh, we're all likehaving arm wrestling
competitions.
Brian's fucking smashingeverybody.
Oh, yeah.
And then, like I go up to armwrestle these dudes and people

(13:10):
were just folding my arm overLike it was nothing and I was
like these guys can't fuckingbeat me, what the fuck is going
on?
Yeah, it was weird.

Speaker 4 (13:18):
And it was tripping me out.
I was like this is like, thisis like that guy can't fucking
beat me.
I had no power anymore.
I had nothing.

Speaker 3 (13:26):
So in my arm was like that's a horrible way to figure
that out.
So, but I think I did like fouror five more tattoos.
But like by the last one, dude,I was straight up pouring sweat
and uh, me and Zach were sittingin the tattoo shop.

(13:47):
Uh, at like three o'clock inthe mornings, we all just
tattooed each other and Istarted like spinning.
Like I was standing there and Iwas spinning, zach looks at me,
he goes dude, you're fuckingwobbling.
What's going on?
I was like I don't know, dude,like can you take me back to the
hotel?
So me and him walk down thestreet, get a cab, I get to the
hotel.
I'm like I cannot sleep atnight.

(14:09):
I was having like insanefeelings in my face, in my hands
, in my neck and for some reasonI was like.
I think I broke my neck Like Idon't know how, but I think I
broke my neck and the next day Iasked him to drive me home
because I had to go to thehospital.

Speaker 4 (14:28):
So he had the car drive nine hours back home.

Speaker 3 (14:30):
I should have just went to the fucking hospital.
You know I wasn't tough.

Speaker 4 (14:34):
I wasn't thinking.

Speaker 3 (14:36):
I thought I just need a rest for a day or two Uh.
I just started seeing blindinglights Like it was bad.

Speaker 1 (14:43):
I I just started seeing blinding lights Like it
was bad I had a bad nerve.

Speaker 3 (14:45):
Oh yeah, nerve impingement.

Speaker 1 (14:46):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (14:47):
So basically that I call off work for a couple of
weeks, and then I ended up, dude, my head was stuck like down,
like I couldn't pick it upanymore.
I couldn't pick anything upwith my hands and I was started
like really freaking out and Ikept going to the hospital.

Speaker 4 (15:08):
I kept going to the hospital.

Speaker 3 (15:09):
I was like hey, I think my neck's fucked up so
they gave me like CT scans on mybrain.
They gave him on my neck, butthe injury was in my mid back.

Speaker 4 (15:18):
It wasn't my neck so.

Speaker 3 (15:19):
I couldn't find anything.
So I basically, a year goes by,I found specialists, I found
everything.
I've spent my entire lifesavings and uh, finally I, I, uh
, I went to a like a holisticdoctor and by that time it had
been about eight months and thiswhole time I hadn't, I didn't

(15:41):
work, so that's why all my moneywas like gone.
When I found the holisticdoctor, I had a mound of scar
tissue in my mid back, oh yeah,like.
So basically he was like dude,you have to get rid of this scar
tissue.
And basically what happenedaround that time?
I paid, I was seeing this guyand then I paid out of pocket

(16:03):
for a MRI.

Speaker 1 (16:06):
Okay, it cost $10, thousand dollars trucker change
yeah, because my insurancewouldn't cover it.

Speaker 3 (16:10):
Because, because nothing, they couldn't see
anything on x-rays.
Because they were looking in myneck and um, it was a whole
fucking huge mess.
But the uh mri showed that Ihad a herniation in my t-spine,
yeah, so in the mid spine, andthey were like, how did you do
this?
Like you're supposed to be inan accident for something like

(16:31):
this.
I was like dude, I fuckingpartied.
But I would have never foundthat unless I found that
holistic doctor and, um, theyended up breaking it up, straf,
scraping it or something.
Yeah, well, it was a lot.
So I got.
At first I got a bunch ofgrassed in which was like the
scraping in my whole back whichis black and blue, and I did it

(16:54):
three days a week.
Oh, you're like for like sixmonths and then they couldn't,
they couldn't break up anythinganymore.
So that top layer kind of likesmoothed out, yeah, but they
couldn't get deeper and my backwouldn't?
they'll say no, yeah it hurts,it's not as bad as a tattoo.

Speaker 1 (17:12):
But three days a week is a lot okay, for those people
that don't know, when I was andI can relate to that when I had
my injury real bad and they hada breakup, all the uh, I was
only going once, I was goingweekly, yeah, uh, and, and I was
in pain, yeah.
So for you to tell me you weregoing three days a week, and for
people that don't know, that'sit's a lot, it's it's you're,

(17:33):
you're abusing your body to getrid of the injury.

Speaker 3 (17:36):
Yeah, and it's a small fortune too, yeah, yeah
but, then.
So once they couldn't get anydeeper, because you know how,
when you scrape it like, theblood flow comes.

Speaker 4 (17:46):
Yeah, and you're trying to heal it and try to
heal it.

Speaker 3 (17:48):
There wasn't.
It wasn't showing blood anymore, so I had broken it up, broken
it up, broken it up, and then Istarted um, it was called
myofascial release, where Ifound another.
I found a lady who was sofucking good at it, Like they
basically just melt Like theyput.
She put her elbow on the scartissue and his melts there for

(18:09):
like 30 minutes and then theystart to breathe.
Yeah, and then they startstretching it and um dude, it
hurts so bad.
You start like seeing colors.
Dude, it works though.

Speaker 4 (18:20):
Yeah, it feels amazing afterwards.

Speaker 3 (18:23):
And then that stopped working.
And then I I uh, for about fouryears I would get a deep tissue
massage three days a week and Idon't have that mound anymore
and I have full rotation,everything like I'm still a
little stiff, but it's not.

Speaker 2 (18:41):
How long would you say rehab took?
For five years, five years,five years man, I know exactly,
but it's not.

Speaker 3 (18:46):
How long would you say rehab took for that?
Five years, five years, fiveyears.
Man, I know exactly how muchcosts.
Um, well, it cost me.
At the time, you know, I was, Iwas younger and I didn't come
from anything Like.
I started tattooing young andbuilt all everything by myself.
But I know I had 50 grand incash and over the course of that
year I got down to $150 andthen I had to come back to work

(19:12):
in the back brace and that'swhen I met him in the back brace
, oh yeah so this is what youguys?

Speaker 1 (19:21):
so your guys first impression you're beat up angry.
I was real angry.
It wasn't a good time, for me,for sure, so this is what you're
getting.

Speaker 3 (19:26):
So you're getting the first impressions.
Yeah, you're beat up.
Angry, I was real angry itwasn't a good time for me, for
sure, okay, and he's private too, so if he doesn't even know you
, he's not really going to likeopen up to you.

Speaker 2 (19:35):
Yeah, so it was a little bit of both, so I was
like, damn you know, so when hechanged back.
I still look at Mike and belike he's not as fucking bad as
fucking.
I make him to believe.
You know what I mean.
Yeah, but I think that'sevolution too.
As we get older, you know whatI mean.
We just become chiller man andworry about less Not that you

(19:58):
were ever worried about much.

Speaker 3 (19:59):
I think that's the opposite.

Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, I don't worry about anything anymore.
You don't worry about anything.

Speaker 3 (20:08):
And I opposite is like yeah, I don't worry about
anything, I don't worry aboutanything and like I'll bring an
issue to this guy and he'll belike ah, brandon, what the fuck
you worried about that for youknow.
But that that perspective camefrom, uh, basically not being
able to walk.
I I got a glimpse of what it'slike.
It was a small glimpse.
I could still move around, butI literally couldn't do anything
.
I got a small glimpse of likebeing crippled and it changed my
whole perspective on life.

Speaker 2 (20:29):
That's trippy to hear that.
Cause you know, being in atattoo shop with somebody, you
really don't fucking talk aboutthis type of shit, like so.
This is all new to me.
Like to hear his perspectivechanged by what it is he's going
through.
You see somebody going throughshit, but there's no way you can

(20:50):
fucking tap in or what the fuckit is truly going through.

Speaker 3 (20:52):
So that's crazy, man, that itdefines your life like that.
It did.
You know, I think.
Uh, life in life you get acouple of big fucking wake-up
calls and I think I'm prettysure that was my biggest one.
But it fits like.
You know, I might have had acrazy attitude when I was
younger.
Um, I've always been like kindof chill, but I don't, I don't
let anything really get to meanymore because I can still move

(21:14):
, I can still walk.
Like you don't know what it'slike not being able to move for
a year and my heart goes out toanybody that's stuck like that,
like legitimately crippled.
I don't even know if you'reallowed to say that word, but if
you're legitimately, uh, whatdo they?

Speaker 1 (21:37):
call it.

Speaker 4 (21:38):
I have disabled.

Speaker 3 (21:39):
Yeah, yeah yeah, my heart goes out to anybody like
that or with the back injury,because I have so much empathy
because I could have been thereIf I didn't get the right
treatments and if I didn'tfigure it out and luckily my
injury wasn't bad enough toreally like screw my whole life
up.
That's a hard life.

(22:00):
And like when I look at thatand I look at my life.
Now I'm like this shit's easyman, I gotta move around like
and the back injury.

Speaker 2 (22:09):
Back injury is just half of it.
You know, being a tattooer,when you deal with a health
issue, it's intensified by 10just because we don't have that
normal insurance.
You know, connected to our job,like there's protection.

Speaker 3 (22:23):
So a lot of the things we do it's out of pocket.

Speaker 2 (22:27):
So, and when you are hurt to that point, when you you
can't work, so there is noincome coming in and it's always
going out, and you know that'sa tough place to be in.
Um, it gives you a lot ofreasons to want to quit.
You know what I mean Tattooing,because that's what every
tattooer fears is they breaktheir hand or they do they get

(22:50):
hurt in a way where they can'tdo this anymore because once you
become a tattooer, if you'redoing it right, that's all you
fucking do.
You know, if you want to befucking solid at it like you
don't operate in a lot ofdifferent areas as soon as you
do you kind of, your tattooingtakes a hit, wouldn't you say,
mike?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
With that said, how do youmaintain so many hobbies?

Speaker 3 (23:14):
well now.
Now I'm like full-on intoanything I do.
Just well, I was always likethat.
But now I.
I don't take it for grantedlike, yeah, if I do stuff now,
it it's like you serve.
I overdo it.

Speaker 2 (23:25):
Uh, jujitsu, you still will skateboard if you're
out there.

Speaker 3 (23:29):
I would.
Yeah, I still have a board.
Yeah, I still roll around bike.

Speaker 2 (23:33):
Uh, dirt bikes, uh, he had.
He just got a chopper that hesaw.
Golf, um and Like year round.
So snowboard.
I snowboard a lot in the winterSnowboard.

Speaker 4 (23:44):
Yeah, you guys hit it a lot this time, huh.
It was empty, huh.

Speaker 2 (23:47):
No, it was packed.
It was packed, packed this year.
Which one's your favorite outof all the hobbies?

Speaker 3 (23:52):
Oh, I don't know, man , I think I have adult ADHD and
I just got to do it all.
Yeah, yeah, I have way too Toomany things to do.

Speaker 2 (24:01):
Is that coming from you being semi-paralyzed as well
too?
No, I always did stuff likethat, so you were like that
before.

Speaker 3 (24:08):
I was like that before.
Like growing up I played sportsa lot and then when I found
skateboarding, I like fullyfocused on that, but at the same
time I would snowboardconstantly, I'd go surfing, I
would still golf.
Oh, I got a question uh, whathobbies benefit tattooing?

(24:29):
None of them.
They're all other than golf.
All of my injury, or all of myhobbies can injure the shit.
Yeah, and like yeah, I can.
You could totally destroyanother year of my life, you
know, but I don't care, I haveto go and like honestly as long

(24:50):
as I don't hurt my back or myneck, I'm good like in jujitsu.
The last two years I've torn myknee three times.
I tore my hip, like yeah, Itore my iliopsoas.
That that one was terrible.
Did you have surgery on that?

Speaker 1 (25:05):
Uh-uh, no, uh-uh you just rehabbed it.

Speaker 4 (25:07):
What got?

Speaker 1 (25:08):
you into jujitsu.

Speaker 4 (25:09):
Huh.

Speaker 3 (25:09):
What got you?

Speaker 1 (25:10):
into that.

Speaker 3 (25:12):
Well, for a long time .
When I met Brian, he's like hey, come to my house and train.
So I met him when I was 22, Ithink, and I would train with
him a lot.
And then, um, right before myinjury, one of my buddies was
like hey, we should join thisjujitsu gym.
I was like fuck yeah.

(25:32):
So literally he signed up theweekend.
I went to that uh convention andgot hurt, so I was literally
going to do it, then but then Icouldn't, so I had to sit back
and watch him for like fiveyears, like have all this fun.

Speaker 4 (25:47):
And he would tell me he's like dude, it's so fun.

Speaker 3 (25:49):
So I was like, well, if I ever get better, I'm going
to get into that, so you gotteased to you, but you still
want to do it.
I gotcha, I gotcha and then thefirst day I walked in I had so
much fun like getting my asskicked I was like, oh yeah, I
gotta, I gotta keep going tothis and I still do that three
days a week.
You know, not a high level guyby any means, but it's super fun

(26:13):
three days a week, yeah I loveit.
Meet some super cool peoplethere, um yeah, it's really fun
yeah, I know I'm kind ofbouncing all over.

Speaker 2 (26:25):
Um, what advice would you give to people who are
facing injuries within tattooing?
Um, I know people do go fund meand that wasn't around when I
did it.

Speaker 3 (26:35):
Um my big thing is I always saved for a hard time.
I think it's nice that go fundme is around, but I also think
it's your responsibility to takecare of your life and I think,
just do whatever you're going todo to get your money, you know.
But in my case I spent mysavings first and then I had to

(26:59):
move to my credit cards, and youknow.
I dug myself out of that debtwhen I was getting back to
normal and then got back tosaving after that.

Speaker 1 (27:07):
Do you follow any financial plans, any financial
rules?
I guess sort of okay, yeah itchanged.

Speaker 3 (27:14):
That also changed my whole perspective on because I
was always a saver big saver.
Um, it wasn't a lot of moneybut, like I said, I started from
nothing.
Like you know, I was reallyyoung and my family moved across
the country and I just startedtattooing and, you know, just
built my life, Um you knew youhad to save you have to but, for

(27:37):
when I got out of that I I waslike, well, how, how, how's this
going to end?
How's tattooing an end for me?
Because if it just ends yoursavings done like quick, like
that 50 grand I had, I thoughtthat was a lot of money.
It's not.
There's nothing.
That's a year, yeah, it's ayear, especially with the

(27:58):
medical issue.
Yeah, it's a year max, and eventhen it really was a little
rough.

Speaker 4 (28:10):
Like if I, if I max and even then it really was a
little rough like, uh, if I, ifI didn't have a medical.

Speaker 1 (28:12):
Well, nowadays it's even different, because the
question is so high.

Speaker 3 (28:13):
So there's no way, 50 grand would be gone in six
months.
Easy, yep, um.
So now everything I I uh make,I save or I invest, um, I don't
spend a lot of money like otherthan on things I need.
Like obviously I'll go out todinner sometimes, or like I
budget for everything.
I max out my IRA and then I addto my 401k regularly and then I

(28:39):
have a another cash investmentaccount for the time that I am
ready to retire.
If I want to retire early, I'llhave that cash account and
hopefully I'll have enough moneyto live off that until I'm able
to pull out of my IRA and my401k.

Speaker 1 (28:56):
So it's like a young tattooer coming in, like if you
could speak to that.

Speaker 3 (29:00):
Set an IRA immediately and max it out.
You're making more than enoughmoney to do it.
Right now.
The max, I think, is $7,000 ayear, but it grows Like I didn't
start that thing until I was 30years old.
That's too late.

Speaker 2 (29:17):
It's not too late, but it's late.
That's the only problem with it.
It's that you did it too late.
It's late, yeah.

Speaker 3 (29:25):
Like if I late, yeah, yeah, like if I would have
started when I was 18.

Speaker 2 (29:28):
Yeah, I would have been totally fine by 27, when I
got hurt um message yeah, let'stap into this.

Speaker 1 (29:31):
Yeah, that's a nugget people for yeah, anyone anyone
in that situation younger onyeah, if you're younger, you
need to look into it.

Speaker 3 (29:37):
You need to do your own studying, don't just take
random advice.

Speaker 2 (29:40):
Like entrepreneurs, uh, people self-employed
contractors.

Speaker 3 (29:45):
Anybody self-employed can take this information, yeah
and there will be people outthere like that's ridiculous,
like they're, you're wastingyour money.
Well, in the last seven yearsthat I've had mine, I've seen
mine grow, so you know, well,you gotta put in the right stuff
and I can't give any advice onwhat to tell people, on what to

(30:05):
put their money into.

Speaker 2 (30:07):
There's many ways to gain wealth, you know.

Speaker 3 (30:09):
There is, and there's all the information's out there
you have to read.
You have to read the history ofwhat the stock market does, you
I mean.
And there's other people whothink I'm fucking stupid and
they're like, oh, put your moneyback in your business, Like
that's cool too.
You know, I'm not.
I'm, I'm not against that atall.

(30:29):
But for me and my plan for myfuture, I invest and I invest a
lot.

Speaker 2 (30:37):
I believe in a lot of the things that you've come up
with over the years.
You know, just because we weregoing through tough times as
well.
You know we went through covid.
You know I saw you go to yourback, I saw you build, come
straight from your back and gostraight to Ink Master and then
you had a huge influx inbusiness.

Speaker 3 (30:57):
And you know I would assume right, not really.
It didn't change that much.
It was like a good year, onereally good year, because I I
wasn't, I was kind of invisible,which is fine, um, but I, I got
a good year out of it, and thenit kind of went back to normal,
kind of invisible on the show,I think so you were.

Speaker 1 (31:18):
You were season 15, no, no, season eight.
Season eight no, no Seasoneight Season eight yeah, and how
, how, how, how far?

Speaker 3 (31:26):
how far did you get Um?
I think I went out at 10.
There was 10 people left, Okay.

Speaker 1 (31:30):
I mean, that's pretty decent, it's okay, yeah, yeah.
Did you learn anything?
What did you take anything fromthat show?
Did you um something you wantto do again?

Speaker 3 (31:41):
I don't know I had a great time.
I would do it again if theycall.
I don't think they will, but Ihad a he always says that we
always.

Speaker 2 (31:51):
This is one of our.
I'm going to correct him onemore time.
I guarantee you he will be onthat shit again, just because
he's a good people to have on.

Speaker 1 (31:59):
TV and they bring a lot of people.

Speaker 3 (32:01):
There's a whole lot of lame ass things on that shit.
Well, I don't know, because Ihave a baby coming, so I can't
just up and leave for a couplemonths, I mean, that's even more
sellable.

Speaker 2 (32:12):
Now we're appealing to the ladies yeah, you know,
yeah, I gave Mike the father onthere, could you?
Strap the baby to your chest ohbaby you know, because I was
still in that back brace.
You were hurt, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 (32:33):
And you got to do a lot of standing around and that
was murdering me.
But, like of anybody that knowsme, it's not going to confuse
me with a bitch, so I'm notgoing to complain about it, you
know.

Speaker 4 (32:42):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (32:44):
Yeah, no, no, but I was, it was hurting yeah.

Speaker 4 (32:46):
It was hurting a lot.

Speaker 3 (32:47):
And he had a tattoo for six hours at a time and I
had only been back to work amonth and I was only tattooing
an hour or two at a time.

Speaker 1 (32:56):
How far advanced did they hit you up?

Speaker 3 (32:58):
for that.
They, they.
It's like a year process Backthen.
I don't know how it works now.

Speaker 2 (33:07):
This was eight years ago or something.
Was it beneficial if?
You could go back and do itover again, and you had the like
, would you still choose to go?

Speaker 3 (33:15):
yeah, yeah, I, I would have gone about it, uh,
with a better attitude.
You know, um it, it was just aweird time for me, you know.
Everything was happening.
It's like my life's completelystopped with the injury and then
it just like fast forwarded,like a thousand miles an hour.

(33:35):

Speaker 2 (33:37):
So it was it was very weird, like it was weird timing
, but it was just at a shittytime yeah, yeah but it cool, I
had a lot of fun, I met somecool people.

Speaker 3 (33:48):
I think, if anybody gets the opportunity, I know a
lot of tattooers out there say,oh, I got hit up, I got hit up,
they hit up everybody.
You know it's a long.
It's at least back then.
It was a long process to getthrough it.
And then you have to do allthese Zoom meetings with like
producers and stuff like thatand they ask you a ton of

(34:10):
questions and I would totally doit again.
But it all depends.
Like I said, I don't think I'llget the opportunity again
because lightning strikes once.

Speaker 1 (34:25):
I feel pretty lucky We've had two artists that have
been on Game Master now You'rethe second one, so They'll redo
the shit out of anything.

Speaker 2 (34:33):
In Hollywood, man, it's kind of like hiring
somebody who already knows thegame.
If they've got to bring in newpeople, then they're
re-seasoning.
That's why they do thoserevisions.
Those guys already know they'realready under contracts, like
all right, bring them back.
Yeah, they're a pleasure todeal with.

Speaker 3 (34:49):
Blah, blah, blah I thought it was.
Well, I wasn't very cooperativeeither.

Speaker 1 (34:54):
No, yeah like so maybe that's why yeah, left a
little sour taste.

Speaker 3 (34:59):
So they're like maybe I don't know I don't know what
their perspective is, like um,but from my end, you know they
they'd ask you before you go on.
They're like, hey, would youtalk shit?
And I'm like, yeah, I'llfucking talk shit.

Speaker 4 (35:12):
Yeah, I will.

Speaker 3 (35:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (35:13):
But then when I?

Speaker 3 (35:13):
got there.

Speaker 2 (35:14):
you know I wouldn't, you know, yeah, I'd be like yeah
, they fucked that up From theshop side of things.
It was cool to watch.
It was super cool to watch.
You feel me?
Just to be like, all right,let's see what Kev's doing,
let's see what the fuck is goingon, and like to watch to see

(35:36):
the swing and the fan ship comeover, like that shit was crazy
too.
Like, oh shit.
Like this motherfucker's on TV.
That was crazy too.
Like, oh shit.
Like this motherfucker's on tv.
That was a little weird for me.
People notice him and like Ididn't think you were invisible
because they tried to make amockery out of you a little bit
in there, I thought.
So you know, like, I think theytried to play on you a little
bit just because, like obviouslythat series.

(35:58):
The theme in my and I don'tknow this right, but the theme
of it was boys versus girls.
You feel me?

Speaker 4 (36:06):
And.

Speaker 2 (36:07):
Mike's not one to fucking.
Just if you tell him what thefuck he is, you got a problem,
you feel me.
If you tell him what side toreside on, like, oh, you're on
the boy's side.

Speaker 3 (36:17):
Man he's going to fucking.
I've always gone the oppositeof what anybody's told me to do
and that's probably a probablyhindered me a lot in a lot of
ways over my life, I think thatwas a good stance, though just
because it was like you wereprobably the only one that was
neutral, and I felt like it cameoff like I'm not into that shit

(36:38):
.
Well, for me and I still feelthis way art and tattooing has
nothing to do with if you're adude or a chick it has nothing
if you're a good artist, you'rea good artist in my eyes.

Speaker 2 (36:53):
I don't care if you're a girl or a guy what do
you think about the tattooers,though, that fucking sell
tattoos with sex and fucking?

Speaker 3 (37:03):
that's their hustle and they're gonna do what
they're gonna do what they'regonna do in any way no, it
doesn't, because anybody goingto them is not going to come to
me.
You know what I mean it's nevergoing to happen.
Describe the perfect clientthat comes through your door I
mean, a lot of my clients areawesome, so they'll come in like
especially if there's like hey,dude, I want to.

(37:25):
I want an eagle or a panther,like, do whatever you want.
I'm like perfect yeah easy, justfill this spot, you know.
Perfect.
Or if they're like, I want awhole sleeve of it as long as
they come with a couple ideasI'm good like I could roll with
that where are you going umtattoo wise, artistically?

Speaker 2 (37:43):
right now are you on back piece.

Speaker 4 (37:44):
I know you were doing back pieces for a little bit.

Speaker 2 (37:46):
I did a lot of them, yeah.

Speaker 3 (37:48):
Yeah, I mean, I still will just take whatever comes
in you don't have a directionright now, or are you just
enjoying tattooing?

Speaker 2 (37:56):
You still enjoying it , yeah.

Speaker 3 (37:57):
I just love tattooing If I don't tattoo for like
three days.
I have dreams of like.
I have vivid dreams of like myhand holding the machine and
seeing the needle in the skin.

Speaker 2 (38:10):
Yeah, it's weird.
Your attention to detail and,uh, with your, your technical
skills I, I think, are probablythe strongest that I've seen in
tattooing.
What do you think thatcontributes of?
How do you stay consistent withyour tools, cause you know the
tools fall off a little bit.

(38:30):
Your life pushes youartistically in different ways.
How do you not fucking allowthings to affect your work?

Speaker 3 (38:39):
I just know what's going to look good in 10 years,
20 years, so, and that, likewhen we talked about art earlier
, like I learned, the way Ilearned was through making
tattoos, so that's never changedfor me.
Like I know what a strongoutline is gonna be good forever
, like even if I am doing like afine line thing, you know you

(39:02):
gotta have, you gotta have a lotof black and you gotta have
like good contrast for it tohold up.
Like there's just rules that Idon't break, like and I'm not.
I'm not an artist that's gonna.
Like I'm not changing the game,like I've been doing this for
20 years and I've seen peoplecome in like I'm gonna do it
different, like, and you look attheir shit in 10 years and it
looks horrible yeah, no, he uhhealing is everything.

Speaker 2 (39:26):
Healing is everything .
That's what we tattoo for we donot tattoo for a fucking
beautiful picture at the end ofit.
Sometimes we get one.
Sometimes we fucking don't.
You know my pictures arehorrible.
Most tattooers don't even likea fresh tattoo.
Uh, we like the heel tattoo andhow it's powdered out and got a
little bit of sun on it andit's set into the skin and it
matches all the other stuff mepersonally.

Speaker 3 (39:47):
That's what I like.
I'm like that too, and there.
That's why I don't.
I've never filtered a tattoofor a picture or anything that
shit's getting out of control.
It's getting out of control butif what I show on my online
instagram stuff is what it willlook like when somebody comes in
and they say hey man, I wantthis.

Speaker 2 (40:08):
I want realism, color realism, um, and they don't
want any outlines.

Speaker 3 (40:15):
Nobody asked me for that, so do you do it?
Uh, color realism?
Probably not.
Cause that.
I think that's my weakest partof my game, you know.

Speaker 2 (40:27):
So you will say no to something.

Speaker 3 (40:29):
Yeah, I'll just say hey, man, like I'll show them
like this person want to colorrealism, but then I'll show them
something that I had done andif they like that they'll go
with it, and if they don't,they'll go to somebody else.
How long you been tattooing?

Speaker 2 (40:42):
Almost 20 years?
Yeah, all right.
So I know, in the beginning oftattooing we tend to give more
research, we tend to go a littlebit harder and give our
clientele more.
I don't feel like you waveredon that any.

Speaker 3 (40:56):
No, why?
Because they're trusting me tomark them forever Like forever.
This isn't like you're notbuying a pair them forever Like
forever.
This isn't like a like you'renot buying a pair of jeans off
of me.
You're literally buyingsomething forever.
So I'll, I'll do what I can tomake sure that they're happy.

(41:19):
And there are some people thatoverstep you know, like, and
I'll if it's too much.
I was like, hey, you know,maybe I'm not the guy for you,
and like I hope I'll give theirdeposit back.
And like I hope I hope you findsomebody that can help you out.
I think in the last what yeardid I tattoo Star tattoo.

(41:41):
Yeah, it's almost 20 years, butin the last almost almost 20
years I think, I've had like 3clients I've had an issue with,
and that's it.

Speaker 2 (41:51):
This question is more for me and just for the love of
tattooing or whatever, or intel.
Do you turn away old people?
No, at a certain age.
I had this lady the other dayand she's like, oh, I'm on blood
thinners and it blew out andall that type of stuff you just
have to let them know.

Speaker 3 (42:12):
Yeah, I let them know beforehand.
I'm like and I don't try tooffend them or anything, but I'm
like, hey, your skin's prettyold, like it's like paper, it's
not like there's no elasticityin it, like I used to tattoo a
guy named Chris I haven't seenhim in a long time so I don't
know if he's alive anymore, butI tattooed him every year on his
birthday and we started in at76 years old.

Speaker 4 (42:37):
That's a cool.

Speaker 3 (42:38):
Yeah and um, I love the guy.
You know all we talked aboutwas golf and and investing.
Yeah, and I tattooed him.

Speaker 1 (42:46):
Yeah, he he's like.

Speaker 3 (42:46):
I know, I know my skin's all these.
I always wanted tattoos and Ijust my wife didn't like them,
but she's not going to leave menow.
You know, and we'd hit him withit and you know his skin would

(43:08):
just fillet filet.
So he knew, he knew, you knowthose guys and gals that old
like they, could hit a corner ofa desk and they're fucking
bleeding for three weeks.

Speaker 2 (43:12):
You know so you've gone through 20 years of
tattooing.
Yeah, uh, tattooing isdifferent now, more than it's
ever been, um, just because it'sgrowing and there's so many
varieties and genres, and, uh,what do you think about modern
day tattooing as far as, uh, theattitude towards it?

Speaker 3 (43:31):
um, I think the attitudes are a little crazy.
Um, on the tattooer side notfor not everybody, because I've
met a bunch of really coolpeople, um, but I mean, for me
it's always kind of been likethat.
Like every couple of yearssomebody will come in with a big

(43:52):
attitude and they get a hugename and you know, and then they
sort of fall off, you know,because they treat people like
dog shit.
It's like a popularity contestalmost.

Speaker 2 (44:03):
You find people and they make they fall under the
excuses that other people havecreated you know it's so hard?
It's not so hard.

Speaker 3 (44:11):
I can't handle it.

Speaker 2 (44:12):
And then so I went and I justdid it on my own.
What do you think about those?
Those types of tattooers thatdidn't apprentice and or tried
to apprentice, failed in theirapprenticeships and was like man
, I still have this love fortattooing and I'm going to do it
on my own.
What do you think about that?

Speaker 3 (44:31):
I think they're going to run into some problems down
the line that they're not evenready for.
You know, if you tattoo for ayear, you think your shit don't
stink Like you're going to runinto something.
Somebody's going to come backwith something real fucked up
and you're not going to knowwhat to do, instead of having

(44:51):
people around you that can helpyou out, that have been around
for a while.
Like you know those people, Idon't even worry about them.
I don't even think about them.
Yeah, I don't even care aboutthem.

Speaker 2 (45:04):
That's one thing he taught me Stop worrying about
everybody else.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Stop fucking worried about it,or you're focused on shit that
you should be like lower levelshit.
So when my eye was down here, Ishould have been focusing on
individuals up here and set mybar a little bit higher
artistically.
So that's more refined withinthe tattoo palette, because

(45:28):
there's a style that we'researching for with in our
progression as tattooers.
Right, that we're trying to geta tattooer style tattoo, you
know, tattoos that look liketattoos.
That is.
The ultimate goal is be able tojust shit that out of your hand
.

Speaker 3 (45:42):
Every different style fucking dragon, fucking boy,
fucking, you know, right, yeahyeah, I, I think, uh, the one of
the best things I ever did wasjust worry about me and my
clients, that's it.
I don't, I don't care ifsomebody's doing better than me.
There's a lot of people doingbetter than me, but it doesn't
affect me, it doesn't bother meat all.

(46:04):
Like good for them.
You know when, when my clientsleave, 99.9% of them are super
happy and they'll usually comeback for another one and, um,
you know, and I fully appreciatethem to the fullest.
Like, um, I'm super gratefulfor anybody that allows me to

(46:25):
mark them forever.
Yeah.
Is that the one thing thatsticks out for me is that I'm
marking them forever.
It's not, I don't care what itis, I don't care.
I don't have to express myselfartistically Like I'm going to
give them what they want becauseit's for them, it's not for me.
This isn't.
I make a living as acommissioned tattoo maker, so I

(46:47):
love doing it.
A commissioned tattoo maker, soI love doing it.
It's super fun.
And I've had other jobs a longtime ago and I fucking hated all
of them.
So this, I've never hated this.

Speaker 2 (46:58):
Over the years I've always asked you have you ever
had an apprentice?
Are you going to bring anapprentice?
On?
You're like fuck that yeah,fuck that, absolutely not.
No, no.
On.
You're like fuck that yeah,fuck that, absolutely not.
No, yeah, no, no, no.
Do you have an apprentice?
Yeah, yeah, hey, listen to that.
Everybody I got clay fucking.

Speaker 3 (47:14):
Hey, and that was your first prince, very first
one yeah, probably the last, andnot not anything against him,
it's just it's a lot of work onboth ends and um also done
traditionally how it's done.

Speaker 4 (47:26):
You don't bring a it's done.

Speaker 2 (47:28):
You're not supposed to just have them running in
Like you're giving them out, youknow Um but he I, he just has
an insane.

Speaker 3 (47:37):
he's got a crazy work ethic like super good.
He never thinks he's doing goodenough, which I think is a good
thing for tattooing Maybe notfor all these mental health
people out there, but for me.
I don't think I've ever donegood enough, but it's always
helped me create good stuff and,uh, that guy will hyper focus

(48:00):
on something until well heshouldn't on some things, but
it's making him better and it'smaking him better fast.

Speaker 2 (48:08):
Picking an apprentice or allowing someone to
apprentice is also saying, ah,this person won't piss me off
that fucking much.

Speaker 3 (48:16):
Yeah, I mean, he's my friend, yeah.
I mean he's been my friend along time and I know how he is.
I love being around him.
That's why it's so hard yeah.

Speaker 2 (48:26):
It's like because one , it's hard to teach, right?
None of us are fucking teachers.
We didn't go to universities,so I'm a terrible teacher, right
.
And he says that, he says thatand sometimes you are you know,
sometimes he fucking is him andJim, oh well he's talking about
the worst.
How so though.

Speaker 4 (48:45):
He's like joking around, just joking wise.

Speaker 1 (48:47):
Yeah you gotta catch him at the right time, almost
individually, he's so calm.
Right now it's hard to think hedeviates from that that far
it's like this If it's before atattoo.

Speaker 2 (48:58):
It's not gonna happen .
You're gonna get a short assanswer.
You either gotta catch him insome fucking free time, but okay
.
So if you go and you ask Mikeand Jim a question about a
tattoo, jim's going to tell youyou know, just do what feels
good.
And then Mike's going to laughlike that and be like yeah,
fucking, you know, just put somelines on.
You know, brandon, fucking, youknow, do the things.

Speaker 1 (49:19):
And that's what they'll tell you.

Speaker 2 (49:28):
I think you're this shit down right now.

Speaker 1 (49:29):
I'll say when just messing with you, right?

Speaker 2 (49:34):
yeah, just messing with me he knows how it is this
shit?
it fucking sucks, it sucksyou're trying to do something
that you don't possess yet, andit requires a shit ton of
failure.
It requires a shit ton offailure and then he's somebody
that can do it.
That's what's cool about art isyou're it's somebody who's
doing things that you strive todo like, and that's where you

(49:54):
get art appreciation, wherepeople go, oh, over another
artist.
Right, it's like, oh, thatmotherfucker does some crazy
shit.
Because we all try and stylizeand we have options of how we
stylize our own pieces, but howthey do it naturally in their
original style is what respectcomes from for tattooers, right?
I think so yeah, yeah.
Would you say that's part?

Speaker 1 (50:15):
of the learning experience.
So when he'd come to you andyou joked with him and you got
him a little frustrated, wasthat part of like the master
plan?
Well, no, or you're justfucking with him.

Speaker 3 (50:26):
Let's just fuck with him.

Speaker 2 (50:31):
You.
Brandon's really fun to fuckwith too, cause I'm like, like
he said, he doesn't getemotional with his art, he does
like I'm the opposite.
So if I'm into some shit like,I'll come up there and I'm gonna
rant about this fucking Sayit's the eagle or whatever, or I
know that all he's gotta do Isjust I can put my traces paper
Right here and he can just jotme a quick eagle down.

(50:52):
Oh, yeah, yeah and we don't evengot to fucking talk about it.
We don't even got to talk aboutit, but that's the last thing
that's going to happen.
Yeah, you know he's going towant me to draw three or four
more times.
That's what you pretty muchalways say.

Speaker 3 (51:04):
Yeah, yeah, what you pretty much always say yeah,
fucking, draw it over again,draw it 10 times, draw it over
20 times, if you have to, andthen draw it again you know, and
then jim be like, just do whatfeels good and the mixture of
two like when you're at work,like frustrated you know what I
mean.

Speaker 2 (51:20):
And then elizabeth street at the time I came here I
wasn't necessarily supposed tobe here, bro.
It was like very establishedshop just off of my
apprenticeship and I had a lotto learn, so like I was trying
to get up to speed.
But then when you deal withpeople that are still fucking.
90 percent of the time arefucking with the names to be way

(51:41):
worse, like you, brian, youguys used to be way worse.

Speaker 1 (51:46):
Everybody's kind of calmed down.

Speaker 3 (51:48):
It's calmed down a little bit, but even a long time
ago it was worse than that.
Yeah, you know so.

Speaker 4 (51:54):
To us that's light yeah.

Speaker 2 (51:58):
It's just them having fun.
Yeah, and that's what wouldfrustrate, because I would go
back downstairs and I'd be likeI got nothing from that right
there, Like I guess I got todraw it again.
But also.

Speaker 3 (52:09):
That's what you would do.
You draw it another 10 timesand then you come back with a
better example of it, and maybethat's part of what we're saying
Like, well, we'll just.

Speaker 2 (52:19):
Xander's in that stage now, wouldn't?

Speaker 3 (52:20):
you say yeah, yeah, he's picking it up and I'll see
him.
The repetition yeah, do itagain, do it again, do it again,
like that's all you really needto do.
Like, do it again, but dosomething different.
Do it again, but do somethingdifferent.
Like, like I said, I'm I'm nota great teacher.
Uh, brian's probably one of thebetter teachers because he, he
breaks things down into you raveabout that everything you must

(52:44):
have learned a lot from Brian.
I learned a ton from him when Ishowed up, yeah, and at first it
was a little rough, but I wasused to that from being around
brent and eric and all them andum.
But I had left and gone toanother shop in georgia and I
got a year of just tattooingnothing but walk-ins like shit,

(53:07):
loads of walk-ins.
I probably did like 10 tattoosa day and I thought I was hot
shit.
you know, after getting shit onthe but the apprenticeship I
left I got into full on busy assshop and then I like in that at
that time I was like one of thebetter tattooers in that area

(53:27):
no offense to anybody that wasthere, but I cause I had a real
apprenticeship from in.
I don't you've known who Brentis for a while.
Like back then everybody knewwho he was, so it carried weight
, you know like everybody knewwho he was and he's still one of
the one of the best technicaltattooers.

Speaker 2 (53:48):
He lays in a good fucking tattoo.
He tattoos my homie JanellePaul Stone.
Everything I see is alwaysfucking bright.
It's always fucking sharp andclean, solid too.
And he keeps tradition too.
He's not trying to be this lookat me, look at me, motherfucker
.

Speaker 4 (54:04):
You know a lot of tattooers like within their
legend.

Speaker 2 (54:07):
They try and create more of a legend, you know,
rather than just fucking beingan artist and a tattooer Like
yeah, chill the fuck out, I gotone of his machines.
You rebuilt it for me, stillrunning good, nice yeah.

Speaker 3 (54:20):
Yeah, so he I got my basics there and went to Georgia
tattooed.
And then I came out here and Ihad walked into Incaholics and
Brian was like all right, comein and do a tattoo on Tuesday,
Because back then you had atattoo at the shop in front of
everybody.

Speaker 4 (54:37):
To get a job Like the one I did in Georgia was like
that, and the one.

Speaker 3 (54:41):
I did out here was like that, and now it kind of
just goes out portfolios.

Speaker 2 (54:47):
I got to do that at Breakthrough.

Speaker 3 (54:48):
Do you?
Yeah, you.
Now it kind of just goes offportfolios, but I got to do that
breakthrough yeah, you'll befine.

Speaker 2 (54:51):
Yeah, no, I'm just kind of worried.
Like my question about it waslike do I push the limitations?

Speaker 3 (54:56):
and show them just do a solid tattoo.

Speaker 2 (55:00):
I posted that chief.
That's today.
That's probably one of the onesthat I'll do for the tattoo.
He see, he just wants to seehow I am with clientele and see
my work.

Speaker 3 (55:10):
Back then.
I'm sure you're going to feelit.
It's a little nerve-wracking,oh, 100%.

Speaker 2 (55:16):
You always want to present yourself at your best.
Tattooing is hard, regardless.

Speaker 4 (55:22):
Tattooing is hard, bad days sneak up on you.
It's not like you see them.

Speaker 2 (55:29):
I doubt that I'm going to do anything that's
going to keep me from gettingwithin that shop, or you know,
working there.
But yeah, I think that that'scool that they actually asked me
to do that.
You know, I was telling my lady.
She's like, oh, and.
I was like nah, like that's howthis quality control, like I'm,

(55:50):
all they want to see if you'reclean, for one thing they want
to see if I suck.

Speaker 3 (55:52):
They want to see if you suck.
They want to see like if you'reyou know you're touching your
inks with dirty gloves, you know, like if you're wearing a uh,
lap apron.
You know what I mean like justthose little things because
habits are hard to break.
So if you're tattooing somethingand then reach for your phone.
That's a fucking huge red flaglike terrible, or yeah, you

(56:14):
gotta like it's just a lot youhave to see and, like I said, we
don't do that much anymore.
I haven't heard of it.
That's the first shop I'veheard of that in a while.
But I think it's a good thingand I think you'll be fine.

Speaker 2 (56:26):
But I think it's one of those things that's changed
because tattooers have changed.
You know like.
There's so many differentfuck-ups that you can hire now.
You know like, or liars.
You know fake portfolios, uh,wand wand wizards.
You know who?
Oh yeah, just, they thinkthey're the shit because this
one provides them, uh, a easierlearning curve.

(56:49):
You know what I mean?
It's easier.

Speaker 3 (56:51):
I don't think they make anybody better, but it's an
easier learning curve for sure.

Speaker 2 (56:56):
I disagree, though, because when they first came out
, there was this huge jumpwithin the shit you don't think
it makes them better.

Speaker 3 (57:04):
Huh, I don't, because you know, I think the filters
online make people seem betterthan don't.
Because, uh, you know, I thinkthe uh filters online make
people seem better than they are, have you?

Speaker 1 (57:12):
changed at all your equipment.

Speaker 3 (57:14):
I mean, I have one of those and I use it quite a bit,
but like I'll still onlyoutline with coils, I think it's
just easier and faster for me.
Um, and yeah, like I can get aback piece outline in two and a
half three hours with a coil,where if I was to use the rotary

(57:34):
it would take me all fuckingday.
You know and I there are peoplewho can use them fast like that
.
It's just I haven't been able todo it and I don't really want
to, and I really like the soundof my coils and I have my
perfect machines.
They're set perfect, like Iknow how they're going to work,
I know how they're going to heal, like why change?

(57:55):
A good thing for me yeah, andyou've tried everything.
That's pretty much been outthere, huh yeah, yeah, the tools
change as the years go by andit's just tools and I'm okay
with trying them out.

Speaker 2 (58:11):
How do you feel about hand poke?

Speaker 3 (58:14):
tattoos.
That's just another one I don'tcare about, Like that's those
people aren't coming to me ever.

Speaker 2 (58:20):
He's staying in his lane.
Yeah, staying in his lane.

Speaker 3 (58:23):
Like somebody who wants a hand poke tattoo is not
going to hit me up, like, hey,can you hand poke this bullshit
on me?
It's not going to happen, sowhy do I care?

Speaker 2 (58:33):
What about a bodysuit ?
Have you completed a bodysuityet?

Speaker 3 (58:36):
I don't think full complete.
There's been people like Ithink I have two or three people
like I have a lot on, but it'snot full.
Not full, they're still closeright what about Anthony
Anthony's pretty close.

Speaker 2 (58:56):
He has some big pieces.

Speaker 3 (58:57):
Well, he's got a whole thigh left.
Yeah, he has a whole thigh left, I believe, and he has some
spots on his torso, but he gothis front done by somebody else
but his back though that waskind of that kind of put you,
that was a popular tattoo whenyou had it finished.

Speaker 2 (59:16):
Yeah, through the tattoo community, yeah, and that
one came out.

Speaker 3 (59:19):
I don't, I don't know when I finished.

Speaker 4 (59:21):
It must be like 12 years ago, 13 years ago, maybe
15 maybe 15.

Speaker 3 (59:27):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (59:29):
Technical wise tattooing.
How do you feel about blackout?

Speaker 3 (59:35):
tattoos, and then the white on the black.
I've seen it look good on somepeople and I've seen it look
terrible on others.

Speaker 2 (59:39):
Is that something they can get to you from you?

Speaker 3 (59:43):
I mean you can't just tell them what the outcome
could be?
Yeah, but nobody asked me forthat.

Speaker 2 (59:50):
I think, that shit is stupid.
Yeah, it can be I think thatshit is stupid as fuck yeah.
The blackout tattoos, like it'sjust a whole bunch of people
that obviously even never beenfucking ashy or something.
Yeah, yeah, but that shit isgoing to fade and you're
permanently going to be ashy,like there's no lotion that is
going to fix it.
I don't give a fuck if you gotthat shit or not Like it's
stupid as fuck.

Speaker 3 (01:00:11):
Coming from a dude of melanin.
Yeah, Like darker, darkerpeople.
The fuck are you thinking?
You know like it's not good fordarker skin.

Speaker 2 (01:00:23):
It's not good, or for pale people either, if you're
in the sun Like you're justgoing to burn the fuck up.

Speaker 4 (01:00:27):
I'm interested If you guys got stories about that
blackout shit.

Speaker 2 (01:00:30):
please send them this way.
I think that is upon the newertrends of tattooings.
I thought of doing sepia tonesin my skin for background.
I thought that might be cool.
We don't know, You've neverdone it.
Have you ever seen it done?

Speaker 3 (01:00:49):
I just don't think it's going to look good.
Have you done it yet?

Speaker 2 (01:00:53):
No, I was going to have.
Well, let me know who I wasgoing to have.
We don't know how that goes.
You know who?
Michael.

Speaker 3 (01:01:00):
Oh well, michael's a little different.
Yeah, I'm sure he'll figure outa way to make it work Right,
but I don't know if it'll bejust straight sepia you think it
would look like shit.
No, I mean, anything Mike doesis not going to look like shit.
I don't think he would dosomething that he thought would

(01:01:22):
look like shit.

Speaker 2 (01:01:24):
What about experimenting?
Where are you experimenting intattoo?
If you say I want to trysomething fucking new, where do
you?

Speaker 3 (01:01:30):
I don't experiment.
No, I don't need to.
I think that's for people whothink they're artists and want
to expand.

Speaker 2 (01:01:41):
Whatever I make tattoos yeah, that's it so there
is a difference between atattooer and a tattoo artist.

Speaker 3 (01:01:48):
I think so.
Well, no, I think Right, Idon't know.

Speaker 2 (01:01:54):
You know how that goes right.
I don't know because I used tohave the same.
You were just in an art showyesterday.
They just had the ElizabethStreet art show with Speed Kings
and it was dope.

Speaker 4 (01:02:05):
I saw your fucking pieces.

Speaker 3 (01:02:07):
That shit was fucking art, thank you, Well, I only
paint like once a year.
It's not a passion of mine atall.
I don't care about painting, Ican do it.
Do you like it?
I like it once a year, I don'twant to do it every day.
I don't think that's a way forme to make any type of money.
I don't think that's a way forme to make any type of money.

(01:02:30):
I can enjoy it, but I can enjoyit if I don't have anything
else going on.
But we already went down thelist of hobbies I got and it
takes away from that, and I'drather do something else, do you
?

Speaker 1 (01:02:42):
study any other types of art on the outside of
tattooing, just tattoos.

Speaker 3 (01:02:47):
Just tattoos, just tattoos, and you paint a couple
times a year once a year.

Speaker 4 (01:02:50):
That's bullshit.
Man, I paint tattoos.

Speaker 1 (01:02:52):
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:02:53):
Well, I have books, I have a whole library of
reference material that I canpick and choose from which
aren't tattoo related, but I canmake them into tattoos.
Yes, there you go.

Speaker 2 (01:03:04):
Yeah, this motherfucker, he got a crazy
library.
He buys books and machines.
Religiously correct.
Yeah, I have a lot of them.

Speaker 1 (01:03:13):
I have a shitload of books Since we did get you right
after that event.

Speaker 3 (01:03:18):
What did you think about it?
How did it affect you?

Speaker 1 (01:03:20):
Was it a lot of good?
You think PR that came in.

Speaker 3 (01:03:24):
I think there was a ton of people.
Yeah, I mean, it was yesterday,so I saw a bunch of my clients
show up, I saw a bunch ofeverybody else's clients and I
saw some people I hadn't seen ina while and I thought it was
cool.
I think we're probably going todo more of them, obviously,
brian.

Speaker 2 (01:03:41):
Do you like being in the spotlight.

Speaker 1 (01:03:42):
Mike or not no, because that might mean you have
to paint more than twice a yearunless you're well.
I sold one of them, so I'd haveto do at least one, master blue
, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, thatwas a nice one, thank you yeah,

(01:04:04):
one of my clients, uh well, I'llpost the picture, because now
it's.
Now it's gone it's gone.

Speaker 3 (01:04:09):
It'll be up for another day and it'll be gone.
He's coming to pick it upWednesday.

Speaker 2 (01:04:13):
I like that.
Actually, people are buying.
A lot of times people arebuying.

Speaker 3 (01:04:16):
I was super, I didn't even put it up for sale.
And he asked if he could buy itand I said hell yeah, dude,
that's awesome fucking.
A, you know him yeah, I'vetattooed him for a couple years.
We've done maybe six tattoos onhim.

Speaker 2 (01:04:32):
Cool dude this is a good question.
Okay, we're gonna.
How do you feel about clienttattoo artist relationships?
That's a very taboo area,wouldn't you say uh, do you
allow your friends to be, do youallow your clients to become
your friends?

Speaker 3 (01:04:51):
I think a lot of them do, but I'm friendly with
everyone.
And then the only timesometimes.
I'll feel bad and be like hey,you want to do this, but I don't
even hang out with my realfriends, so I'm not going to go
hang out with anybody else,unless you're involved in one of
my hobbies.

(01:05:11):
I'm not doing anything.
And that's real shit, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:05:15):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:05:16):
And it has nothing to do with anybody, it's just
that's a lot of serial hobbiesyeah, I don't have the time Like
, okay, I'm going to go on amountain bike ride today, like
if somebody hit me up was like,hey, you want to go mountain
bike riding, I've done that.

Speaker 4 (01:05:30):
That's why you don't see me catching children with
this dude much.

Speaker 1 (01:05:34):
So you don't have any clients like that right now
that are jumping on your hobbies.
Yeah, I do, I do Okay, becausethat's where we got our.
I feel like it went a littlebit deeper in a friendship just
messing around doing this.

Speaker 3 (01:05:49):
Yeah, yeah, in a friendship, just messing around
doing this, yeah, yeah, yeah.
No, I've definitely had clients, but like I have a dual sport,
like I ride with brian quite abit, but I had other clients
like hey, we're gonna ride dualsports today.
They got one, you know, and I'mlike heck yeah let's go yeah or
like I tattoo a bunch of guysfrom the jujitsu gym, like I
hang out with them there, butlike I'm not I'm not somebody
who will go out too much, like Idon't have beers.

(01:06:10):
I don't drink often, or if atall, right I I don't want to um
waste my time, like it's notwasting time because some people
love doing it, but like hang,just hanging out, just sitting
and hanging out and likedrinking.

Speaker 1 (01:06:30):
It is a waste of time for you Boring to me.

Speaker 3 (01:06:33):
I need to do something, like I have to keep
moving.

Speaker 2 (01:06:37):
You've, you've worked with Jim for how many years?
Well, when?

Speaker 3 (01:06:42):
I.
When I started, he was at therogue elephant and I was at Inca
holics.

Speaker 2 (01:06:46):
You guys are like a duo at this point.
Oh yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:06:51):
I love working with him.
I'd be super bummed if weweren't working together.
I just don't see that happeninganymore.

Speaker 2 (01:06:57):
Like you know, I know he would fight to continue to
work with you and you wouldfight to continue to work with
him.
Yeah, that's something that'slike developed over the years.

Speaker 3 (01:07:05):
huh yeah, Because Something that's like developed
over the years.
Huh, yeah Cause.
So yeah, when I got hired atIncaholics he was at the Rogue
Elephant and I guess back tothat whole getting there, yeah
Was remember.
I said I had to do a tattoo.

Speaker 4 (01:07:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:07:20):
We didn't finish that story actually.
Okay, go ahead, brian, thankyou for that.
Looked at my tattoo.
He goes you're hired, but youfucking suck.
Oh, he's like you got to changeeverything.
You got to throw those machinesaway.
There were stages.
They got a worse stage than Igot and I was like no way, yeah,

(01:07:41):
but all I heard was you'rehired.
Like I didn't really care aboutthat other part, he brushed it
off.
I was was like I got a fuckingjob, yeah, yeah not beating
around the bush, huh but yeah,and then I would draw things
there and he'd just be likechange that, what are?

Speaker 4 (01:07:58):
you doing.

Speaker 3 (01:07:59):
It's the same thing you know that we would do to you
, but it would come from brian,you know, yep, so I think that's
how we kind of learned that.
But yeah, jim was at the RogueElephant, so at that time that
was like the A team you knowwhat I mean and I was over with,
like at Inkaholics, the B teamthat's how it goes if you own

(01:08:21):
two shops that's just how itgoes, the same with Empire.

Speaker 2 (01:08:26):
Sean's A shop was Riverside, his B shop's probably
Redlands, and then the C Rancho, you know.
Just because of location, yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:08:38):
But it was me and Bobby and this guy, javon, and
Danny was there and it was somuch fucking fun, but we didn't
do anything like nothing.
we'd be gambling quarters allday, waiting for the one walk-in
every six weeks or somethingyou know because that was 2008,

(01:09:01):
during the economic meltdown,and, uh, it was just so much fun
though, like I had, me andbobby had so much fun, it was
just fucking off all day butwhen we were bored, I would go
get uh, tattoo magazines fromthe leaker store and I would
draw every tattoo out of there.
Just sit there and draw anddraw, and draw and draw and then

(01:09:24):
, like we gamble, and then drawand gamble.
But you make good use of yourtime in between yeah yeah, I
made a ton of use out of it um,that's the harder part about
tattooing.

Speaker 2 (01:09:33):
There's there's a lot of decisions to be made in that
long idle day.
Yeah, yeah, uh, and very rarelydo a lot of tattooers choose to
work.
That's where you see the, thedefining within tattooing.
That's what you're looking at.
Some people see, oh, they'refucking amazing.
Like now, that's a motherfuckerwho just locked himself away
for a long time.

(01:09:54):
Yeah, did a whole bunch of shitand now it's dope.
You know like it's there is nogimmick about tattooing.
Yeah, you know, it tells on you.
Tattooing tells on you exactlyas soon as you just like
skateboarding yeah, you getsomebody's skateboard, you say
hey, stand on this shit.

Speaker 3 (01:10:09):
Yeah, good luck you know what I mean, you're gonna
immediately tell like okay, ifhe's been lying or whatever,
yeah and but yeah, so jim was atthe road and then we would hang
out every once in a while butwe weren't tight.
And then he ended up tattooingmy chest like a year in or
whatever, and then we stillweren't that tight.

(01:10:32):
Like he was cool.
I was cool.
We were cool with each other,obviously that guy anybody can
get along with that guy or hecan get along with anybody.
But um, when we came over here,brian took, he kept, he shut
down alcoholics, he RogueElephant and he took me and Jim
and Dave Richardson RichardsonBecause Dave got hired at
Ancoholics with us a little bitafter.

Speaker 2 (01:10:54):
I did Brian man, he's got a.
How the fuck did he do that?

Speaker 3 (01:11:00):
I don't know, it was just.

Speaker 1 (01:11:02):
Pulled a three-way switch.

Speaker 2 (01:11:04):
It was so hard to get three dope-ass artists like
vibe and that fucking deal witheach other well and to co-exist.
It's very fucking hard and like.
They're all veryindividualistic as well.
Their styles are like andthey're very like.
You'll never see thismotherfucker copy anybody else's

(01:11:26):
shit as far as style and shitlike that.
Richardson absolutely not.
Jim, absolutely not.
They're original within theirsubject matter.
I'm telling you, brian man, hegot a like, a fucking taste in
certain things.

Speaker 3 (01:11:37):
You can see it, yeah, um well, when we came here, me
and jim got super tight yeah,jim and dave, obviously, because
it was me, dave, jim and Brianand that was it, and we had Sadi
as the apprentice and that wassuper fun and we came out like
killing it and I think that was2015.

(01:11:58):
Here you still talk to Sadi.
I haven't talked to her in along time.

Speaker 2 (01:12:02):
What's up, sadi?
You feel me.
I hope she's okay.
I miss her, you know she's dopetoo.

Speaker 3 (01:12:08):
She was awesome.

Speaker 2 (01:12:10):
I hit her up, man, but she's hard to lock down.

Speaker 3 (01:12:16):
I don't know what happened.
I think she was just kind ofWanting to do her own thing.

Speaker 2 (01:12:22):
Which is cool.
She's just different as far asthis type of shit.
I think she would totally killan interview like this and stuff
like that, and I think that'swhere she shits on herself a
little bit.

Speaker 3 (01:12:35):
Well, she had, you know she when she was she
basically learned English reallygood, like over the course of
the time she was here and likeyou get her chatting, she's
really funny, funny chick dudethat's crazy too.

Speaker 2 (01:12:53):
It sucks that, it's hard because she says she's so
cool man like you know.
Yeah, but you definitely see,everybody's got their own things
going on, yeah you know what Imean.

Speaker 3 (01:13:03):
And yeah, as long as she's happy I'm happy for her.

Speaker 2 (01:13:06):
And same same same.
You know, that's one thing.
That's weird about tattooers uh, a lot of people hate.
I remember going in sacramentoand we were walking around, we
were doing the rounds and stufflike that, and you were, you
know, mike was doing his thing,talking and getting cards.

Speaker 3 (01:13:23):
They were hating on me there yeah remember, cause I
had just been off the show.

Speaker 2 (01:13:27):
Oh, that was immediate, yeah and um, there
was this one dude.
He came up and I looked at hiswork and I'm like Mike, like his
work is shit, and Mike waslacking.
He's like yeah, man like youknow, sometimes other artists
need support too.
You know what I mean and thatshit, like it really hit home
for me.
I was like damn, because goingcoming up as an artist you know,

(01:13:49):
being a black tattoo artist andlike Empire is like super white
boy shop, you know what I meanor had the tone at the time of
that.
Maybe that's why they broughtme on, but having that overtone,
it's just been, it's just beendifferent, you know?
Yeah, yeah, I lost my train ofthought.

Speaker 1 (01:14:09):
That's all right.

Speaker 2 (01:14:10):
Could you tell?

Speaker 1 (01:14:11):
Would you say you had a revelation come out of that
injury, like you wanted to livelife a little different, or that
shows in your hobbies, like youjust wanted to take advantage
of life?

Speaker 3 (01:14:23):
No, I had the same attitude before.
I just appreciate it more now.
Okay, you just had a sameattitude before.

Speaker 2 (01:14:28):
I just appreciate it more now.
Okay, yeah, you said a taste ofit.

Speaker 3 (01:14:30):
I had a taste of not being able to do it and I was
miserable, and now I just don'tlet shit get to me and I just do
what I want to do always yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:14:44):
Is there any type of I don't know like bucket list
thing that you want to get out?
Like jiu-jitsu, do you want tohit a certain level?
Or in your art Do you want tohit a certain level, or are you
just kind of enjoying the ride?

Speaker 3 (01:14:56):
No, I'm just trying to live to every day, to do
whatever I want to do.
I don't.
I don't have a major goals.
I don't have you know otherthan financial goals, but keep
it all in solid.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't.
I don't really care about anyof that.
I just like doing what I liketo do, and I think if more

(01:15:20):
people live like that, they'd bea lot happier.
Cause you keep people setthings that are unattainable,
and you know, I I think I'm very, uh, anti, whatever anybody's
telling you to do.
Like you said earlier, if youlook online every day, they're
like you need to have fucking 90side hustles, you need to work

(01:15:41):
till you fucking die.
If you're not a millionaire,you're a fucking loser.
Like I don't buy into any ofthat dude, like I'd like to.
I save for the bad times and Ienjoy the good times and I think
I'm having a daughter andthat's all I'm gonna teach her.
Like enjoy every day.
Don't let weird shit get to you, don't let all the voices from

(01:16:06):
anywhere else get to you.
Just do your own thing.
And I think people actually getto him way too much because
nothing can get to me anymore,because I was crippled, yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:16:19):
Nothing yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:16:21):
You know it doesn't bother.
Nothing bothers me.
I can walk.
I can walk away from thisconversation and not even think
twice about it.
No offense, you know like butif it turned.
If the conversation turned, I'mlike, all right, get the fuck
out.

Speaker 1 (01:16:34):
I'm glad it didn't turn south, I hit mike up
yesterday and I was like hey man, like how you feeling about the
interview?

Speaker 2 (01:16:42):
I was like I'm kind of worried like I told.

Speaker 4 (01:16:44):
I was like I was kind of worried.

Speaker 2 (01:16:45):
I told zach, that too he's like oh, you already
fucked him up and got him allnervous.
I was like nah man like I justlike I know, if I come with the
wrong questions, like we couldnot, we could not go anywhere.

Speaker 1 (01:16:58):
Just because I know he's not here for the bullshit
you know there's a game planningme on the back side of it crazy
thing about mike is he's wild,but he has this crazy
gentlemanly fucking standardabout him.

Speaker 2 (01:17:09):
You know what I mean, like well, thank you.

Speaker 3 (01:17:11):
Yeah, like I'll treat anybody with respect.

Speaker 2 (01:17:14):
Yeah, they don't respect me Exactly, and then
you're disappeared to me?

Speaker 3 (01:17:19):
Yeah, it never existed, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:17:21):
Covered in tattoos.
You know you look at us likeyou can ask one of them surfing
motherfuckers that'll fuck youup.
You feel me.
He look like one of them boyswith the shirt off, but like
you're not going to leave notrash on the beach.
You know he's going to checkyou.

Speaker 3 (01:17:36):
He might piss you off .
I clean up the trash when I go.

Speaker 2 (01:17:40):
Exactly so.
You know, we're talking to allthese individuals, even Brian
you, these harsh individuals,these snipers, these tattooers,
and you know, and all thesepeople have evolved mike's got.
He's got a past too.
He wasn't always fucking mrnice guy and all that shit.
And it's just, it's cool to seethe development of you finding

(01:18:01):
peace, not worried about othershit that is man-created know,
all these problems that are mancreated and it doesn't
necessarily register to a human.
And then having a baby, that'sa big one, like, and, uh, even
bringing it up.
I wasn't even going to bring itup, but since you brought that
shit up, how do you feel?
I feel good.

Speaker 3 (01:18:21):
Yeah, I'm excited, yeah, I think, um, I'm just
excited we're having a girl andI'm just excited to teach her
all the cool shit and just tolet her know the same thing I
said.
You don't have to listen toanybody.

Speaker 4 (01:18:39):
My mom, told me that too.

Speaker 3 (01:18:40):
When I was young, she goes.
Anybody tells you what to do.
You don't have to listen toshit.
You have to listen to me.
But I'm not even going to tellyou that much.
I never had rules, rules.
The only rule was don't getarrested and don't get anybody
pregnant.
Growing up, you know, those areeasy rules to follow, um, but
everything else, you just let mebe me.

(01:19:02):
You know, and so I meet peoplethese days.
Know, I'm almost 40 and I'mseeing 40 something year olds go
through these midlife crisesand I talk to people all day and
I see them.
I'm like man, why are youtripping so hard?
But they were.
I don't think they were everallowed to like be themselves.

(01:19:22):
You know that's a huge part ofit.

Speaker 4 (01:19:25):
Yeah, you know that's a hugepart of you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (01:19:27):
Yeah, so I'm going to make sure, like my daughter is,
going to be allowed to beherself in any way independent.

Speaker 4 (01:19:34):
whatever she wants to do, we're going to go full
crazy into it.

Speaker 3 (01:19:37):
Like dude, she wants to do gymnastics.
I'm setting up balance beams,I'm getting mats, I'm I'm
pulling out all the stops.
You know, like that's the typeof stuff that I'm excited to do,
cause I I kind like justfreedom of expression and
support Sounds like yeah.
And like that's.

(01:19:58):
I think that's why I liketattooing so much Cause I have
freedom of expression, Like I'mnot in a cubicle, I don't have
some fucking boss being like yougot to do this by this time,
Like everything is on me alwaysand I run a tight ship for my
own business.
But I have the freedom ofthought and freedom of
expression and I think that'ssuper important, so I don't

(01:20:20):
think I'll hit that midlifecrisis ever.

Speaker 2 (01:20:23):
You know what I mean yeah, you gotta exert it, so you
don't.
Yeah, yeah, you pin it up.
You end up with a yellow miata.
Convertible like fuck.
Yeah, you see what I got withthose guys.

Speaker 4 (01:20:34):
You know that's the first time it that's like with
those guys.

Speaker 3 (01:20:36):
You know that's the first time.
It's like they wake up one dayand they're like, oh shit, half
my life is over and I haven'tdone anything Like.
That's sad, I don't.
That's never going to be me.
I've done everything I've everwanted to do.

Speaker 2 (01:20:50):
Yeah, plus, you know, I've gotten to experience some
shit nobody gets to experienceand I would say it's a good time
to have a baby, you know,because it it it reaffirms what
it is that you've learned as ahuman being, like your core
values as a kid.
You know the things that youwere brought up upon, because
now you have to teach somebodyelse and it forces you to look

(01:21:11):
at life in a different manner,and the only way that you can
look at it in that way is if youcross over into being a father.

Speaker 4 (01:21:19):
Oh yeah, it's gonna be a bigchange for me, for sure.

Speaker 3 (01:21:21):
Like it's cool I've watched you raise three kids
like yeah, that's why I've seenyou change a lot too, I've seen
you change for the better.
I appreciate that over time,like appreciate that used to be,
like you know, realshort-tempered, real high headed
, and then, like I see you chillout and like I feel like be
happier.
Yeah, yeah, I can sense it, Ican feel it.

(01:21:43):
It's a good thing.

Speaker 2 (01:21:45):
Yeah, it took years.
Yeah, it took years to get tothis point and I knew I had a
problem because I was pissingeverybody off and I was burning
bridges and I was yeah, and Ijust wouldn't leave shit alone

(01:22:06):
because, you know, and like partof that was it was I was
stressed because I wasn'tprepared for what I had when I
had it.
You know, that's the big thingabout having a baby is, if
you're not prepared, like thatshit could wreck you.
Yeah, you know, and that couldbe uh with your spouse, with
your finances, you know, withyour job, if you're struggling
within jobs or you're in betweenor whatever, like that creates
stresses because the baby, whenit comes it, you become a

(01:22:28):
caretaker to two lifestyles.
It's not just the baby, it'sthe, it's the lady as well,
because yeah her.
Her happiness is judged by you.
As a man, if I see your ladypissed off and unhappy, I'm
looking at you like mike, you'renot taking care of her because,
like you know, like same withyour lady, exactly if like
you're your lady's pissed offand she's just angry like that's

(01:22:50):
your saturation.

Speaker 4 (01:22:52):

Speaker 2 (01:22:53):
That's what you're fucking putting out there and
you know, I met the miss thisother day and, like you guys,
look like you're having a baby.
You know what?
I mean, it looks, standard itlooks standard issue and I'm
happy for that for you.
Girls are dope.
Yeah, girls are dope.
I feel like they get.
They come with empathy and boysyou have to teach empathy.

(01:23:14):
You know little girls to savethe bug, the little boy's going
to step on it.

Speaker 4 (01:23:18):

Speaker 2 (01:23:20):
But I'm excited because I have been the only one
for so long that's had kidswithin my group of tattooers.
You know both, bobby and Brian.
Brian doesn't count, thoughbecause he's fucking the owner.
You feel me?

Speaker 4 (01:23:34):
He's the owner.
You feel me, he's the owner.
Xander's got a kid, xander'sgot a kid but Xander's new.

Speaker 3 (01:23:39):
You feel me?
I only worked with Xander for alittle bit, that's true.
He's got two kids who DaveHamburg?

Speaker 2 (01:23:45):
Dave Hamburg.
Yeah, but he had left the twoHe'd been on shows.

Speaker 3 (01:23:50):
Oh yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:23:51):
He did leave, for had left the pinhole show so and I
didn't connect with hamburg,like I did just get real
attracted and shit like that butlike just personality
differences and shit.

Speaker 3 (01:24:00):
Yeah, we probably have his ass on too, yeah, but
um, it's going to be interestingto see what kind of father you
have, specifically in the areaswhere you need to be tough yeah,
I think it's going to be hardfor me for a girl, but this
world is full of psychopaths andso I'm only going to have one

(01:24:23):
requirement she has to be in thegym at least two or three days
a week Nice, once she hits likefour or five, she has to be in
the jujitsu gym and that's theonly requirement.
If anything else she wants to do, we're going to do it, like I
said, full crazy into it.
If anything else she wants todo, we're gonna do it, like I
said, full crazy into it.
She's gonna have to do thatuntil she's 18, and that's the
only thing I'll probably bereally tough on, just for her

(01:24:46):
own safety and building herconfidence.
It's a big confidence boosterwhen you got a girl and and, uh,
she can choke you out and youwon't even know what happened
and not even look like it.

Speaker 1 (01:24:59):
Yeah, I feel like jujitsu is uh a good sport for
any, any type of body, any, any,yeah you know, there's drinks
for everybody.

Speaker 3 (01:25:07):
Yeah, the big guys, little guys, you know everybody,
long legs, short limbs,whatever, but you lock somebody.

Speaker 1 (01:25:14):
But you lock somebody up.
You lock somebody up, there'sno, there's no.
You know, you put a good chokehold, you put a good arm bar in.
Now you can really messsomebody up that way we got some
girls at the gym that are blackbelts.

Speaker 3 (01:25:25):
They're straight killers.
Oh yeah, They'll wreck you andit's just so cool, Like it's so
cool and I was like, if I everhave a daughter, this is 100%
going down.

Speaker 2 (01:25:37):
That's dope man.
Yeah, Do you think you'll havemore kids?
Do you think this will be?

Speaker 3 (01:25:40):
I think this is it Just one, but who knows right?
No, michelle's having a reallyhard time with it, yeah.
You know, she's sick all thetime.
Everybody's telling her afterthe first trimester, you won't
get sick.
We're in the third trimester.
She's been sick the whole time.
It's not good I feel bad forher.
And it's about to be summertime.

(01:26:01):
Yeah, it's going to be hot asfuck.
We got the air turned down inthe house.
I like it cold, so it doesn'tmatter to me.
So I think it's one and done,and then it'll be good because
all my focus can be there, youknow are you going to take time
off of tattooing for a littlebit, or be?
off for like a month and a half,for sure, just so I can get in

(01:26:21):
the rhythm and help out.
And then I need to be in therhythm too, because I don't
really know how to take care ofa baby.
So she's, she's going to showme some things, obviously, but
when I come excuse me when Icome back to work, I'll be with
the baby all day and then we'lldo a switch and I'll work at

(01:26:42):
night.

Speaker 2 (01:26:43):
I know you're never going to call me, but you know
you could always call me.

Speaker 4 (01:26:46):
Yeah, you know Some advice.
Like I'll be calling you with adrawing, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:26:50):
You know, you got some situation like B.
I don't know what the fuck todo.
I got tricks, bro.
Yeah, it's my shift.

Speaker 1 (01:26:56):
I don't know what the fuck to do.
I got, I got tricks, bro.
Yeah, it's my shift.

Speaker 2 (01:26:58):
Yeah, I don't know what to do on my shift.
Yeah, yeah, that's exciting.
Uh, it's, it's a new lease onlife.
Um, it reaffirms love.
You feel me like love changeswhen you have a baby.
I know you're probably not allinto that shit or love or
whatever, but it changes the wayyou view your parents and how
they view you.
So it just offers this crazyperspective.

(01:27:21):
With all this history, that'salready happened, right, yeah,
so now you get to see your dad'sposition, you get to see your
mom's position, you get to seeyour brother's position with his
kids.
Yeah, and like you know, whenyou're a single guy or whatever,
like it's nothing when amotherfucker don't buy a gift or
whatever whatever but when it'syour child, it is different.

(01:27:42):
Yeah, so I'm excited to see thatfor you.
See the ways that it'll changeyou, man because it'll all be
good things.
You know, you've been on goodshit for a long time.
I feel like you've been makingsolid decisions, bro yeah.
You even making solid decisions, bro yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:27:54):
You feel me, I try Right.

Speaker 2 (01:27:57):
Right, why fuck up now?

Speaker 3 (01:27:58):
Yeah, can you imagine ?
No, I'm not going to fuck upnow, I'll call you too.

Speaker 2 (01:28:03):
Like cause you fucking up?
Yeah, I'll call you so quickLike ugh, you ain't shit, yeah,
you know Well, luckily, Iprobably won't fuck up, don't?
worry, but I don't, you know, Idon't, uh, I don't do anything
out of my realm, you know?
Yeah, like that's kind of oneof the reasons I wanted to bring
you on.
I feel like you're a perfectexample of what young tattooers

(01:28:25):
should strive for.
Even though you would beconsidered an og within the game
, your habits have stood thetest of time and you, you know,
you may draw a little bit morehere.
You may draw a little bit morehere.
You may draw a little bit, butyou're not doing these crazy,
fucking oh, look at me gimmickythings.
I've never even seen you do agiveaway.
No, I don't do giveaways.

(01:28:47):
Yeah, mike, don't do nogiveaways, but you stay
consistent.
Well, what's the cheat?

Speaker 3 (01:28:55):
code.
I don't know what the cheatcode is, but I know that I have
clients that have been with me areally long time, really long
time.
Like we're filling their bodiesup and when they go out in the
world and they got a sleeve thatlooks cool, you know, they send
me somebody else and they sendme somebody else and they send

(01:29:16):
me somebody else.
And I've never treated anybodylike shit.
I've never blatantly rippedanybody off.
Like even if I don't, if Idon't do what I expect out of
myself, at the end of the thing,like dude, I'll take a bunch of
money off, like and I hatedoing that to myself because it
does take time.
Tattooing takes a long time, butif you know the one thing, I do

(01:29:39):
a lot.
Which I hate that I do it isI'll be like oh yeah, that thing
will be done in like threehours.
And then it takes me like fivehours and I'm like fuck man.

Speaker 4 (01:29:57):
So, I only charge them for the three hours because
I remember quoting them like oh, it's three hours, or whatever.
You know what I mean I do and Ijust screw myself over.

Speaker 3 (01:30:01):
But at the end of the day, like I think they
recognize it.
You know, like, like, damn thisguy's, like he's not out.
I'm not out to get every dollarsomebody's willing to pay like.
I'm just out to get what Ithink I deserve for it.
And I've been told many timeslike that's a bad way to run a
business by a lot of people, butit seems to work for me.

Speaker 2 (01:30:24):
So is the integrity of an artist more important than
the art I don't know?
And a tattooer?

Speaker 3 (01:30:30):
I have no idea.
I think that's a personalquestion for whoever.
You know, there's people thathold themselves way higher than
they should.
You know, I might hold myself alittle bit lower, but right.

Speaker 2 (01:30:45):
Like an abstract fucking, I don't know you know,
impressionist tattoo artists whoare like the leaf people who
put the leaf songs Some people,people.

Speaker 3 (01:30:57):
There's somebody out there that loves that and
they'll pay whatever they'retold to pay, you know.
So if they're catering to that,then that's who they're going
to get.
That it goes back to those typeof people will never come to me
.
They're never going to come fora solid, traditional word
travels yeah, it does.

Speaker 2 (01:31:17):
Word travels.
You tell one.
It's being heard by five.
Bad tattoos travel very fast intattooing.
I remember one time I fucked upa tattoo here and it was on one
of the artist's peoples and Igot a lash in.
Remember that shit?
What was it?
On One of Jim's peoples?

Speaker 3 (01:31:35):
It was on a knee artist's peoples and I got a
lashie Remember that shit.

Speaker 2 (01:31:37):
What was it on One of Jim's peoples?
It was on a knee.

Speaker 3 (01:31:40):
Oh, I don't remember that shit, I don't remember it.
God, that sucks, though.

Speaker 2 (01:31:44):
Yeah, anyway, that's not the point.
I just brought back triggersfor shit.
It was in this room.
You know what I mean, but wordtravels very, very fast in
tattooing.
I hear about these guys If.

Speaker 4 (01:31:56):
Jim's tattooed the same person that I've tattooed
they will talk about Mike, ifMike has tattooed this person
and I may have tattooed him.

Speaker 2 (01:32:03):
They will talk about it Like Renee.
Renee Walker, the realtor, yeahyeah, you know she comes in all
the time.
Oh, mike is the best, mike isthe best.

Speaker 4 (01:32:12):
And that's kind of how you can tell how tattooers
are doing.

Speaker 2 (01:32:15):
Like, if they're, if you'resharing clients, or how do you
feel about that Sharing client?

Speaker 3 (01:32:21):
I don't care.
Yeah, it's cool.

Speaker 2 (01:32:24):
I was around this tattoo the other day and he had
tattooed this client and thenthe other one.
The artist had called him likeyo, what you doing?

Speaker 3 (01:32:33):
What?
Yeah, well, that had called himlike yo.
What you doing?
What?
Yeah, well, that's a somespoiled baby shit to me.
It's like I like seeing if myclient leaves and goes and gets
a tattoo.
I just want to see it.
Yeah, I want to see how good itis.

Speaker 2 (01:32:45):
I think it's crazy to put an emotion on like oh,
that's mine, because it is sonot yours.

Speaker 3 (01:32:51):
that will fucking hurt your feelings so fast.
It's your, it's their body,it's theirs.
They do whatever the fuck theywant with it.
You ever had anybody like?

Speaker 2 (01:33:00):
fuck up a sleeve by putting something in the middle
of one of your sleeves oranything.

Speaker 3 (01:33:06):
Maybe, but I can't, I can't really recall.
Even if it was, I wouldn't evenconsider it a fuck up.
I'd just be like, oh, that'scool, I'll work around it.

Speaker 2 (01:33:15):
Yeah, I'll work around it.
Yeah, I was working on thisdude and I have.
It's probably one of my besttraditional sleep and he allowed
somebody to put a fucking bigass, fucking flower in it and
it's off set.

Speaker 3 (01:33:30):
That shit pissed me off.
You just gotta work around it.

Speaker 2 (01:33:33):
That shit pissed me off a little bit Once it's all
filled in.

Speaker 3 (01:33:35):
It doesn't mean anything.
You know the ego of me, of thetattooer like how?

Speaker 2 (01:33:40):
like what the fuck do I own?
You know, that's one thingabout tattooing.
That is because you deal withthese people on these intimate
occasions, sometimes I alwaysfelt like I was more into their
lives or like I was a biggerpart of their lives than I am.
You're just a blip dude.

Speaker 3 (01:33:56):
Yeah, bro, like straight up Dude we're a couple
hours in a day, in a week, in ayear, in a month, and we're gone
, yep, and that thing lasts withthem until they die.

Speaker 2 (01:34:11):
You ever had to rebuild your clientele from
nothing.

Speaker 3 (01:34:14):
When I hurt my back, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:34:15):
How was that?

Speaker 3 (01:34:17):
Shitty back, yeah, how was that Shitty?
Yeah, yeah, but there were somepeople that stuck around, a
couple for sure.
There were some people that uh,helped me out through it when I
would hit him up and I'd belike, hey, or they'd hit me up
or whatever.
I'd be like I can only work anhour at a time, or else my back,
like I remember that is dying.

(01:34:37):
But there were people therethat would be like, oh, that's
cool.
And then they would pay me,like way more than they needed
to.
that's cool and they were justso awesome about it, like my
buddy matt, for example, andanthony they'd like for sure
stuck around through like someof the harder times.
My buddy Ricky I saw himyesterday, yeah he came by.

Speaker 2 (01:35:02):
We were talking about his downhill or his mountain
biking Dude if he was younger,he'd be a professional.
Some people are just cool.

Speaker 3 (01:35:10):
He's a cool dude.

Speaker 2 (01:35:11):
He's a cool dude.
He got that old BMX.

Speaker 3 (01:35:14):
Fucking cool guy shit , he races mountain bikes and
road bikes, yeah, and thatdude's like an athlete.
And a year after I hurt my back, he ended up breaking his back
and he was in a back brace too.
So it was kind of funny.
And we've been boys foreveryeah, forever.

(01:35:35):
And I had to go over there like, hey, dude, this year's gonna
be a little rough for you.
I was like, if you needsomebody call, you can call me
and talk you to it.
But he came back, he.
He came back, got all fixed upand, uh, just started racing
bikes.
But he because he crashed onhis motorcycle at the track yeah

(01:35:57):
, he was going for like a tripleor quadruple, I don't know, but
he cased it.
And then when he landed, he it,uh, it compressed his spine and
he broke like the elf, shatter,the elf or whatever.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:36:12):
Yeah, he got wrecked.
Yeah, he got wrecked.
Yeah, he got wrecked, he's likehe's walking yeah yeah, that's
if you're international guys.

Speaker 2 (01:36:20):
Uh, riverside southern california is pretty
much a mecca of motorcycles,off-road motorsports and all
that stuff, so we will oftentailor towards that side of
things a lot of people.
That's what they do.
Everybody out here is in thedirt.
There's seasons they're eithersnowboarding at the river or you
know, and glamorous, you knowthat's what everybody does out

(01:36:42):
here in Southern California.
So, mike, some do's and don'ts.
Do's and don'ts Of what Do.
Hit you up if you want a what,anything, anything, anything.
Okay, yeah, don't hit you up ifyou want to.

Speaker 1 (01:37:00):
Just hang out, yeah, just grab a beer.

Speaker 3 (01:37:02):
Yeah, you're like nah , I don't know, I mean nothing
gets to me that bad.
You know, like I'll deal withpeople who are super picky.
The one thing I'll say don't dois just like tell me what you
want, but then a day of don'tchange 500 things Like that's I

(01:37:25):
can.
That's hard to work with, I cando it and I will do it, but it
doesn't make my day nice, youknow it.
Just tell me what you wantstraight out the gate, like and
it's perfect, and I'll, I'llnail everything you want in that
tattoo.
Cool, but then, yeah, that'sthe only thing.

(01:37:47):
I mean.
It doesn't even bother me thatbad, to be honest, but it does
make your day a little bitharder.

Speaker 4 (01:37:53):
Black and gray or color.

Speaker 3 (01:37:55):
I like both.
Yeah, I have no preference onthat.
I think some things might looka little better in black and
gray or color.
You know what I mean 100% Like,for I don't know why, but in my
brain, like if you're doing amemorial tattoo, I always think
they look better in black andgray.
Okay, that's just for what Ilike.
But, dude, if you want somesunflowers or something memorial

(01:38:18):
tattoo and color, that'stotally cool too.
I just think the lettering goesgood with it, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:38:24):
You have any conventions or any projects or
anything that you have lined upfor tattooing.

Speaker 3 (01:38:29):
Just got a baby coming.
That's it.
Yeah, you're so.
I'll be out all of September,early part of October.

Speaker 2 (01:38:38):
And that doesn't mean stop hitting them up, man.
You guys keep hitting gettingthose tattoos.
Yeah, you can draw while you'reat home.

Speaker 3 (01:38:44):
Well, I'm going to be drawing a lot.
Yeah, that'll be fun.

Speaker 2 (01:38:46):
You can draw while he's at home, so hit Mike up,
guys, any last minute questionsno man.

Speaker 3 (01:38:51):
Is there anything.

Speaker 2 (01:38:52):
How are you feeling?
I feel good.

Speaker 1 (01:38:54):
Okay cool.
Yeah, this is good For ourroundup portion.
You came with a quote.

Speaker 3 (01:39:00):
The only quote I can remember off the top of my head
is three can keep a secret iftwo are dead.

Speaker 1 (01:39:08):
I liked that.
I heard it.
I actually cheated and I heardit before the episode and I dug
it.
I feel like any quote that youremember is worth saying.

Speaker 3 (01:39:17):
Well, it's one of the truest things too.
You get wrapped up in somethingwith three people.
Somebody's talking, probablythe other two, and if you have
to do something with threepeople that requires a secret
it's probably a big problem.
Yeah, man, yeah, people, thatrequires a secret it's probably

(01:39:39):
a big problem.
Yeah, man, yeah, and you also.
Yeah, I've, you know you canalways do the whole.
Uh, well, I promise to tell thenext person.

Speaker 4 (01:39:44):
I won't say anything yeah, because somebody's always
going to say something you know.

Speaker 2 (01:39:47):
Oh, yeah, yeah yeah, mike, thank you so much for
coming on.
Uh, love your work.
I wear your tattoos.
They still look fucking good,so I appreciate that, thank you,
I still want to get thatrooster.

Speaker 3 (01:40:02):
It's on that table out, there, is it?

Speaker 2 (01:40:04):
Yeah, okay, I still want to get that rooster.
Really enjoy working with you.

Speaker 4 (01:40:11):
I miss working with you.

Speaker 2 (01:40:12):
Man dude, I do too.
You know what I mean Reallyenjoy working with you.

Speaker 4 (01:40:16):
This is a gift from B to Z.
Man dude, I do too.

Speaker 2 (01:40:16):
Really enjoy working with you.
This is a gift from B to Z ohthank you, to you, oh man.

Speaker 4 (01:40:21):
That's too much.

Speaker 2 (01:40:22):
Yeah, man we're trying to do something different
, man.
We're putting people on who wethink are pivotal.
We're blue collar.
We haven't made anything yet.
You know, everybody claims tobe blue collar and all that
stuff.

Speaker 1 (01:40:33):
Yeah, I was going Blames to be blue collar and all
that stuff, and yeah, we'lljust say we just got two
subscriptions.
So we got, we got, we got 10bucks.
We're paid to be here.
So I was.
I was excited.
Yeah, a couple of weeks, soyeah.

Speaker 3 (01:40:46):
You'll have to allow them to ask questions you know
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (01:40:49):
Yeah, absolutely I have.
I have that on our page.
You're free to reach out to usAlso, dm us at any times, and I
appreciate you coming on theshow as well.

Speaker 3 (01:41:01):
Thanks for having me.
I'll come anytime.
I love talking to Brandon.
We used to sit here and chatfor days.
We used to talk about thethings, man.

Speaker 2 (01:41:10):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:41:10):
Well, Brandon can talk forever too.

Speaker 2 (01:41:13):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, it depends yeah, I like to talk,
man it depends to certainindividuals.
Oh okay, if we could, if wecould go back and forth and keep
, it going keep that furnace litand have fun.
Yeah, add a little bit ofcraziness and some fun, then
I'll talk to you.
But if you're fucking lame Idon't want anything to do I know
?

Speaker 1 (01:41:32):
I've seen him go cold on people and now I'm like
knowing this side of him.
Yeah, I'm like oh, oh shit, hemust not like that guy.

Speaker 3 (01:41:38):
I can get real cold.
I'm trying to enjoy life.
I'm truly enjoying life.

Speaker 2 (01:41:43):
I call these moments, man.
You know, like it didn't.
I didn't know these episodeswould have this type of gravity
upon me, upon the earth, andlike all of those things, things
, but it's been fucking cool.
You know, I'm talking to myhomies while I do it, you know,
and they say do the things thatyou love and let that make money
for you.
And that's that's what we'redoing.

(01:42:04):
This is a newfound hobby.
Yeah, it's a newfound hobby,hobbies, right get hobbies right
, and everybody knows watchingtv.
Right, my hobbies are usually mykids, yeah, so like I used to
be, like yo, how was the ride?
Because I'd be at home.

Speaker 4 (01:42:22):

Speaker 2 (01:42:22):
Like every once in a while I'd be out there.
But uh, I can't say enoughabout you, dude.
Your tattoos are fucking dope.
You're a fucking printer.
Keep it up.
Uh, the technical skills are onpoint.
Um, yeah, man, we're just gonnakeep fucking it up and getting
money, you feel?

Speaker 4 (01:42:39):
me.

Speaker 2 (01:42:39):
There's a whole lot we could have talked about, but
that'll be for season fuckingtwo, season two okay, yeah,
when's?
Season two.
Uh, we got jim next and I'mcalling the season finale.

Speaker 1 (01:42:50):
I don't know how's that gonna be well, it'll be
about 20 episodes.

Speaker 2 (01:42:53):
Uh, what we're gonna land on awesome.
Yeah, that's why I was askingthose to kind of like lead into
Jim because this is Jim'sfucking.

Speaker 4 (01:42:59):
This is Jim's guy right here.

Speaker 2 (01:43:01):
We got him in a week.
He helps the magic.
You feel me?
These two wizards.
They do their thing and I enjoythem, so I hope you guys
appreciated today's episode.
I'm Brandon, that's MikeMcAskill and this is Zach
Batista.
Thank you.

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