Ep. 80: You Don't Owe Anyone Your Skin

Send us a text

Have you ever felt stuck with a tattoo artist who makes you uncomfortable but the tattoo isn't done? Or perhaps you've been ghosted by an artist who still has your deposit? or maybe the work you've had done so far is just not... good? I've talked to many people throughout my time as a tattoo artist who didn't feel comfortable moving on. 

In this chat, I tackle the question those clients face: "Do I have to go back?" Whether dealing with an artist who makes inappropriate comments, consistently cancels appointments, or simply produces work you're not happy with, many people feel trapped in these situations—especially when they've paid significant deposits.

One of the most persistent myths I encounter is the belief that no other tattoo artist will touch another artist's unfinished work. This outdated notion keeps many clients returning to uncomfortable or unprofessional situations. The reality? Many of us in the industry are willing to help clients complete pieces when the original relationship has broken down. Creating a genuine connection with a new artist and being honest about your situation can often get you what you want. A new relationship with a tattoo artist who is a better fit for you. 

And that deposit you don't want to lose? Consider that payment for never having to deal with that person again. Your body, your comfort, and your agency are worth far more than any deposit. You don't owe anyone your skin, time, or money. When reasonable efforts to maintain a good professional relationship fail, giving yourself permission to move on is the right thing to do. 

Listen to the episode, and remember, that the art you wear, ideally comes with positive memories. Share your experiences or questions with me—I'd love to hear your thoughts.

You can connect with me, Micah Riot, as well as see my tattoo art on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/micahriot/

Micah's website is www.micahriot.com
The podcast is hosted on Buzzsprout but truly lives in the heart of Micah's website at:
https://www.micahriot.com/ink-medicine-podcast/

Episode Transcript

Micah Riot (00:05):
This is Micah Riot and you are listening to Ink
Medicine Podcast.
Hello darlings, hello.
I wanted to jump on here andhave a quick talk with y'all
about whether or not you have togo back to a tattoo artist that

(00:27):
you don't feel comfortable with.
And sometimes it's not aboutdiscomfort, sometimes they're
just not readily available.
You try to book a follow-upsession.
They're not answering you,they're blowing you off, they
are canceling.
It's just really hard to bookwith them.
Maybe they move around a lot,they're just not here much.
And the other piece for a lotof people is that they've given

(00:50):
somebody a deposit and theydon't want to lose that, and so
they decide to wait, give thatperson a lot of benefits of the
doubt and just see if they canget back in their chair
eventually and use their deposit, if they can get back in their
chair eventually and use theirdeposit.
I have now spoken to a wholebunch of people throughout my
career about this very thingFrom different angles.

(01:18):
Some of the work that I haveseen these people had done by
the unnamed tattoo artist thatwas still holding their deposit
was not good, and they keptgoing back thinking that it will
get better, and they didn't.
You know, they just neverreally liked the work.
And then for other people, thework looked fine to them but
they couldn't get ahold of theperson.
The person just wouldn't answertheir texts or their emails,

(01:40):
wouldn't put them on theirschedule, other emails wouldn't
put them on their schedule.
And then, of course, the lastcommon thing that happens is
that a person, a client, wasmade to feel extremely
uncomfortable by the tattooartist.
The tattoo artist's intentionswere more than friendly.
Maybe they were a bit sexual innature or more sensuous than

(02:01):
the client was comfortable with.
They didn't consented tosomething the tattoo artist was
doing, was saying, or maybe theyfelt pushed into a design that
they didn't want.
You know, the tattoo artistassured them that it was going
to look the way that they wanted, and then it just doesn't, and
so they don't feel they don'ttrust the person, they don't
feel comfortable going back tothat person to finish the piece.

(02:25):
A lot of people assume that theycannot go to somebody else with
an unfinished piece that mostpeople wouldn't take them on,
and there's some truth to that.
Also, times have changed.
There used to be a lot moreclients, a lot more demand and a
lot less tattoo artists and thetattoo artists that were
working could be more pickyabout the kind of projects they
would take on, and a lot oftattoo artists, with their ego,

(02:46):
wanted to do their own artwork.
You know I'm guilty of that too.
I like to do my own artwork.
Sure, when I'm being approachedby somebody who is telling me
that they need help, they needto finish a piece and they don't
really have the option of goingback to that original person,
of course I'm going to be a lotmore willing, a lot more open to

(03:07):
helping them out.
I don't want people hatingtheir tattoo.
I don't want people looking attheir body and associating that
tattoo with a bad experience.
Not every single tattoo artistout there is going to be willing
to finish that piece, but a lotof us will be.
You have to ask.
The key in getting someone todo something you want is to
create a connection with them,right?

(03:27):
Yes, it's a transactionalrelationship.
You have money and skin and youcome to us and you offer us
money to create beautiful art onyour skin and we need that
money because we need to pay ourliving expenses and that's true
.
So in that way, it'stransactional, but there's a
human element in that and atattoo artist should see you as
a whole human, just the way thatyou should see your tattoo

(03:49):
artist as a whole human.
We come together as full humansto meet each other in that
space to create somethingtogether.
Create that relationship withsomeone that you trust.
Find that new tattoo artist.
Go to them.
If they won't, you know, if youreally want them to finish your
old piece that needs finishingand they aren't comfortable with
that quite yet, ask them ifthey will be comfortable later.

(04:11):
You know, if you had somethingelse done by them, maybe you let
them do a piece that is alltheirs, where they get to do
their art, their style, and thenyou check in with them about
finishing the old piece.
I would say there's a highprobability of that person
taking on that unfinishedproject.
Now the question of deposits.

(04:31):
Yeah, it sucks if you give thatperson a few hundred bucks, 500
bucks, more than that.
That super sucks and I'm reallysorry but you're probably not
going to get your deposit back.
No amount of Yelp reviews, noamount of harassing them, asking
them, calling them, textingthem, if they're not willing to

(04:51):
get you back on their chair, ifthey're not willing to continue
that project, if they're flaky,if they're not answering, you're
just not gonna most likely notgonna get your deposit back.
And I'm sorry, but yeah, as aclient, you are giving a deposit
with the caveat that thatdeposit will be used towards
your tattoo work.
So you're not just givingsomebody free money when

(05:13):
somebody is flaky and weird andisn't going to tattoo you again.
That's a loss.
That's a loss and you shouldconsider that a payment.
To never see that person again,to never have them touch your
body again, to never have themput their ink in your skin again
.
That's pretty good payment, Ithink.
If you look at it that way.

(05:34):
Now you know what kind ofperson they are, what kind of
business owner they are and whatkind of tattoo artist they are.
The summary of all that is youdon't owe anyone your skin, your
money, your time, your energy,your healing energy, any of that
, your planning.
If it's not working, you knowthere's there's a reasonable

(05:55):
amount of effort you can put into try to make it work, and if
it's not going to work, if youget the idea that it's not going
to work, it's not going to work, move on.
Yeah, and you know, if you havea lot of negativity with that
person.
They're probably not yourperson.
I mean, you could try to talkto them about it.
Some of the tattoo artists thatI know would probably have that

(06:18):
conversation with you, meincluding.
Sometimes stuff comes up in therelational space, right Like
I've had clients piss me off,comes up in the relational space
, right Like I've had clientspiss me off.
They might not have known thatI'm pissed off, that they pissed
me off what they did, and I tryto gently tell them if it's

(06:39):
relevant.
If I can't, if I have to firethem.
I'm very clear, I'm very clearabout what happens.
They usually know what they didin that case.
Usually that's people who skipout on payment, who make
multiple appointments and don'tshow up, like it's those kinds
of things.
When you mess with my income,you mess with my ability to make
a living.
I'm not going to be giving youmore free time.
I try to communicate with myclients.

(07:00):
If they did something that Ifound to be very offensive to me
, that messed with my ability towork to make a living, if they
disregarded my humanity, if theywere inconsiderate towards me
as a person, me as a businessowner, I will usually try to let
them know and work out thatconflict.
I also don't want anybodywalking around with one of my

(07:22):
tattoos feeling badly about thattattoo, looking at their body,
feeling like associatingnegative things with that tattoo
and me and those sessions wehad together.
So I will do my best to work itout.
I will not flake on you.
I will not run away to anothercountry or another shop and not
let you know.
Let's you know, try to be anadult.
That's all.
I hope you're having a goodweek, enjoy this coming rain if

(07:46):
you're in the Bay Area, and Iwill talk to you very soon.