May 30, 2022 • 46 mins
What would you do if you discovered a passion for an art form that had the power to change your life? Join me, Johnny aka the Curious Ulsterman, as I sat down with Clint McInnes, a tattoo artist and repeat guest who turned a passion for drawing into a successful career by owning his own tattoo business. Clint's story serves as an inspiration for anyone exploring a new career path, especially those considering the world of tattoo artistry. He sheds light on how he took the leap to follow his passion in his mid-20s, and how trust in one's abilities is a significant factor to making that transition.
Our conversation also brought to surface the importance of mentorship in the tattoo industry. Clint elaborated on how tattooing is not just an art, but a skill, emphasizing the significance of understanding safety practices such as managing bloodborne pathogens. He offered insights into the varying types of apprenticeships, from basic to intricate design learning, and the need for recognizing different art styles. Clint's invaluable advice on identifying the right mentor is a goldmine for aspiring tattoo artists, or anyone entering a new field for that matter.
Clint's journey didn't stop at learning the skills. He shared his personal experience of becoming a full-time tattoo artist, and the realities that come with achieving success in this field. The notion of 'overnight success' is a myth he dispels with his advice on staying motivated and consistent. We ended our enlightening conversation discussing post-tattoo care, handling tattoo regrets, and Clint's belief in what makes the perfect tattoo. So, whether you're an aspiring tattoo artist or simply a fan of the art, this episode packed with insights from an industry pro could be the push you need to pursue your passion.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hello everyone and welcome to the Curious Ulsterman
podcast, the podcast designedto equip you with the tools and
wisdom you need to thrive as anadult.
I am your host, johnny aka theCurious Ulsterman, and today I'm
joined by my friend and repeatguest, clint McEnnis.
In today's episode we discussthe step-by-step process to
becoming a tattoo artist andalso Clint's advice to aspiring
(00:32):
artists everywhere.
But without further delay, hereis today's episode on how to
become a tattoo artist withClint McEnnis.
Hello, clint, welcome back tothe show.
It's good to see you again, man.
Yeah, man, the first episode youcame on I think I don't know if
it was series one or series two, but it was a fantastic
(00:55):
conversation, just your lifestory in general.
The audience definitely likedthat one, but I'm really glad to
have you back again today todiscuss your livelihood and
passion and how to become atattoo artist.
If you haven't checked outClint's story, do go back and
check it in the series before.
You'll love it, folks.
(01:16):
But I'm really interested tohear what you have to say today,
because I've known a fair fewpeople just in my own circles
who've said I'm really thinkingabout becoming a tattoo artist
and I'll be honest, I don't haveany tattoos.
I drew the short straw ofallergies and I can't get
tattoos.
But yeah, I'll be very keen tosee what your own journey to
(01:38):
becoming a tattoo artist andowning your own business now, if
I'm correct, yeah, yeah, yeah,fantastic.
So if we're going from probablynever doing tattoos to owning
your own business, that'sincredible and we'll dive right
into that story.
The first thing I want to askis where did it all begin for
yourself?
When did you suddenly decideright, do you know what?
(01:59):
I want to become a tattooartist, because I think a lot of
people have this ambition, butthey just don't know where to
start, and I'd be interested tosee where your own journey began
.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yeah, the funny thing is I don't.
I kind of hate this questionbecause it shows exactly who I
am as a person, which doesn'tvibe with a lot of people.
So I actually grew up drawingall the time, just always had a
pencil in my hand, ever.
From the time that I coulddiscern what was going on.
(02:31):
I was drawing and coloring onthings, just really tried hard
and art excelled at it notnecessarily naturally excelled
at it, but just worked out ofthat tone and was always doing
it.
So I was usually somewhatbetter than kids my age and
there was always a couple ofkids here and there that were
(02:54):
better than me, but it neverstopped me from doing that.
But I also grew up Mormon orLDS, so I never really thought
that tattoos were going to be athing for me until I stopped
going to church and kind of letmyself do what I wanted to do in
(03:14):
life instead of worrying aboutwhat other people thought about
it.
And that wasn't even until mymid 20s like 24, 25, somewhere
in there I got my first coupleof tattoos, and this is where
you'll see exactly who I am as aperson.
I got my second or third tattooand I was looking at it and I
(03:37):
thought to myself you know, Ithink I could do better than
that guy.
That was when I turned aroundand went out and found an
apprenticeship that I could goand learn these things.
It's not something that you cannecessarily learn all that well
(03:57):
on YouTube or through theinternet or just even through
your own devices.
It's really hard because it'ssuch an intensive thing and
every body like literally everysingle body is different as far
as skin type and toughness andall of these things.
(04:19):
So it's not just like a canvas,where every canvas is pretty
close to the same and the onlything that really changes is the
tooth and the toughness of thecanvas.
So you need somebody over yourshoulder explaining why certain
things go certain ways and whyother things don't go that way
(04:41):
on what seems to be the sametype of skin.
So it's a really tough thing tolearn on your own.
So I do advise that people goand get an apprenticeship, just
because that excels yourlearning so much more.
The guy who actually mentoredme wasn't all that great at this
and his standard response foreverything was oh, you just got
(05:06):
to feel it and I would have adifferent question.
Oh, you just got to feel it andit was like, no, that's not so
some people who are not cut out.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Yeah, it was, it was.
It was a quite a journey.
But I mean, it's such anintensive thing that it's not
just like learning about colorsand learning about all of this.
It's proper depth in the skinand even aftercare of telling
people how to take care of atattoo and cleanliness too.
(05:41):
There's a lot that goes intothat as far as bloodborne
pathogens, and you've got toknow your stuff there and be
really safe that you don'tcross-contaminate everybody.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Oh yeah, 100%.
Yeah, that would be a nightmareif that did happen.
I really like what you saidearlier on about how you know
this wasn't even something youstarted to do until your mid-20s
, and I feel like a lot ofpeople feel like they have to
have done something either intheir late teens or, you know,
early 20s.
And you know I'm not willing tostart afresh or start something
(06:15):
new, and I love the fact thatyou know you can, with your own
story, inspire people to goactually.
This has always been my passionand I just feel like this now
is the time to do it, and I likethe fact as well that you know
you're recognized, without beingVian your own talents, because
(06:36):
I feel like a lot of people willput themselves down and go.
They could be very good artistsIn fact, I'm interviewing a
very capable artist tomorrow buta lot of people, I think, will
play down their talents and, youknow, not have that confidence
to go actually with some.
You know mentoring I couldactually be pretty good at this
and make a living off.
(06:57):
You know what I actually enjoydoing.
While you were speaking, though,a new question just came to my
mind, and that you were sayingthat you know the mentor.
You had probably a very capabletattooist, but maybe not a
great teacher.
What's the best way for peopleto get started, in your opinion?
(07:18):
Like somebody has decided right, I absolutely want to be a
tattoo artist, but this is whatyou know gives me joy, but I
don't know where to get started.
If someone came to you todayand said, clint, where do I
start?
How would you advise them inthat regard?
Speaker 1 (07:36):
The first thing that I usually tell people is go and
get tattooed quite a bit by guysthat you look up to or women
that you look up to.
It doesn't really matter inthat regard, but go and get
tattooed by them and talk tothem more about how everybody
got their start and let themknow that you're curious about
it.
Some of those people do havegreat teaching talents and they
(08:01):
are the people to step into thatrole and pass down that
tradition and pass down theskills necessary and help other
people on their journey.
So it takes a lot of going andgetting tattooed to figure out
what a good tattoo looks like,and because at first there's a
(08:22):
lot of people who, um and notnecessarily from the art
community, but just the generalpublic who don't know what a
good tattoo looks like.
So you get a lot of bad tattoosand and Everybody who has ten
tattoos or more has a couple badtattoos I don't care who you
are.
You went to a new artist or youyou've traded or listened to
(08:45):
one of your friends who didn'tknow what they were talking
about.
So so you start to realize likewho's producing good tattoos
and who's producing bad tattoos.
You go and get tattooed bythese, these good artists, and
ask them about their journey andand maybe even say, hey, it's,
this is something I'm reallyinterested in and and they can
help you further on that path.
(09:07):
It takes somebody that's alreadydoing it in in the industry,
which I know sounds.
It kind of sounds bass-acquardsof Well, I've got to know
somebody in the industry to getinto the industry, but it's.
It's really the right way to doit, just because you can spend
a lot of time messing up andTattoos are permanent.
(09:30):
So, of course, yeah, it's.
It's not like a painting canvaswhere I'm gonna try this new
method and it's fine because Ican throw it away or I can paint
over it.
That's not how tattoos work.
That's a permanent art.
So once that canvas is burned,yeah, you can do cover-ups, but
those are exponentially harderthan than a normal tattoo with
(09:51):
the fresh skin.
So it really is vital to havesomebody who knows what they're
doing to help you in the rightdirection.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Yeah, fantastic.
So, hyperfetathy, someone ispointing them in the right
direction.
I heard you mentioned thatthere is an apprenticeship.
Is that the standard go-to, oris there something you would
typically do as a side hustle toget experience, or how does it
normally go?
Speaker 1 (10:17):
so an apprenticeship most people when they want to,
when they want to get intotattooing.
That's the general like typicalpath is an apprenticeship and
there's no standardized like oh,your apprenticeship is gonna be
Three months and you're gonnado X amount of hours per week.
There's no standard.
(10:38):
It's gonna be different forevery single be, every single
mentor and apprentice.
Some people I've heard of threeand four year apprenticeships
and and that is crazy to me, butthat's awesome that they're
taking it that far and then I'veheard of two month
(10:58):
apprenticeships, which I don'treally agree with.
On that end either, thatthere's, there's definitely a
happy medium somewhere in themiddle, but it's also Gotta fit
each artist in each mentor.
Some people are like myself.
I was working a full-time joband Going and working a 12-hour
(11:18):
shift and turning around to goand tattoo for three or four
hours every day Doesn't allow meto practice as much as someone
who's 20 and didn't have anyresponsibilities.
They can.
They can save up some money andquit a job and then do their
apprenticeship right there.
I didn't really have thatoption.
I needed to be making moneybecause of having a family and
kids and stuff.
(11:38):
So yeah, everybody's situationis a little different Mine.
Mine just fit the bill for whatI was doing.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Yeah, yes, so it's very unique to your own journey.
And then, once on completion ofsaid apprenticeship, however
long that may be, you are then Idon't want to say fully fledged
, but you, you are now quoteunquote a tattooist and Assuming
you'll get your start insomebody's shop and you know,
cut your teeth, doing, you knowthe basic jobs and then I assume
(12:11):
you would move to moreintricate designs or, in your
opinion, do you go if you'revery talented Can you go to
straight and then intricatedesigns.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Yeah, I mean, it depends on art level, for sure,
but that's that's basically.
It is you.
You start your apprenticeshipand you Learn and you start with
very basic things.
For a reason.
Those are your foundation andin tattooing.
So you've got to figure out howto do those things really well
and they're usually pretty,pretty basic designs that are
(12:42):
palm size or smaller, and you dothose for a while until you get
a little more comfortable andthen you branch out a little
more and, depending on what artstyle you you tend to vibe with,
is is kind of where you end upmoving after that.
Most people, when they starttattooing, they're doing pretty
(13:03):
simple stuff and it graduallygets more complex and and more
it gets larger and everythingjust tends to go up from there.
Some people tend to jump in alittle too fast and get in over
their head and Then you can goand see a myriad of bad tattoos
(13:23):
across the internet that we canall laugh at.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Yeah, I want, and that's just.
This is from a customer'sperspective and also an aspiring
tattoo artist perspective.
But in your opinion, what is ared red flags for a tattoo
artist?
But we're also some green flagsas well.
What are you on the lookout forwith a good tattoo artist?
Speaker 1 (13:51):
So, so red flags and tattoo artists.
Is any tattoo artist that saysthey can handle every single
style of art?
That's a huge red flag.
There are a lot of people thathandle a lot of different styles
, but not every single style.
But let's look at it from anart perspective first.
You wouldn't go to the inardoand Ask him to Ask him to do a
(14:20):
van go.
That's not his art style.
So, while he may be able to getsomewhat close, he's not the
one that specializes in that.
So you, you have to realize thattattooing is art and art has
styles.
So any tattoo artist that says,yeah, I can handle every single
(14:42):
style out there and ask himwhat their style is they should
be a good tattoo artist willtell you, yeah, I usually do
this style like and in thatstyle.
I tend to stay away from thosestyles over there, they're just
not my forte, but I can referyou to someone who who does do
those styles.
That's, that's a green flag fora tattoo artist right there.
(15:05):
Well, people get prettyarrogant when it comes to
tattooing and they say thatthey'll, they'll do any style,
and Then you get a terriblerendition of one style and and
that's on you for life that'spermanent, like we were just
talking about, and that's that'shard to accept for a lot of
people.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Yeah, yeah, 100%.
And is that just the major redflag and green flag?
Is there any more subtle ones,or should we just leave it there
?
Speaker 1 (15:38):
There's problem.
There's definitely one otherone, and that is the cleanliness
of the shop, just overallhygiene of the shop and the
tattoo artist.
If you've got a tattoo artistwho looks like he hasn't bathed
in four years and you can wipethe film of dust off of the
(15:59):
floor or you see blood splatter,it's probably not the best idea
to get tattooed by that person.
Yeah, so I always yeah, yeah, Ihave a family across the
country and I tell them whenthey're asking about finding a
new tattoo artist.
I always tell them, like, goand look at the shop, make sure
(16:19):
it's clean, and one of theeasiest ways to do that is to
use the restroom.
If you go in and a bathroom isclean, chances are the rest of
the shop is probably prettyclose to on par as far as tattoo
standards are concerned.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Yeah, man, that's really good.
That's very useful information.
A bit off the cuff, but this isjust from a very good friend of
mine who has dozens of tattoos,and it was a quote he said to
me once and I just wanted to getyour perspective on it.
And he was saying about youknow, if he cannot decide to get
(16:57):
a tattoo.
I know we're talking aboutbecoming a tattoo artist, but
that's just a little interestingdiversion I would love your
opinion on.
For those people in the audiencewho are thinking about getting
a tattoo but they're not quitesure because, as it's very
obvious, it's very permanent anda massive pain in the ass to
get all it.
Get rid of His.
What he said to me was if you,if you see a tattoo and you
(17:20):
think, or you see a picture, youthink I'd like to get that as a
tattoo.
He said to hang it on your wallfor six months and if you're
still not sick of it after sixmonths, then get it as a tattoo.
But have you any opinions,perspectives or anything new to
add to that?
Like, if someone's a bit, Idon't know whether to get this
tattoo or not.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
Yeah, I actually don't react like that at all,
and none of my clients do either.
So I have a lot of clients thatthey'll, they'll message me or
call me and hey, clint, I'mlooking to get such and such,
I'm looking to get this dragonon my back or whatever.
And I'm like, cool, and we setup the appointment.
(17:59):
They don't see the tattoodesign because I don't draw that
up.
Right, then I don't sell them adesign I, they know that.
Then they trust my art style isgoing to be what they want.
So even if you hung up a pictureof a dragon tattoo that you
(18:22):
wanted to get done and you hungthat up on your wall and then
after six months you were like,yeah, I really want to get this.
And you came into me thatdesign has probably already been
done and so I draw everythingcustom.
So you may not you, you mayhave this exact dragon in your
head.
Well, when you come in to gettattooed by me, I've drawn
(18:43):
something different.
It's still a dragon, but it'smy style, it's my artwork, so
that you're not gettingsomething else that somebody
else has already gotten, whichto me, I can kind of agree with
him.
But I also think that after youget a few tattoos, that starts
(19:04):
to go less and less, because youstart to look at it as art and,
to be to be frank, I look at mytattoos and I look at them the
same way that I look at freckleson my body, like I don't really
notice them all that muchanymore, so it's just a part of
(19:26):
my skin.
I don't.
I don't look down and, oh, Ihave this out tattoo.
Yes, I have an out tattoo, butI don't even like it's such a
nonchalant thing anymore that Idon't really notice the owl
tattoo.
I just noticed I have tattoosand it's a part of my skin.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Yeah, yeah.
Do you have any advice forpeople who have had a tattoo or
regret tattoo, and what would betheir best option for that?
Do they?
Is it to get it removed or justto get a tattoo done over it?
I know I think you did mentionit is a bit of a pain in the ass
(20:04):
to do, rather than just freshskin.
But you know, someone's maybebeen drunk and got a silly
tattoo and they're like, yeah,okay, I need to get that changed
.
What's your opinion on that?
Speaker 1 (20:16):
It really is is a case by case thing.
Like if you got this giant,really dark tattoo and you're
not extremely thrilled with it,I would.
I would go and talk to you areally good tattoo artist and
ask them what your options are.
But if you have this big, giantdark piece, it's hard to cover
(20:37):
that up, so you may need to do asession or two of laser to
lighten it and then go in andcover it up, or or they may be
help, they may be able to helpyou with with covering it up
like it is.
But it's such a case by casething because I've seen tattoos
that were they were extremelylight and the person's like, oh,
(20:59):
I don't know if you're going tobe able to cover it, and I'm
like, oh, I got that all day,like you're never going to see
that again.
So, yeah, it's such a case bycase thing.
But yeah, I tend to always givepeople the advice of make sure
the tattoo artist that you'regoing to is somebody that you
(21:20):
trust and make sure you're notgoing in and doing a drunk, so
that way you know what you'regetting, not getting misspelled
words and stuff like that.
So take it serious.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, yeah, not 100%, otherwise you become a meme in
the internet.
Yes, yeah, so this is one I amlooking forward to, because I
was undoubtedly a big decision.
But how did you know it was theright moment to transition from
(21:54):
your day job to becoming atattoo artist?
Like what was that I'm readymoment?
And how did you know?
Just because I'm sure otherpeople are probably going
through the same thing.
Perhaps they went on the samejourney as yourself of their.
They do a job, full time job,but then they've got a bit of
tattooing on the side andthey're waiting for that moment,
that leap of faith.
(22:14):
I need to make it go.
What was it for you?
Speaker 1 (22:18):
So this is actually the something that I advised
every person that's startingtheir own business, whether
they're a tattoo or not.
Try to make in a day what yourday job makes in a week.
And I remember the day thatthis happened for me as a tattoo
artist.
I came in on a Saturday becauseI didn't have a normal job to
(22:39):
go to that day.
I worked all day.
It was like a 10 or 11 hour day, which as a tattooer that's a
pretty long day, and I had madeenough money that it was
actually equal to a week's worthof pay for my normal job.
And I sat down at the end ofthe day and I'm getting all my
(23:00):
totals out and I'm looking at itand I'm like, man, this could
be a full time job, I could dothis.
And I remember making a planthat next day.
So it was Sunday I sat down andI made a plan of okay, I'm going
to have six months worth ofsavings put over to the side.
So for the next little while,all of my tattoo money is just
(23:23):
going to that.
I'm not spending it, I'm notbeing irresponsible with it,
which is what I like doing,because I like spending money,
but I'm really trying hard toput away that six months.
And as soon as that six monthsis saved up, I'm going to walk
into my normal day job and I'mgoing to tell them hey, you've
(23:43):
got two weeks left with me, andthen I'm out of here.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Yeah, yeah, very sound advice.
And that was from a logisticalperspective, but from within
your own soul, so to speak, andyour own mind, I feel like a lot
of people either need thatlittle shove of encouragement or
they need that littleconfidence boost.
What was it, apart from thefinancial side of it?
(24:10):
Was there a moment that youjust went right?
Enough is enough.
I was put on this earth to domore than pay bills and go to
work, and I'd rather chase aftermy passion.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
I think I've always had that innate belief inside of
me that I was put here for morethan just paying bills and
working a normal job.
So that one's kind of tough forme to say, and everybody's
going to be different in theirself-belief on that.
But I think if you look aroundyou and you see other people
(24:44):
doing what they want to do inlife and living their life
exactly as they want to, thatshould give you reason enough
right there that, hey, I can dosomething like this if it makes
sense logically.
That doesn't mean you can goand just do whatever, but if you
can make it work and you canmake it work logically, you can
(25:06):
go and live the exact same life.
That's why it pays to havereally good friends that prove
these things to you on a dailybasis.
I've had several friends, andeven my wife.
She's recently quit her jobbecause she saw how rad my life
was and how rad I had.
Made it to the point of like,well, heck, I don't want to go
(25:29):
to a 40-hour week job.
Like Clint does what he wants,he gets to go hang out with his
kids when he wants to.
He flies all over the countrydoing all these crazy things she
wanted to live that life too.
I helped instill that belief inher because she saw it
firsthand.
(25:49):
But that's the same thing withseveral of my friends.
They've went and quit their jobto turn around and run their
own business, because if youwant to, you can make it happen.
I'm nobody special.
If I can do it, anybody can.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Yeah, that's really inspiring as well, because I
like the fact that it's stillwholesome.
What you just said, it's kindof like the lighthouse analogy
I've used in the podcast before.
You can either be a tugboat andtry to rescue people or you can
just be a beacon and peoplewill go damn.
I want that.
That's the life I want.
(26:29):
That's the drive, that's thepassion, that's the life I dream
of.
Well, somebody has got the restinto gear and materialized my
dream.
I love what you say as well.
I think you're a very cool dudebut, as you say, you're not
special, which means it's opento everybody.
Anybody can do it with enoughdiscipline, planning and logic.
(26:52):
As you say, tatoo Artist is notmy particular cup of tea.
I have massive respect for theart and the craft and how long
it takes to master that skill.
Whatever your cup of tea is,you're a prime example of what
hard work can do.
With all that in mind, you'venow arrived.
(27:16):
You own your own business andyou're living the life you want
and loving it.
But something I do want to askis that no job is perfect.
Just to give the audience, andespecially the aspiring tattoo
artists, the full picture whatdoes a good aversion, a bad day,
look like as a tattoo artist,just because I'm sure a lot of
(27:38):
people go.
Well, the grass is alwaysgreener on the other side.
But, as someone one of my oldbosses once said to me, the
grass is greener on the otherside because it's fertilized
with different kind of shit, andthat's always stuck with me.
So what's the good, the averageand the bad?
Speaker 1 (27:56):
So the good is I'm made for my job and I get to sit
down and I get to talk topeople for two to four hours at
a time and they can't run offbecause then their tattoo's not
done.
So they have to sit and forceto be talked to me, and that's
what I love in life.
I love having thoseconversations.
(28:17):
So, to me, being able to createsomething that I wanted to
tattoo, and they just gave methe idea and I ran with it,
that's the great of it, and Iget paid very well to do that.
The bad of that is, tattooing isnot something that is necessary
(28:37):
.
So, with the world going theway that has been the last few
years, you start to realize whenwe shut down for a whole 30
days that was how long we shutdown before here and where I'm
at and during that 30 days, yeah, I had enough money to be okay,
(28:59):
not working.
But I was like, oh man, I amnot necessary to society.
People need to pay for theirhouse, people need to pay for
their groceries, people need topay all of their bills way
before they ever think aboutgetting a tattoo.
So a tattoo is a very muchluxury item and sometimes that
means that you're going to getcanceled on because somebody
(29:23):
blew out a tire on their car ortheir kid had extra bills from
the dentist or whatever it maybe.
There's a lot of things thatcome before getting a tattoo, so
you're going to have acancellation here and there
You're going to have a pain inthe head.
Client who just doesn't want to,doesn't want to see your
(29:50):
perspective of things, and youdon't always have to deal with
them.
I've gotten to the point wherein my career I don't have to
deal with them anymore.
If they're a pain to me, I'mokay firing that client.
But when you're newer you dohave to deal with clients like
that.
So you have to learn how totalk to people, and some people
(30:11):
aren't that great at talking topeople, especially artists.
Artists are terrible at talkingto people because we deal with
paper, we deal with canvases, wedon't deal with people.
So you've got to get reallygood at talking to people,
otherwise that can be a very badthing for you.
On the very same note, it's avery good thing for me.
The middle ground of that is Itreat tattooing just like a job.
(30:39):
I may not work 40 hours a weekbecause that sounds terrible,
but I treat it just like a jobin the fact that I'm in there
five to six days a week and I dothat because I love it, but I
also do that because I havethree kids to feed a wife who
also has three kids.
We've got a very big household.
(31:01):
I've got to keep this roof overour heads and there are some
days where tattooing is justlike the job that you do.
It has to be just a job atcertain times, because some days
I'm just there to do as good ofquality as art as I could do,
(31:25):
but that day in particular it'sjust a job.
And it's not often, but somedays it is like that.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Yeah, I really like what you've said, because I've
seen a few.
What would you call them?
What's the word?
It's the closest I can considerwould be influencers on social
media, from business to sportsto whatever.
Every single one of them whoare in these successful fields
(31:54):
that people chase after, say.
Let's like, just destroy theillusion right now that there is
no perfect job.
You are not going to turn up toyour job every single day and
you're going to be permanentlyhappy and everything's going to
go 100%.
Even your dream job hasdownsides.
So like, for example,podcasting for me.
I love podcasting, in that Ilove talking with you and people
(32:14):
, but I don't like typing upshow notes.
I don't like editing.
I don't like well okay, actuallyI can't take away the thunder
from my outstanding sound editorR, and a big shout out to him.
But certainly in the beginning,if I had to do some editing,
it's time consuming, mentallydraining, but as a whole I love
(32:38):
podcasting, which is why I'mstill doing it, and it's the
same for you.
I assume you love tattooing asa whole, but you, like you said,
occasionally you get atroublesome client, or some days
it is just a job just to paythe bills, but nine times out of
10, from what I'm getting it'sa passion for yourself.
Yeah, the only other question Ihave here is with the, so the
(33:04):
sum total of your journey tobecoming a tattoo artist, what
are the most important lessonsthat you can impart to the
audience?
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Oh man, I mean we could do about a year's episode
on that.
Grab your popcorn and settle in.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Yeah.
You're working back on thepodcast all the time, Clint.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Yeah, it's tough to say.
I think, as long as you alwayshave a better version of what
your life could be in your headand you're constantly working
towards that and it can be yourjob, or it can be your physical
body or your financial status,whatever that may be as long as
(33:55):
you've got this better versionand you're constantly working on
getting to that in at least oneway every single day, I think
that you can eventually getthere.
But a lot of people think thatthis is an overnight success
thing.
As a tattoo artist, I actuallyin like two days is my
(34:20):
anniversary of being a full-timetattoo artist for the last six
years, and that wasn't anovernight success of I quit my
job and all of a sudden I wasmaking six figures drawing on
evil.
That's not how that worked forme.
I quit my job and I had thatsix months worth of savings
(34:40):
saved up and I worked my buttoff and I remember a certain
point and it was roughly 12months into being full-time but
I had zero dollars of that moneystill saved and it was because
I was trying so hard to make itwork in a different city, which
(35:03):
is a whole other subject.
But I did things incorrectly onthat part, but it wasn't just
all of a sudden succeeded when Iquit my job.
There's going to be hard timesand there's going to be times
when you feel like you want toquit the job that you walked
(35:26):
into and I felt like quittingtattoo not necessarily quitting
tattooing, but I felt likegetting another job because I
didn't think that I was going tomake it.
It's going to feel like thatsometimes, but you have to
constantly keep working tobecome that quote unquote
overnight success.
Mine only took me four years toget to where I was comfortable
(35:52):
and now it's now to me.
It's in a state where I'm like,okay, what?
How do I get to the next level?
Because I'm really I'm nottopped out as a tattoo artist,
but I want to get to that nextlevel and I'm really
concentrating on that very hard.
So you've constantly got to bethinking of that, even when you
(36:14):
get to that point of, okay, nowI'm comfortable.
I think you need to concentrateon that next step even more at
that point, because the minutethat you think, well, I'm
comfortable and you stop workingon those things, it's all going
to crash and burn.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
Yeah, absolutely sound advice, and I like the
fact that you talk about how itwasn't all sunshine and rainbows
, like, yes, you were in aparticularly good position, but
you still made mistakes alongthe way, which somewhat hindered
the journey, but you're stillat that.
You conquered your Everest, soto speak.
(36:55):
You run your own life andrunning with your own passions
and things, which is absolutelycool.
The only other thing that yousaid there that really struck a
chord was this quote this notionof overnight success.
I think it was Lionel Messithat said in an Instagram post
he says it's funny because ittook me 20 years to become an
(37:17):
overnight success, and how manyaccolades and awards has he got
for it as a football or a soccerstar?
It's so interesting in that,even with podcasting, just an
off the cuff stat is, I think,somewhere in the region of 60 to
70% of all podcasts on Appledon't have any more than like
(37:39):
seven episodes.
Yeah, and if a podcast, if ahundred podcasts started today,
in two years' time there wouldonly be roughly around six less,
just because people just do.
Consistency is the name of thegame, and I think you epitomize
that.
Despite the struggles, despitethe hardship, you kept through
and well you've got.
You've reaped the rewards andbenefits, and rightly so.
(38:02):
We're just coming up on the endof the show, but my final
question to you is what's thequestion you've never been asked
?
Speaker 1 (38:13):
Oh man, I don't even know.
I haven't ever thought aboutthat.
As far as being a tattoo artist, it could be funny, serious
anything.
You should have prepared me alittle better for that one.
I don't think I noticed that.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
It can be a relation to tattoo artists.
This is like gives you fullcreative freedom.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Yeah, that's a tough one Because and again I go back
to I have two to four hourconversations twice a day, six
days a week.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
So we talk about so you haven't been asked.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Yeah, there's, and yeah, that's a tough one, just
because it is something I talkso much my wife will attest to
this.
I'm always talking, so it's,that's a rough one and I'm not
even sure where to begin on that.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
I'll throw you a question I'd be curious about,
given you are a tattoo artist.
What would be your perfecttattoo If you could get it on
yourself or tattoo someone inyour mind?
What would be the perfecttattoo?
Is it a quote?
Is it an image?
(39:43):
In your opinion, what do youthink is the best tattoo you can
get?
Speaker 1 (39:47):
Oh man, I always tell people stay away from words, so
don't get words.
Oh really, yeah, I have wordson me, which is kind of
redundant, but tattooing is art,so you can use art to depict
any kind of quote or any kind ofsaying that you could ever
(40:09):
think of.
A lot of people think, in verylogical sense.
They think of well, I heardthis quote, so I want to put
this quote on me.
What is the quote about?
What story does it tell you?
So they don't think about thevisual cues that pop up in your
head when you say those things.
So I think that when you cometo me and you want this tattoo
(40:33):
to be about a certain thing,that's a better story than just
putting the quote on you,because tattooing is an art and
anybody can type some words on acomputer and change the font
and put it into whatever, butnot everybody can take and draw
(40:55):
a beautiful picture thatrepresents that.
Saying so to me.
Right now I'm trying to do themost perfect back piece for my
wife and we're going to start totattoo this sometime here
shortly, as soon as I stoptraveling around the country for
(41:16):
fun.
But yeah, I'm going to tattoomy wife's back.
She's already got a full legsleep from me and we're going to
try and get this back done, andI don't know if you know what a
jackalope is, but it is goingto be a giant jackalope on her
back.
Speaker 2 (41:35):
I'm afraid I don't know what that is, that's got to
be an American thing.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
It's got to be an American Western thing.
But it is a jackrabbit withantlers.
It's a mythical creature.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
Oh, yes, yes, yes I saw the pictures, but I didn't
quite click in my head.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Yeah, that's a jackalope, but yeah, I'm going
to do and I take a lot of pridein the bigger pieces like that.
So they take me a lot longer todraw up and design stuff.
So she keeps telling me to getmy buddy in gear so we can get
it started.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
Fair enough.
Well, that's really cool, man.
I really like that and I reallylike what you said there about
anyone can just type up.
What popped into my head wasyou're an artist, not a
typewriter, and you said it sowell that you're an artist and a
picture can convey what you'refeeling so much better, and a
(42:40):
picture paints a thousand wordsrather than having just one line
.
Why not have this beautifulpiece of art in your body, and
then it's art is subjective.
I suppose what it means to youis personal and great, but then
if somebody else sees that, theycould go.
Actually, I really like it.
Because of this reason, I'veseen some absolutely gorgeous
tattoo pieces, I must admit.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Yeah, yeah, and I think it's great when you just
let it be art and speak foritself doesn't need to be words.
I'm not a typewriter.
I like that.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
You can use that on your next client that comes in.
Speaker 1 (43:17):
Yeah definitely.
Speaker 2 (43:21):
What tattoo do you want?
Oh, a Carpe diem.
No, no, it's not happening.
Speaker 1 (43:25):
I'm not a typewriter.
Let's do something else.
We're going to do a giant carpon you.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
Oh, fantastic.
Thanks very much for coming on,clint, but before you do go, if
the audience wanted to connectwith your content and see your
journey from your, well, yourtotal catalog of your tattoos
and stuff as well, what can theyfind you?
Speaker 1 (43:51):
The easiest place is on Instagram, and it's.
I am Radness, all one word.
That's the easiest place tofind me.
You can find me on Facebook,too, under Clint McInnis, but
yeah, either of those spots.
Speaker 2 (44:05):
Cool, no worries, and I'll put them in the show notes
as well, just for a convenientclick for the audience.
But do check it out.
He's absolutely amazing artist.
But, clint, I want to say thankyou so much for coming on the
show again, and you know tellingyour story and sharing your
wisdom, and I'm sure we'll haveyou back on again sometime soon,
because there's never a dullmoment with you.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
Yeah, I'm looking forward to it, man, it was good
to be on here again.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
Cheers, Clint.
There you go, folks.
That concludes today's episode.
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(44:51):
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Bye for now.
Hello everyone and welcome to the Curious Ulsterman
podcast, the podcast designedto equip you with the tools and
wisdom you need to thrive as anadult.
I am your host, johnny aka theCurious Ulsterman, and today I'm
joined by my friend and repeatguest, clint McEnnis.
In today's episode we discussthe step-by-step process to
becoming a tattoo artist andalso Clint's advice to aspiring
(00:32):
artists everywhere.
But without further delay, hereis today's episode on how to
become a tattoo artist withClint McEnnis.
Hello, clint, welcome back tothe show.
It's good to see you again, man.
Yeah, man, the first episode youcame on I think I don't know if
it was series one or series two, but it was a fantastic
(00:55):
conversation, just your lifestory in general.
The audience definitely likedthat one, but I'm really glad to
have you back again today todiscuss your livelihood and
passion and how to become atattoo artist.
If you haven't checked outClint's story, do go back and
check it in the series before.
You'll love it, folks.
(01:16):
But I'm really interested tohear what you have to say today,
because I've known a fair fewpeople just in my own circles
who've said I'm really thinkingabout becoming a tattoo artist
and I'll be honest, I don't haveany tattoos.
I drew the short straw ofallergies and I can't get
tattoos.
But yeah, I'll be very keen tosee what your own journey to
(01:38):
becoming a tattoo artist andowning your own business now, if
I'm correct, yeah, yeah, yeah,fantastic.
So if we're going from probablynever doing tattoos to owning
your own business, that'sincredible and we'll dive right
into that story.
The first thing I want to askis where did it all begin for
yourself?
When did you suddenly decideright, do you know what?
(01:59):
I want to become a tattooartist, because I think a lot of
people have this ambition, butthey just don't know where to
start, and I'd be interested tosee where your own journey began
.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yeah, the funny thing is I don't.
I kind of hate this questionbecause it shows exactly who I
am as a person, which doesn'tvibe with a lot of people.
So I actually grew up drawingall the time, just always had a
pencil in my hand, ever.
From the time that I coulddiscern what was going on.
(02:31):
I was drawing and coloring onthings, just really tried hard
and art excelled at it notnecessarily naturally excelled
at it, but just worked out ofthat tone and was always doing
it.
So I was usually somewhatbetter than kids my age and
there was always a couple ofkids here and there that were
(02:54):
better than me, but it neverstopped me from doing that.
But I also grew up Mormon orLDS, so I never really thought
that tattoos were going to be athing for me until I stopped
going to church and kind of letmyself do what I wanted to do in
(03:14):
life instead of worrying aboutwhat other people thought about
it.
And that wasn't even until mymid 20s like 24, 25, somewhere
in there I got my first coupleof tattoos, and this is where
you'll see exactly who I am as aperson.
I got my second or third tattooand I was looking at it and I
(03:37):
thought to myself you know, Ithink I could do better than
that guy.
That was when I turned aroundand went out and found an
apprenticeship that I could goand learn these things.
It's not something that you cannecessarily learn all that well
(03:57):
on YouTube or through theinternet or just even through
your own devices.
It's really hard because it'ssuch an intensive thing and
every body like literally everysingle body is different as far
as skin type and toughness andall of these things.
(04:19):
So it's not just like a canvas,where every canvas is pretty
close to the same and the onlything that really changes is the
tooth and the toughness of thecanvas.
So you need somebody over yourshoulder explaining why certain
things go certain ways and whyother things don't go that way
(04:41):
on what seems to be the sametype of skin.
So it's a really tough thing tolearn on your own.
So I do advise that people goand get an apprenticeship, just
because that excels yourlearning so much more.
The guy who actually mentoredme wasn't all that great at this
and his standard response foreverything was oh, you just got
(05:06):
to feel it and I would have adifferent question.
Oh, you just got to feel it andit was like, no, that's not so
some people who are not cut out.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Yeah, it was, it was.
It was a quite a journey.
But I mean, it's such anintensive thing that it's not
just like learning about colorsand learning about all of this.
It's proper depth in the skinand even aftercare of telling
people how to take care of atattoo and cleanliness too.
(05:41):
There's a lot that goes intothat as far as bloodborne
pathogens, and you've got toknow your stuff there and be
really safe that you don'tcross-contaminate everybody.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Oh yeah, 100%.
Yeah, that would be a nightmareif that did happen.
I really like what you saidearlier on about how you know
this wasn't even something youstarted to do until your mid-20s
, and I feel like a lot ofpeople feel like they have to
have done something either intheir late teens or, you know,
early 20s.
And you know I'm not willing tostart afresh or start something
(06:15):
new, and I love the fact thatyou know you can, with your own
story, inspire people to goactually.
This has always been my passionand I just feel like this now
is the time to do it, and I likethe fact as well that you know
you're recognized, without beingVian your own talents, because
(06:36):
I feel like a lot of people willput themselves down and go.
They could be very good artistsIn fact, I'm interviewing a
very capable artist tomorrow buta lot of people, I think, will
play down their talents and, youknow, not have that confidence
to go actually with some.
You know mentoring I couldactually be pretty good at this
and make a living off.
(06:57):
You know what I actually enjoydoing.
While you were speaking, though,a new question just came to my
mind, and that you were sayingthat you know the mentor.
You had probably a very capabletattooist, but maybe not a
great teacher.
What's the best way for peopleto get started, in your opinion?
(07:18):
Like somebody has decided right, I absolutely want to be a
tattoo artist, but this is whatyou know gives me joy, but I
don't know where to get started.
If someone came to you todayand said, clint, where do I
start?
How would you advise them inthat regard?
Speaker 1 (07:36):
The first thing that I usually tell people is go and
get tattooed quite a bit by guysthat you look up to or women
that you look up to.
It doesn't really matter inthat regard, but go and get
tattooed by them and talk tothem more about how everybody
got their start and let themknow that you're curious about
it.
Some of those people do havegreat teaching talents and they
(08:01):
are the people to step into thatrole and pass down that
tradition and pass down theskills necessary and help other
people on their journey.
So it takes a lot of going andgetting tattooed to figure out
what a good tattoo looks like,and because at first there's a
(08:22):
lot of people who, um and notnecessarily from the art
community, but just the generalpublic who don't know what a
good tattoo looks like.
So you get a lot of bad tattoosand and Everybody who has ten
tattoos or more has a couple badtattoos I don't care who you
are.
You went to a new artist or youyou've traded or listened to
(08:45):
one of your friends who didn'tknow what they were talking
about.
So so you start to realize likewho's producing good tattoos
and who's producing bad tattoos.
You go and get tattooed bythese, these good artists, and
ask them about their journey andand maybe even say, hey, it's,
this is something I'm reallyinterested in and and they can
help you further on that path.
(09:07):
It takes somebody that's alreadydoing it in in the industry,
which I know sounds.
It kind of sounds bass-acquardsof Well, I've got to know
somebody in the industry to getinto the industry, but it's.
It's really the right way to doit, just because you can spend
a lot of time messing up andTattoos are permanent.
(09:30):
So, of course, yeah, it's.
It's not like a painting canvaswhere I'm gonna try this new
method and it's fine because Ican throw it away or I can paint
over it.
That's not how tattoos work.
That's a permanent art.
So once that canvas is burned,yeah, you can do cover-ups, but
those are exponentially harderthan than a normal tattoo with
(09:51):
the fresh skin.
So it really is vital to havesomebody who knows what they're
doing to help you in the rightdirection.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Yeah, fantastic.
So, hyperfetathy, someone ispointing them in the right
direction.
I heard you mentioned thatthere is an apprenticeship.
Is that the standard go-to, oris there something you would
typically do as a side hustle toget experience, or how does it
normally go?
Speaker 1 (10:17):
so an apprenticeship most people when they want to,
when they want to get intotattooing.
That's the general like typicalpath is an apprenticeship and
there's no standardized like oh,your apprenticeship is gonna be
Three months and you're gonnado X amount of hours per week.
There's no standard.
(10:38):
It's gonna be different forevery single be, every single
mentor and apprentice.
Some people I've heard of threeand four year apprenticeships
and and that is crazy to me, butthat's awesome that they're
taking it that far and then I'veheard of two month
(10:58):
apprenticeships, which I don'treally agree with.
On that end either, thatthere's, there's definitely a
happy medium somewhere in themiddle, but it's also Gotta fit
each artist in each mentor.
Some people are like myself.
I was working a full-time joband Going and working a 12-hour
(11:18):
shift and turning around to goand tattoo for three or four
hours every day Doesn't allow meto practice as much as someone
who's 20 and didn't have anyresponsibilities.
They can.
They can save up some money andquit a job and then do their
apprenticeship right there.
I didn't really have thatoption.
I needed to be making moneybecause of having a family and
kids and stuff.
(11:38):
So yeah, everybody's situationis a little different Mine.
Mine just fit the bill for whatI was doing.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Yeah, yes, so it's very unique to your own journey.
And then, once on completion ofsaid apprenticeship, however
long that may be, you are then Idon't want to say fully fledged
, but you, you are now quoteunquote a tattooist and Assuming
you'll get your start insomebody's shop and you know,
cut your teeth, doing, you knowthe basic jobs and then I assume
(12:11):
you would move to moreintricate designs or, in your
opinion, do you go if you'revery talented Can you go to
straight and then intricatedesigns.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Yeah, I mean, it depends on art level, for sure,
but that's that's basically.
It is you.
You start your apprenticeshipand you Learn and you start with
very basic things.
For a reason.
Those are your foundation andin tattooing.
So you've got to figure out howto do those things really well
and they're usually pretty,pretty basic designs that are
(12:42):
palm size or smaller, and you dothose for a while until you get
a little more comfortable andthen you branch out a little
more and, depending on what artstyle you you tend to vibe with,
is is kind of where you end upmoving after that.
Most people, when they starttattooing, they're doing pretty
(13:03):
simple stuff and it graduallygets more complex and and more
it gets larger and everythingjust tends to go up from there.
Some people tend to jump in alittle too fast and get in over
their head and Then you can goand see a myriad of bad tattoos
(13:23):
across the internet that we canall laugh at.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Yeah, I want, and that's just.
This is from a customer'sperspective and also an aspiring
tattoo artist perspective.
But in your opinion, what is ared red flags for a tattoo
artist?
But we're also some green flagsas well.
What are you on the lookout forwith a good tattoo artist?
Speaker 1 (13:51):
So, so red flags and tattoo artists.
Is any tattoo artist that saysthey can handle every single
style of art?
That's a huge red flag.
There are a lot of people thathandle a lot of different styles
, but not every single style.
But let's look at it from anart perspective first.
You wouldn't go to the inardoand Ask him to Ask him to do a
(14:20):
van go.
That's not his art style.
So, while he may be able to getsomewhat close, he's not the
one that specializes in that.
So you, you have to realize thattattooing is art and art has
styles.
So any tattoo artist that says,yeah, I can handle every single
(14:42):
style out there and ask himwhat their style is they should
be a good tattoo artist willtell you, yeah, I usually do
this style like and in thatstyle.
I tend to stay away from thosestyles over there, they're just
not my forte, but I can referyou to someone who who does do
those styles.
That's, that's a green flag fora tattoo artist right there.
(15:05):
Well, people get prettyarrogant when it comes to
tattooing and they say thatthey'll, they'll do any style,
and Then you get a terriblerendition of one style and and
that's on you for life that'spermanent, like we were just
talking about, and that's that'shard to accept for a lot of
people.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Yeah, yeah, 100%.
And is that just the major redflag and green flag?
Is there any more subtle ones,or should we just leave it there
?
Speaker 1 (15:38):
There's problem.
There's definitely one otherone, and that is the cleanliness
of the shop, just overallhygiene of the shop and the
tattoo artist.
If you've got a tattoo artistwho looks like he hasn't bathed
in four years and you can wipethe film of dust off of the
(15:59):
floor or you see blood splatter,it's probably not the best idea
to get tattooed by that person.
Yeah, so I always yeah, yeah, Ihave a family across the
country and I tell them whenthey're asking about finding a
new tattoo artist.
I always tell them, like, goand look at the shop, make sure
(16:19):
it's clean, and one of theeasiest ways to do that is to
use the restroom.
If you go in and a bathroom isclean, chances are the rest of
the shop is probably prettyclose to on par as far as tattoo
standards are concerned.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Yeah, man, that's really good.
That's very useful information.
A bit off the cuff, but this isjust from a very good friend of
mine who has dozens of tattoos,and it was a quote he said to
me once and I just wanted to getyour perspective on it.
And he was saying about youknow, if he cannot decide to get
(16:57):
a tattoo.
I know we're talking aboutbecoming a tattoo artist, but
that's just a little interestingdiversion I would love your
opinion on.
For those people in the audiencewho are thinking about getting
a tattoo but they're not quitesure because, as it's very
obvious, it's very permanent anda massive pain in the ass to
get all it.
Get rid of His.
What he said to me was if you,if you see a tattoo and you
(17:20):
think, or you see a picture, youthink I'd like to get that as a
tattoo.
He said to hang it on your wallfor six months and if you're
still not sick of it after sixmonths, then get it as a tattoo.
But have you any opinions,perspectives or anything new to
add to that?
Like, if someone's a bit, Idon't know whether to get this
tattoo or not.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
Yeah, I actually don't react like that at all,
and none of my clients do either.
So I have a lot of clients thatthey'll, they'll message me or
call me and hey, clint, I'mlooking to get such and such,
I'm looking to get this dragonon my back or whatever.
And I'm like, cool, and we setup the appointment.
(17:59):
They don't see the tattoodesign because I don't draw that
up.
Right, then I don't sell them adesign I, they know that.
Then they trust my art style isgoing to be what they want.
So even if you hung up a pictureof a dragon tattoo that you
(18:22):
wanted to get done and you hungthat up on your wall and then
after six months you were like,yeah, I really want to get this.
And you came into me thatdesign has probably already been
done and so I draw everythingcustom.
So you may not you, you mayhave this exact dragon in your
head.
Well, when you come in to gettattooed by me, I've drawn
(18:43):
something different.
It's still a dragon, but it'smy style, it's my artwork, so
that you're not gettingsomething else that somebody
else has already gotten, whichto me, I can kind of agree with
him.
But I also think that after youget a few tattoos, that starts
(19:04):
to go less and less, because youstart to look at it as art and,
to be to be frank, I look at mytattoos and I look at them the
same way that I look at freckleson my body, like I don't really
notice them all that muchanymore, so it's just a part of
(19:26):
my skin.
I don't.
I don't look down and, oh, Ihave this out tattoo.
Yes, I have an out tattoo, butI don't even like it's such a
nonchalant thing anymore that Idon't really notice the owl
tattoo.
I just noticed I have tattoosand it's a part of my skin.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Yeah, yeah.
Do you have any advice forpeople who have had a tattoo or
regret tattoo, and what would betheir best option for that?
Do they?
Is it to get it removed or justto get a tattoo done over it?
I know I think you did mentionit is a bit of a pain in the ass
(20:04):
to do, rather than just freshskin.
But you know, someone's maybebeen drunk and got a silly
tattoo and they're like, yeah,okay, I need to get that changed
.
What's your opinion on that?
Speaker 1 (20:16):
It really is is a case by case thing.
Like if you got this giant,really dark tattoo and you're
not extremely thrilled with it,I would.
I would go and talk to you areally good tattoo artist and
ask them what your options are.
But if you have this big, giantdark piece, it's hard to cover
(20:37):
that up, so you may need to do asession or two of laser to
lighten it and then go in andcover it up, or or they may be
help, they may be able to helpyou with with covering it up
like it is.
But it's such a case by casething because I've seen tattoos
that were they were extremelylight and the person's like, oh,
(20:59):
I don't know if you're going tobe able to cover it, and I'm
like, oh, I got that all day,like you're never going to see
that again.
So, yeah, it's such a case bycase thing.
But yeah, I tend to always givepeople the advice of make sure
the tattoo artist that you'regoing to is somebody that you
(21:20):
trust and make sure you're notgoing in and doing a drunk, so
that way you know what you'regetting, not getting misspelled
words and stuff like that.
So take it serious.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, yeah, not 100%, otherwise you become a meme in
the internet.
Yes, yeah, so this is one I amlooking forward to, because I
was undoubtedly a big decision.
But how did you know it was theright moment to transition from
(21:54):
your day job to becoming atattoo artist?
Like what was that I'm readymoment?
And how did you know?
Just because I'm sure otherpeople are probably going
through the same thing.
Perhaps they went on the samejourney as yourself of their.
They do a job, full time job,but then they've got a bit of
tattooing on the side andthey're waiting for that moment,
that leap of faith.
(22:14):
I need to make it go.
What was it for you?
Speaker 1 (22:18):
So this is actually the something that I advised
every person that's startingtheir own business, whether
they're a tattoo or not.
Try to make in a day what yourday job makes in a week.
And I remember the day thatthis happened for me as a tattoo
artist.
I came in on a Saturday becauseI didn't have a normal job to
(22:39):
go to that day.
I worked all day.
It was like a 10 or 11 hour day, which as a tattooer that's a
pretty long day, and I had madeenough money that it was
actually equal to a week's worthof pay for my normal job.
And I sat down at the end ofthe day and I'm getting all my
(23:00):
totals out and I'm looking at itand I'm like, man, this could
be a full time job, I could dothis.
And I remember making a planthat next day.
So it was Sunday I sat down andI made a plan of okay, I'm going
to have six months worth ofsavings put over to the side.
So for the next little while,all of my tattoo money is just
(23:23):
going to that.
I'm not spending it, I'm notbeing irresponsible with it,
which is what I like doing,because I like spending money,
but I'm really trying hard toput away that six months.
And as soon as that six monthsis saved up, I'm going to walk
into my normal day job and I'mgoing to tell them hey, you've
(23:43):
got two weeks left with me, andthen I'm out of here.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Yeah, yeah, very sound advice.
And that was from a logisticalperspective, but from within
your own soul, so to speak, andyour own mind, I feel like a lot
of people either need thatlittle shove of encouragement or
they need that littleconfidence boost.
What was it, apart from thefinancial side of it?
(24:10):
Was there a moment that youjust went right?
Enough is enough.
I was put on this earth to domore than pay bills and go to
work, and I'd rather chase aftermy passion.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
I think I've always had that innate belief inside of
me that I was put here for morethan just paying bills and
working a normal job.
So that one's kind of tough forme to say, and everybody's
going to be different in theirself-belief on that.
But I think if you look aroundyou and you see other people
(24:44):
doing what they want to do inlife and living their life
exactly as they want to, thatshould give you reason enough
right there that, hey, I can dosomething like this if it makes
sense logically.
That doesn't mean you can goand just do whatever, but if you
can make it work and you canmake it work logically, you can
(25:06):
go and live the exact same life.
That's why it pays to havereally good friends that prove
these things to you on a dailybasis.
I've had several friends, andeven my wife.
She's recently quit her jobbecause she saw how rad my life
was and how rad I had.
Made it to the point of like,well, heck, I don't want to go
(25:29):
to a 40-hour week job.
Like Clint does what he wants,he gets to go hang out with his
kids when he wants to.
He flies all over the countrydoing all these crazy things she
wanted to live that life too.
I helped instill that belief inher because she saw it
firsthand.
(25:49):
But that's the same thing withseveral of my friends.
They've went and quit their jobto turn around and run their
own business, because if youwant to, you can make it happen.
I'm nobody special.
If I can do it, anybody can.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Yeah, that's really inspiring as well, because I
like the fact that it's stillwholesome.
What you just said, it's kindof like the lighthouse analogy
I've used in the podcast before.
You can either be a tugboat andtry to rescue people or you can
just be a beacon and peoplewill go damn.
I want that.
That's the life I want.
(26:29):
That's the drive, that's thepassion, that's the life I dream
of.
Well, somebody has got the restinto gear and materialized my
dream.
I love what you say as well.
I think you're a very cool dudebut, as you say, you're not
special, which means it's opento everybody.
Anybody can do it with enoughdiscipline, planning and logic.
(26:52):
As you say, tatoo Artist is notmy particular cup of tea.
I have massive respect for theart and the craft and how long
it takes to master that skill.
Whatever your cup of tea is,you're a prime example of what
hard work can do.
With all that in mind, you'venow arrived.
(27:16):
You own your own business andyou're living the life you want
and loving it.
But something I do want to askis that no job is perfect.
Just to give the audience, andespecially the aspiring tattoo
artists, the full picture whatdoes a good aversion, a bad day,
look like as a tattoo artist,just because I'm sure a lot of
(27:38):
people go.
Well, the grass is alwaysgreener on the other side.
But, as someone one of my oldbosses once said to me, the
grass is greener on the otherside because it's fertilized
with different kind of shit, andthat's always stuck with me.
So what's the good, the averageand the bad?
Speaker 1 (27:56):
So the good is I'm made for my job and I get to sit
down and I get to talk topeople for two to four hours at
a time and they can't run offbecause then their tattoo's not
done.
So they have to sit and forceto be talked to me, and that's
what I love in life.
I love having thoseconversations.
(28:17):
So, to me, being able to createsomething that I wanted to
tattoo, and they just gave methe idea and I ran with it,
that's the great of it, and Iget paid very well to do that.
The bad of that is, tattooing isnot something that is necessary
(28:37):
.
So, with the world going theway that has been the last few
years, you start to realize whenwe shut down for a whole 30
days that was how long we shutdown before here and where I'm
at and during that 30 days, yeah, I had enough money to be okay,
(28:59):
not working.
But I was like, oh man, I amnot necessary to society.
People need to pay for theirhouse, people need to pay for
their groceries, people need topay all of their bills way
before they ever think aboutgetting a tattoo.
So a tattoo is a very muchluxury item and sometimes that
means that you're going to getcanceled on because somebody
(29:23):
blew out a tire on their car ortheir kid had extra bills from
the dentist or whatever it maybe.
There's a lot of things thatcome before getting a tattoo, so
you're going to have acancellation here and there
You're going to have a pain inthe head.
Client who just doesn't want to,doesn't want to see your
(29:50):
perspective of things, and youdon't always have to deal with
them.
I've gotten to the point wherein my career I don't have to
deal with them anymore.
If they're a pain to me, I'mokay firing that client.
But when you're newer you dohave to deal with clients like
that.
So you have to learn how totalk to people, and some people
(30:11):
aren't that great at talking topeople, especially artists.
Artists are terrible at talkingto people because we deal with
paper, we deal with canvases, wedon't deal with people.
So you've got to get reallygood at talking to people,
otherwise that can be a very badthing for you.
On the very same note, it's avery good thing for me.
The middle ground of that is Itreat tattooing just like a job.
(30:39):
I may not work 40 hours a weekbecause that sounds terrible,
but I treat it just like a jobin the fact that I'm in there
five to six days a week and I dothat because I love it, but I
also do that because I havethree kids to feed a wife who
also has three kids.
We've got a very big household.
(31:01):
I've got to keep this roof overour heads and there are some
days where tattooing is justlike the job that you do.
It has to be just a job atcertain times, because some days
I'm just there to do as good ofquality as art as I could do,
(31:25):
but that day in particular it'sjust a job.
And it's not often, but somedays it is like that.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Yeah, I really like what you've said, because I've
seen a few.
What would you call them?
What's the word?
It's the closest I can considerwould be influencers on social
media, from business to sportsto whatever.
Every single one of them whoare in these successful fields
(31:54):
that people chase after, say.
Let's like, just destroy theillusion right now that there is
no perfect job.
You are not going to turn up toyour job every single day and
you're going to be permanentlyhappy and everything's going to
go 100%.
Even your dream job hasdownsides.
So like, for example,podcasting for me.
I love podcasting, in that Ilove talking with you and people
(32:14):
, but I don't like typing upshow notes.
I don't like editing.
I don't like well okay, actuallyI can't take away the thunder
from my outstanding sound editorR, and a big shout out to him.
But certainly in the beginning,if I had to do some editing,
it's time consuming, mentallydraining, but as a whole I love
(32:38):
podcasting, which is why I'mstill doing it, and it's the
same for you.
I assume you love tattooing asa whole, but you, like you said,
occasionally you get atroublesome client, or some days
it is just a job just to paythe bills, but nine times out of
10, from what I'm getting it'sa passion for yourself.
Yeah, the only other question Ihave here is with the, so the
(33:04):
sum total of your journey tobecoming a tattoo artist, what
are the most important lessonsthat you can impart to the
audience?
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Oh man, I mean we could do about a year's episode
on that.
Grab your popcorn and settle in.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Yeah.
You're working back on thepodcast all the time, Clint.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Yeah, it's tough to say.
I think, as long as you alwayshave a better version of what
your life could be in your headand you're constantly working
towards that and it can be yourjob, or it can be your physical
body or your financial status,whatever that may be as long as
(33:55):
you've got this better versionand you're constantly working on
getting to that in at least oneway every single day, I think
that you can eventually getthere.
But a lot of people think thatthis is an overnight success
thing.
As a tattoo artist, I actuallyin like two days is my
(34:20):
anniversary of being a full-timetattoo artist for the last six
years, and that wasn't anovernight success of I quit my
job and all of a sudden I wasmaking six figures drawing on
evil.
That's not how that worked forme.
I quit my job and I had thatsix months worth of savings
(34:40):
saved up and I worked my buttoff and I remember a certain
point and it was roughly 12months into being full-time but
I had zero dollars of that moneystill saved and it was because
I was trying so hard to make itwork in a different city, which
(35:03):
is a whole other subject.
But I did things incorrectly onthat part, but it wasn't just
all of a sudden succeeded when Iquit my job.
There's going to be hard timesand there's going to be times
when you feel like you want toquit the job that you walked
(35:26):
into and I felt like quittingtattoo not necessarily quitting
tattooing, but I felt likegetting another job because I
didn't think that I was going tomake it.
It's going to feel like thatsometimes, but you have to
constantly keep working tobecome that quote unquote
overnight success.
Mine only took me four years toget to where I was comfortable
(35:52):
and now it's now to me.
It's in a state where I'm like,okay, what?
How do I get to the next level?
Because I'm really I'm nottopped out as a tattoo artist,
but I want to get to that nextlevel and I'm really
concentrating on that very hard.
So you've constantly got to bethinking of that, even when you
(36:14):
get to that point of, okay, nowI'm comfortable.
I think you need to concentrateon that next step even more at
that point, because the minutethat you think, well, I'm
comfortable and you stop workingon those things, it's all going
to crash and burn.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
Yeah, absolutely sound advice, and I like the
fact that you talk about how itwasn't all sunshine and rainbows
, like, yes, you were in aparticularly good position, but
you still made mistakes alongthe way, which somewhat hindered
the journey, but you're stillat that.
You conquered your Everest, soto speak.
(36:55):
You run your own life andrunning with your own passions
and things, which is absolutelycool.
The only other thing that yousaid there that really struck a
chord was this quote this notionof overnight success.
I think it was Lionel Messithat said in an Instagram post
he says it's funny because ittook me 20 years to become an
(37:17):
overnight success, and how manyaccolades and awards has he got
for it as a football or a soccerstar?
It's so interesting in that,even with podcasting, just an
off the cuff stat is, I think,somewhere in the region of 60 to
70% of all podcasts on Appledon't have any more than like
(37:39):
seven episodes.
Yeah, and if a podcast, if ahundred podcasts started today,
in two years' time there wouldonly be roughly around six less,
just because people just do.
Consistency is the name of thegame, and I think you epitomize
that.
Despite the struggles, despitethe hardship, you kept through
and well you've got.
You've reaped the rewards andbenefits, and rightly so.
(38:02):
We're just coming up on the endof the show, but my final
question to you is what's thequestion you've never been asked
?
Speaker 1 (38:13):
Oh man, I don't even know.
I haven't ever thought aboutthat.
As far as being a tattoo artist, it could be funny, serious
anything.
You should have prepared me alittle better for that one.
I don't think I noticed that.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
It can be a relation to tattoo artists.
This is like gives you fullcreative freedom.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Yeah, that's a tough one Because and again I go back
to I have two to four hourconversations twice a day, six
days a week.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
So we talk about so you haven't been asked.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Yeah, there's, and yeah, that's a tough one, just
because it is something I talkso much my wife will attest to
this.
I'm always talking, so it's,that's a rough one and I'm not
even sure where to begin on that.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
I'll throw you a question I'd be curious about,
given you are a tattoo artist.
What would be your perfecttattoo If you could get it on
yourself or tattoo someone inyour mind?
What would be the perfecttattoo?
Is it a quote?
Is it an image?
(39:43):
In your opinion, what do youthink is the best tattoo you can
get?
Speaker 1 (39:47):
Oh man, I always tell people stay away from words, so
don't get words.
Oh really, yeah, I have wordson me, which is kind of
redundant, but tattooing is art,so you can use art to depict
any kind of quote or any kind ofsaying that you could ever
(40:09):
think of.
A lot of people think, in verylogical sense.
They think of well, I heardthis quote, so I want to put
this quote on me.
What is the quote about?
What story does it tell you?
So they don't think about thevisual cues that pop up in your
head when you say those things.
So I think that when you cometo me and you want this tattoo
(40:33):
to be about a certain thing,that's a better story than just
putting the quote on you,because tattooing is an art and
anybody can type some words on acomputer and change the font
and put it into whatever, butnot everybody can take and draw
(40:55):
a beautiful picture thatrepresents that.
Saying so to me.
Right now I'm trying to do themost perfect back piece for my
wife and we're going to start totattoo this sometime here
shortly, as soon as I stoptraveling around the country for
(41:16):
fun.
But yeah, I'm going to tattoomy wife's back.
She's already got a full legsleep from me and we're going to
try and get this back done, andI don't know if you know what a
jackalope is, but it is goingto be a giant jackalope on her
back.
Speaker 2 (41:35):
I'm afraid I don't know what that is, that's got to
be an American thing.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
It's got to be an American Western thing.
But it is a jackrabbit withantlers.
It's a mythical creature.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
Oh, yes, yes, yes I saw the pictures, but I didn't
quite click in my head.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Yeah, that's a jackalope, but yeah, I'm going
to do and I take a lot of pridein the bigger pieces like that.
So they take me a lot longer todraw up and design stuff.
So she keeps telling me to getmy buddy in gear so we can get
it started.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
Fair enough.
Well, that's really cool, man.
I really like that and I reallylike what you said there about
anyone can just type up.
What popped into my head wasyou're an artist, not a
typewriter, and you said it sowell that you're an artist and a
picture can convey what you'refeeling so much better, and a
(42:40):
picture paints a thousand wordsrather than having just one line
.
Why not have this beautifulpiece of art in your body, and
then it's art is subjective.
I suppose what it means to youis personal and great, but then
if somebody else sees that, theycould go.
Actually, I really like it.
Because of this reason, I'veseen some absolutely gorgeous
tattoo pieces, I must admit.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Yeah, yeah, and I think it's great when you just
let it be art and speak foritself doesn't need to be words.
I'm not a typewriter.
I like that.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
You can use that on your next client that comes in.
Speaker 1 (43:17):
Yeah definitely.
Speaker 2 (43:21):
What tattoo do you want?
Oh, a Carpe diem.
No, no, it's not happening.
Speaker 1 (43:25):
I'm not a typewriter.
Let's do something else.
We're going to do a giant carpon you.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
Oh, fantastic.
Thanks very much for coming on,clint, but before you do go, if
the audience wanted to connectwith your content and see your
journey from your, well, yourtotal catalog of your tattoos
and stuff as well, what can theyfind you?
Speaker 1 (43:51):
The easiest place is on Instagram, and it's.
I am Radness, all one word.
That's the easiest place tofind me.
You can find me on Facebook,too, under Clint McInnis, but
yeah, either of those spots.
Speaker 2 (44:05):
Cool, no worries, and I'll put them in the show notes
as well, just for a convenientclick for the audience.
But do check it out.
He's absolutely amazing artist.
But, clint, I want to say thankyou so much for coming on the
show again, and you know tellingyour story and sharing your
wisdom, and I'm sure we'll haveyou back on again sometime soon,
because there's never a dullmoment with you.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
Yeah, I'm looking forward to it, man, it was good
to be on here again.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
Cheers, Clint.
There you go, folks.
That concludes today's episode.
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(44:51):
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As always, folks, I'm open tosuggestions to make this podcast
(45:35):
a better experience for you,the listener, If you tuned in
today for the first time, thankyou very much and I hope you got
value from the content Iprovide If you're one of our
seasoned listeners.
Thank you so much for thecontinuous support.
I am eternally grateful.
Till next time.
I wish you all the best.
Bye for now.
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