Boston Tattoo Company

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
For thirty five years, Cindy Stumpohas been a female home builder with a
passion for design, a mastery ofdetail, and a commitment to her crack.
With daughter Samantha Stumpo by her side, I don't need my whole family
on a date with me. That'sa good note. It's godemn weird.
See. Stumpo Development is the onlysecond generation female construction company in the country.
You're crazy, You're a wacko,You're insane. I mean, it

(00:23):
just doesn't end together. Cindy andSamantha welcome guests to explore the world of
construction, real estate, development,design and more. Unpredictable. Every time
I think I know what you want, you switch it out. But that's
what makes your houses all your day. Discuss anything that happens between the roof
and the foundation. Nothing is offlimits. You truly do care about everybody.
She can yell at chi can scream, but when you get her alone,

(00:44):
she's the best person on the planet. Cindy Stumpo is tough as nails.
Yea and welcome back to Cindy StumpoToughest Nails on WBZ News Radio ten
thirty. I'm here tonight with mydaughter Samantha, and I have my son
chat stumble again with me. Wow, this is crazy. Okay, So
tonight in the studio we have drumlow, drum roll. Who Oh? Hi

(01:11):
am I Jason? Jason? Yes, you've been using too much ink?
Okay? Maybe all right, Iwant to introduce yourself one more time.
You are who Hi, I amJason Zubi. I am the owner of
the Boston Tattoo Company. There wego, There we go. So last
time you were in the studios aboutfour years ago, roughly. Yeah,
A lot's going on for years.It has. We've had vaccination shots,
we've had COVID. What have wehad since I've seen you last time?

(01:34):
Well, uh, you haven't hada tattoo? No, that's chat Okay,
can we ink him? No?No, all right, we'll go
to chat in a minute, butright now we're gonna stay with you.
Jason. How did you guys do? How'd you get through COVID? And
COVID was a was a roller coaster, you know, honestly, it was.
You know, right prior to COVID, we were in the process of
expanding to a fourth location, andit just kind of crept up out of

(01:57):
nowhere. And shut us down foralmost one hundred days straight all over.
So no tattoos, no piercing,nothing, nothing. No. I mean,
I can't speak for other people duringthat time, but I mean the
shops were officially like shut down,and you know, and how long they
keep you down for before you reopenIt was I think it was close to
one hundred days, one hundred straightdays off of just and then when you

(02:23):
did reopen, did you have todo it it relsted with a plastic between
Yeah, yeah, so I meanwe kind of like, you know,
it was it was really like thefirst week or so back like after being
shut down for one hundred days,trying to put all those precautions and you
know, building walls and yeah,it was so stupid waste of money,
it was. Yeah, but youknow, yeah, you know it's just

(02:44):
plexiglass in between people. Thing likeyou know, we weren't fortunate like restaurants.
Like a restaurant could just put theirseating outside and and it was handled
like for us like we were stuck. You could have a certain amount of
people in the shop, you know, you could have people working as close
to one another. So I mean, you know, I as the owner,
you know, your first you know, instinct is to just keep everybody

(03:06):
safe. Nobody knew what was happeningat the time, so I mean,
you know, everyone tried to wearmasks that that in and of itself caused
a huge commotion. Now, couldyou bring the stuff home with you and
do any tattoos at your house ifyou wanted to know? You know,
yes, I mean anyone could,and a lot of people did. And
a lot of people, you know, I'm not speaking for me personally,
I think that was you know,over the industry. A lot of people

(03:30):
just got used to working at homeand said, hey, I ain't going
back, you know, And thatwas kind of like how we were in
like one spot, uh, priorto COVID, we were on the up
and up. We have money inthe bank, we we had a you
know, uh hearing set for Bostonand order you know, to get our
permitting and got shut down and thenyou know how to suspend all of that

(03:52):
and then eventually you know how towhittle things back down to that's a good
part as you're here today. Yeah, yeah, you know weapon well,
but again, yes, and letme tell you, after COVID, a
lot of people started getting tattoos.They were using that COVID money, the
unemployment money, and they were tattingtheir broll. We let's talk about this.
What's up with tattoos? And canI just say something and you can

(04:14):
call me old fashion? It's okaybecause I know you're gonna okay, that's
good. That's good because I'm carryingright now. You don't want to call
me No, I'm playing with that. No, not playing. But with
that being said, I'm never playing. Why does my son have to have
this thing on his neck? Canyou take a look at this name?
Like? Is that do you thinkhe does? Is to torture me?
Take a look at it? Whatthe heck does this thing mean? Stuff

(04:36):
that I have? I got ahome watch of stuff? Okay? Can
you guys put your tattoos from yourneck down with your shirt covers things?
The wrong guy and my next Yeahyou're not. I wouldn't even know you
had a tattoo. Yeah, whatelse? Sounding? I don't know what
the word is? Uh? Youknow. I have my opinions on like
white people get certain tattoos. Iwant your opinion. Why do people do

(04:57):
it? Is a self identity crisis? Is it? It's something from your
trauma, like you haven't become froma void. And I can't speak for
anybody else, you know, SoI think some people definitely do it to
grab attention. And that's why yousee, like before you would like,
you know, call me old fashioned. You know, I'd like to keep
them hidden. You know, you'dnever know. Some people do the exact
opposite, Like they start on theirnecks, they start on their hands,

(05:19):
they start in all the places youcan hide, and they kind of work
their way backwards. It's you know, uh, that's great if you've got
money in the bank and you ourself, you know, and even me,
like you know, as a tattooartist, I sometimes see people and I'm
like, I'd never hire this person, Like I don't know what people are
thinking, like this is my business, and I think I So you see

(05:40):
a lot you see a lot ofgarbage tattoos out there too. Well they
didn't even garbage, but it's justlike you know, like if I see
if you know, I was inthe hospital and I got to see it,
the nurse with a neck tattoo.I'm thinking twice, I mean,
go see Sammy, what I sayso and he's a tattoo on ust.
You get judged. If I seea nurse with a tattoo on it,
don't want her working on me.The how's that? Because I think she's

(06:01):
promiscuous and this is crazy and andall these things go to my head and
I wanted with that. Okay,so but you see how we do we?
I like think, oh, thiskid was a trouble kid, he
was a punk, this dad,you know, but it's not like that

(06:25):
anymore. I really wish I couldsay I understood they. You know,
why do you get tattoos? Whydid I get him? Why did you
why did you start start? Yeah? You know, I when I was
a kid, so what I youknow, I did not come from a
tattooed family, Like my parents weren'ttattooed. I had a cousin that when
he won went to college, yougot a tattoo, which I thought was

(06:46):
cool and it was hidden and nobodyknew about it. It was like this,
like really big deal. My fatherhad a guy that had a grim
Reaper tattoo done on his arm,and I thought, I thought he was
the coolest guy. And I wouldalways like stare at it and whatever,
and then you know, uh,you know kind of read the Magazine's always
kind of fascinated with it always,you know, like to draw. I
was always into that. I justkind of like, you know, when

(07:10):
I was in college, there happenedto be a tattoo shop that was owned
by a friend's girlfriend, or myfriend's girlfriend knew the guy that owned the
tattoo shop in town, and thatwas kind of like my foot in the
door. Wait minute, you're howold? Forty nine? Okay, So
I don't know when it became legalin Massachusetts, but I remember all the
kids, I'm fifty nine, thekids just ruption ham should get them.
Yeah, so it became legal abouttwenty years ago, and that's roughly the

(07:31):
time where I moved to messages.So only twenty years ago was it legal
to get the tattoo in Massachusetts?Really? Yeah, I did not know
that. I didn't know it waslegal here. Yeah. Well I know,
but when you think it's only beentwenty years that's been legal, So
why was it illegal? It wasabout the hygiene of it, you know
it. You know, it isa lot of a lot of guys that
I know, A lot of themgot a lot of hepsy up into Hampshire

(07:58):
from tattoos and they didn't know backthen, right the needles I guess weren't
all clean whatever that was. Yes, that definitely. The guys that like
are in their sixties, they usedto have the union workers. They give
blood whatever they find out found outlike twenty years you got hepsibut it,
you got you know, and theycan they weren't IV users, they weren't
you know, shooting whatever they figuredit. They see, you can get

(08:20):
it a number of ways. Butyes, tattooing dirty tattooing would definitely you
know, cause that and then thereare so many courses now and so so
many precautions and things that we haveto do and buy equipment wise, that
it's you know, I have personallybeen in sidentist offices where I've seen the
cross contamination that they do as likeworkers, and I'm like, yo,
you just touched that and you justgrab the drawer handle and everything else like

(08:41):
that. Like me, like ittakes me five minutes to take a piss
in a public place because yeah,I'm well I always forget it, you
know, I scares in the doorknob, I do, I really washed
my hands, take the off withme and then open the door knob and
then throw out the trash bargeta beforeI started to here? Did we act

(09:05):
like that before COVID? Huh?Did we act like that before COVID?
I've always been like that. Yeah, I'm shot. So I'm sure every
time you take a break or something, you change your clothes before you go
back here? You do? Wereyou just like when you you you know
when you I boys hold that fight, I gotta go to break. I'm
sitty Stumpy and listen to his nailsand w b Z will be right back,
sponsored by Floor and Decor, NationalLumber and Village Bank. Who I'm

(09:41):
city Stump and welcome back to taphis nails on WBZ. And we are
here with Samantha, we're here withChad, and we're also here with Jason.
Now, why is your name spelledwith a Z? You're gonna have
to ask my grandfather that one.I don't know. Should we pronounce it?
It's Jason? Oh? No,it's Jason Zubie. No, but
Jason is j A S O N. Yes, but they still call you

(10:03):
jay zon? Is that is thatlike a French name or something? Well?
Why was switching his cheers? Okay, okay, but j A z
the teachers pronounces jazz on. Nojust Jason. Oh j A s o
n is Jason. Maybe you havea typo here, it's it's how do

(10:26):
you spell your name, Jason jA s O N? Type of era
zoobie zu b you put j Az o N. That's what I'm trying
to say tonight. Such a roleand you had to. It was a
little spicy a little bit. Jamesjays On, how my how's my producer

(10:50):
looking right now? Okay? Thankyou? Like I'm not messed up in
the head enough. He's gonna giveme the tricause there's so many people in
his industry that put them little accenton their name. It makes my eyes
roll, Like Jason Jon, I'mlike, I swear he said, it's
apt with a mess and then youknow it's did you still go to this

(11:15):
later? Figure out that's awesome?Well, how's that going? The sun
here? Okay? Damn bam,that's what I put on the eggs at
the bed and breath. What wereyou just talking about that? I had
to rudely take you guys out ofconversation about like just the meetings behind the
tattoos. Yeah, yeah. Imean everything I've had on my body and

(11:35):
I can't feel will continue to put. Why don't you explain what's love your
body? Please? No? No, no, no, I mean you
have no no, you don't explain, Jason, tell me what's aw my
son's left. You couldn't you can'texplain. Just look at it. He's
gonna know what they are. Justput your sleep up. Not that one?
Okay? What is that thing?It looks like an eyeball? Yeah,

(11:56):
yeah, yeah, it's something abouttime. Obviously he's got to the
clockhands in that way. You knowwhy what he's looking at it? Know
what it says? What is thesecond there? Oh no, it's just
that's just like an eye looking Whodid that? Yeah? Yeah, he's
a great job. Okay. Andthen what's the other stuff? Yeah?

(12:18):
It half of this. They alljust stop doing that and you stop hiring
them because then they go and youcause competition for yourself. They all work
for you at one point. Andthen what is the what does he have
there? This? You must bea water signed to the spirited as a
spirit animal? Cancer? Are Icalled it? You're a cancer to like
me? She's the worst sign,is it? Yeah? Well, the

(12:39):
second sign. We we have empathyfor everybody. Wait, but no,
if you heard us, we willabsolutely nihilate you. But but then you
hug them, and then we huggedthem fifteen minutes later. Yeah, it's
a whole few session. And thenfive minutes later we're done and the other
press is going and then we go, hey, you want to go to
get a bite team and they go, what'el mad at you? That's why

(13:01):
I bring food all the time.I get it. You know, it's
always let's get something to eat.You know. I always raised Italian,
believe it, even though my nameis Jay z Own, you know,
and that's who raised me. Wouldyou say people want more tattooes now post
pandemic? So getting back to howit was, so when we reopened,
we had one hundred days worth ofappointments that were backed up on top of

(13:22):
everybody else that wanted to get in. So you had this like a huge
boom where everything was like laid downand then everybody got It's almost like people
getting used to working at home.Like it's over, like it goes back
to normal. Like people are tryingto cherry pick what they can keep and
what needs to go back to normal. So like you know, my guys,
you know, or and girls orwhatever, they kind of get used

(13:43):
to this mode of like, oh, we do everything by appointment now,
like you know, no walkings,and I'm like, that's we're entitled the
majority of our best well I meanyeah, I mean it was just such
a to covid. If I walkedand sit here, I want to rows
on my ankle, you'd say twothree hours, come back. It depends
no, can he answer for hisbusiness? Thank you check? Yeah,
most it depends on the tattoo shop. My shop in particular. Could I

(14:07):
walk in and say, look whenI was on when I had my TV
show on HGTV, the Big tattooArtist, she was running the same time
I was, uh, Miami,she was Miami. What's her name?
Cat Cat Cat Okay, okay,And people walk in there they're still getting
appointments three hours later, like theydid, walk in and say, can
I get appointment this? Yeah,well you build a house in an hour,

(14:30):
you know, like yeah, exactlymeans no. It's and that's another
thing. But people watch it onTV and then they think they can come
in and get a sleeve in twodays, and it's a little bit more
than that, you know, andit's you know, so we need to
educate the customers that's coming in,especially when they don't have that experience and
they want to get tattooed. Butwhat else sounding condescending because it's like a

(14:52):
broken record. You have the sameconversation ninety percent of the time, over
and over and over again. Okay, how many times do people want to
remove them? And it seems veryhot to remove them? I've gotten some
tattoos removed. Yeah, hurts,it works. You know how often we
tell it's the technology has come longenough and now they do it where it's

(15:13):
basically one corporation that runs all ofthe tattoo removal. They've like acquired everything
and it basically it's like a subscriptionwhere you go and you just get it
done rather than do the session.You buy it in the package. It's
very tidy. See like I actuallywe're gonna use it. We're gonna we're
gonna use chat to Like what iswhy why does he need to rose on

(15:37):
his hand? Like what does thatmean? I don't know, ask him,
but what's wrong with his brain thathe does things like that? I'm
jumping out of planes? What abouttattoos? What's wrong? Like, what's
he thinking when he goes? Youknow, I don't think there's anything wrong.
And then he's that palm tree,some marijuana thing. What's that thing?
Poetry? Immortality? Well you arenot immortal. Well listen, I'm

(16:00):
here for a good time, nota long time. Okay, But that's
just that's just how my life.I'm agrenaline junkie. So black Rose is
I'm not afraid of that. Thatis it's part of life. My cross
is that I have two sizes ofme. I'm one with God. But
you want to see the virgo side, and that's something I don't like that
on the finger, right, likeI think that say that like in high

(16:21):
school you lived up in New Hampshire. When I see that, right,
but when I see there's there isa threshold where like tattoos also become like
a fashion, part of fashion,where like why do people get their hair
green? Why do people get piercings? Why do people get tattooed? Here
it's you know, I would justsay this, if you're going to tattoo,
whatever part of the body it is, you should not look for the
cheapest place. And the first thingpeople come in like and they're like,

(16:45):
what's your cheapest tattoo? I automaticallyjust kind of like file them in like
a person that doesn't really care whatthey get, and they're not really there
for like a quality. Not tosay like it's it's not out there or
whatever it is, but like youshould prioritize and consult with the artists because
I hate doing getting put in aposition where like I have to tell somebody
no, but I would rather havethem not not have my name onto something

(17:07):
that is not going to heal orlook good over time. I'm sorry,
but women, I'm not going tolook good with tattoos at the age after
the age of fifty, when theskin starts to go down and skin changes,
women look stupid, men look good. You tattoos are not at all
SAgs and it's not going to looklike So what if that's at least you
guys hold on longer. You gotbetter legs, you like, stay longer,

(17:27):
better looking, Yes, tattoos.I am curious as to see what
the old age homes are going tostart to look like as we get into
it. I can already see themall the timers, like at the shows,
can see it were like they werelike so ahead of their time.
You see what it looks like.You know, it doesn't look good,
but the thing is like here's thething, right, This is what I

(17:48):
used to love about tattooing, whichis really gone. And I can say
this like in the past it wasan underground thing where like there were people
there that were so counterculture. Youcould have a really good, honest conversation
and you weren't judged by anything,and it was very open minded and it
was cool and it was just magical. And it was more from me looking

(18:12):
back from my age. It wasif I saw guy walk by the tattoo
as a young girl, I'd wantto move close to my father, right
because I'd feel that person was scary, right, or all your freaking Holly
drive is. And then going upto Laconia, Laconia on Laconia Weekend,
like those were some bad dudes upthere. You had your Hell's Angels and

(18:34):
all those mostcycled groups. We haveit, we have evolved, you know,
I don't. That's my brain aslike, but then I go to
then I go to hold On tattooed, right, come on, because now
I go I went to pe Townlike two years ago, and like everybody
had tattoos there too, So I'mlike, okay, I'm not afraid you
guys. So I'm not afraid ofthose guys either now, Like so the

(18:55):
fear factor has I don't know,there was a time when you saw a
guy walk buy you at a tattoo, you thought some something crazy was going
to happen. That's just me.I'm on the PGA tour. So it
has changed and with that, sothat's converse. Yeah, and so has
the mentality behind it. Where itwas very you know, it wasn't as

(19:15):
popular and accepted, so those peopletended to you know, water sinks its
own level, you know, nowit's it's a flood. Okay, But
again it's again I'm gonna say,I think people want to show their their
masculinity by having a tattoo, andI think that's now come to it's not
about that. I think it's moreabout expressing whatever you want to express.

(19:36):
That you're a screwed up from youbeing in these boughts of tattoos to prove
yourself. I don't know, andhold that thought. Okay, we're going
to break. I'm citty stopping.Listen, to his nails at w BZ
and we'll be right back sponsored byPellow Windows of Boston next day, Molding
and Kennedy Carpet. Going to takea red train att, I don't care

(19:57):
where, and welcome back to toughestNails on w b Z. And I'm
here with Samantha. I'm changing everybodysname I'm getting there. You're gonna be
shod. Chad's name is really Chadwick. Maybe we should change over here.

(20:18):
Don't go that Michael Michael That noShod. We'll call him Shot. Okay.
My father was I was pregnant.I'll give you you real fast.
My I'm pregnant with Chad. Andon the ninth month, yeah I know,
imagine I was pregnant chat on theeighth month or whatever, seventh month,
I decided was gonna name him ChadStump O Chad Michael Stump. Before
that, what's that? Before Iwas actually going between Jared and Chad,

(20:42):
and my father's like, no,Jared, They're gonna call him Jerry.
So I'm like, okay, wellI found the name Chad, and I
thought. My father goes, okay, you're gonna name my grandson Chad I
go, yeah, he goes,he'd better be really good looking and very
tough. Okay, Cindy, yougive him a hard name to carry.
I go, how could I notgive a good looking kid and not a
tough kid. I guess Papa knewabout being a Chad. No Chad,

(21:03):
he just thought that was a toughname to carry. He carries that name
Chad good. Perfect, we callhim Chad. And you had Jayson yep.
Okay, and she's Samantha. Okay, all right, go back to
our conversation. So, yeah,the fear of tattoos now, don't bother
me. Actually, another one ofmy clients, great guy. I don't
know if you know, doctor Presty. He does men's here. You mentioned

(21:26):
him the last time. Yeah,I mean he's loaded, but you wouldn't
nothing above the neck. But thefirst time I met him, and I
was I was there with Ray andhe, you know, he crossed his
legs. I'm like, well,what's that, dude? You get snakes
and stuff off your legs, right, He's like, oh, Sydney,
I'm totally loaded. He's well yousee that. I would then say that's
a guy that doesn't and try toput it out there and try to be

(21:47):
something. No, nothing, youknow, I mean, like you said,
a person is a person. Butlike, yeah, I've I've I've
had people come in and you know, I had a guy that was going
to jail and he's like, loadme up with tattoos. I want to
look like a hard ass in theyard. See, like I swear like
that was it. I'm like,okay, like you know, I don't
think guys and you don't really thinkyou're a hot ass. Lest those tattoos.
They don't care what you look like. They're gonna go at you.

(22:07):
See if you got it or not. You just don't want chat's a pretty
boy, they'll be and it wouldn'tbe good for Chip. So okay,
So tattoos are now a form ofart just on your body. Now,
Is that what we've come down to? No, we're starting to see where
like it went from that, thatbiker culture, and they're very like I
guess they call it gate keeping orwhatever it is. Like it used to

(22:27):
be like you'd have to know somebody, you'd have to prove yourself. It
is not. There was no YouTube, there were no books. It was
very passed along and it was hardto learn that stuff and underground not underground,
but I mean you know you maybehave five tattoo shops in New Hampshire,
maybe ten, That is going tobe at least five hundred really,
yeah, you know, even aroundhere like ever since COVID, like they

(22:47):
know, our shore has exploded,there's gotta be like tons of tattoo shops
where there wasn't any. Like youlook at Danvers and Peabody and sale them.
It's it's they all have shops now. Huh yeah, yeah, it's
just like I don't know what theput it's you this way. You know,
the industry has changed. There aremore tattoo shops than there are McDonald's.
So people want to think that they'respecial. They're not. I hate

(23:08):
to break it to everybody else outthere. That is how mainstream it is
now. Yes, so tattoos onspecial anymore, you know, But I
guess what would make them special isthey are good of an artist. You
are the uniqueness of being and callingyourself a tattoo artist and working in a
shop. And there used to besome sort of like it's so commonplace now

(23:32):
that there's one hundred. Now whatis While you're talking, what's on your
arm right there? This one here, yeah, oh, let me see
that. Okay, hold on,let me see that. Yeah, but
see I can see that that's aman with long hair or an ugly woman?
Which one you're big randonly. Igot that tattoo twenty years ago a

(24:02):
wild night, a wild weekend,and I decided that I was going to
get my tattooed for uh. Iwas going to get my uh my forearm
tattooed if I could kill this.But what happened to another guys or woman
whatever is doing your tattooed? Youknow you're better hotist than them? Do
you help them along? I know? I mean I get tattooed from people
that are better for me where Iwant to learn, And I'm like watching

(24:22):
this guy and probing him and askinghim, what how do you do this
or how do you do that?So every time I sit down with a
guy, it's the top tier guyand then usually but by the end of
the conversation he's booking a trip toBoston and working out here for the next
two weeks. Really yeah, SoI mean it's like he was saying,
like, there's a lot of tattooshops and then everyone's a good artist in
this series that was twenty years ago. Yeah, but that was unheard of

(24:45):
twenty I know. But look athow real the face looks. Yeah,
I mean this guy, look atthe skin twenty years old. They hear
colored even in color that help upreally nic Yeah, yeah, you know.
I mean part of it is Ihave good skin and pale, you
know, despite the name. Yeah, but see I know your a very
wife or an Italian, but lookat Chad. See he's got beautiful skin.
He's just covering up that beautiful all. This is what I like at

(25:07):
this. I got you right herefirst, and what is that? That's
really bad? He's got Cindy andthen the sixty nine next to it?
You can't well, I know whatthat means, but I mean, I
don't know. Like I try toexplain to people sometimes where they're like they
know what it means. I'm like, should he have Cindy or Mom?
If you're going to do that tattoo, would that be Cindy? We have

(25:27):
Dad, Joe Seammy. Personally,I wouldn't do either neither, you know
what I mean, because that's notyour thing. But Mom and Dad don't
have my name tattooed on them,So you know what's up with that.
But if you're gonna put if you'regoing to put your parents, to put
mom and dad or you put theirfirst name, if you're going to do
it, I mean I would,I would say it's for for a mom

(25:49):
and a dad. But it alldepends on the design too, depends on
the tattoo getting and mom and dadjust didn't Why I didn't want that like
that? Okay? Who my parents'names are? Who they are? Okay?
So I have a lot of peopleI've met recently the last few years
that want, especially men, theyput their mom's faces on their backs,

(26:12):
shoulder blades, arms. What isthat all about? Why do I see
a lot of that lately when theirmoms passed away. Well, so that's
when I would do something like that. When someone comes and they say,
to what am memorial tattoo? Ifeel like that's the best way to do
it rather than just get the nameof the date. I mean, it
all really depends. You know.We have a guy, a couple that
is just they're fantastic portrait artists.Really, I got tattooed. I got

(26:34):
my dog's tattooed on my legs maybea couple of months ago from this guy.
You wouldn't put your mother and fatherput you put your dogs. I
mean, I'm gonna put my reeportsra it because my dogs love me,
because she do un conditioning. Ohboy, yeah, they're gonna watch this.
They're gonna be happy. We knowyou love him. He just must

(26:56):
have been a trouble child. Wereyou a trouble child? No? Were
you a good kid? You hadto be your cancer that I'm blaming your
parents now because I cancer people,good people? Which mom and dad was?
What's that? Which your mom anddads? Siens? Uh? I
don't know. December and June.I don't know another June my father's seventh.

(27:17):
Oh is Gemini black and white?No? Gray, you're well great
Gemini Gemini's wait a minute, ohCapricorn. Yeah, but Germany you can't
put Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, but no, I'm with a Gemini.
I'm gray, he's black and white. It's always all right. So
back to well, I know thepersonality. How many shops do you have

(27:40):
right now? And are you lookingto expand? Yeah? So, uh,
currently we have three tattoo shops.We just opened up on Newberry Street.
Uh earlier this month, which wasis great. I love it.
It's an awesome neighborhood. Took along long time. It's always been like
that. To me, is alwaysbeen my like where I always wanted to

(28:02):
be since I moved here. Thecircumstances, honestly, after COVID, you
know, I had three shops.We closed one for a couple of different
reasons, got back down to thetwo. Was trying to simplify my life,
and my building was bought out andI was told that I needed to
vacate the premises. So I spentabout two years having to go through the

(28:26):
process of relocating and zoning and gettingthe approvals. So I literally had two
shops going at the same time.And then you know, the month we
were ready to move out and everythingwas approved, we were told that we
didn't have to move. So,you know, considering that we you know,
our original space, we didn't wantto ever leave in the first spot.

(28:48):
So now, yeah, I've seenyou come a long way in four
years. Like you're not just doingtattoos anymore. You're involved with cannabis dispensaries.
You got to bed and breakfast.Well do you do it? I
guess I got to call you anentrepreneur, know right, Like that's the
new word for you, right,Yeah, so you just decide to what,
let me do a little bit ofthis, a little bit of that.
Well, yeah, the bed andbreakfast, you know, we we
opened that about maybe six or sevenyears ago, and I actually opened it

(29:11):
in the town that I got myfirst tattoo. And so I got my
first tattoo, North Comwain, NewHampshire. And as soon as I got
my first tattoo, I was like, that's it. How do I do
this? This is what I wantto do. I just instantly fell in
love with it and just pressed andgot my foot in the door, learned
how to tattoo, got a job, kind of wanted to always retire up

(29:32):
that way, so it was moreof a like a retirement plan. Just
things can change in a minute.I know what made what made all these
changes? Did you have any healthreasons for all all of a sudden your
brain changing here? Well, oh, I mean COVID. I almost died
from COVID. That would be abig one. Yeah, you know,
it'd be huge. All that thought. Now we got to go to break

(29:55):
because Adio's putting that thing in frontof my face and we killed him.
Now I'm Sinny stumbling and listened tohis nails in w right Back sponsored by
new Brook Realty Group, Boston WoodSmaller Insurance, World Auto Body and Tosca
Drive Auto Body, Little Black aaddude, and welcome back to Tapa's nails

(30:22):
on WBZ. And I'm Cindy Stumpoand I'm here with Amantha and God and
Jason. Okay, time, whathappened to COVID body? You know?
Uh one? Were you vaccinated?I wasn't you chose not to get vaccinated.
I wish I did, but goahead. You know I caught it,

(30:44):
or at least I tested positive forit. On New Year's Eve of
twenty twenty two. I took atest because I didn't want to get my
favorite restaurant sick. It wasn't feelingwell. Happened a couple of days earlier.
You know, just got progressively sickerand sicker. You know, I
stopped eating after the first week,I stopped sleeping after the first week,
and I like literally started to losemy mind. And one of the guys

(31:08):
that I know over the VFW,some old crazy Vietnam Vett UH called me
up because he hadn't seen me,and I told him, I said,
I'm not doing too I told himI wasn't feeling well, and he was
actually the want to convince me togo to the hospital. Why you weren't
going to go with os No?I just I was like, Eh,
it's nothing flesh wounds, you know, like you know, I knew I

(31:29):
had a problem, Like I finallylike he told me to go. And
then the next day I tried togo upstairs and uh it took me fifteen
minutes to get up a flight ofstairs, and uh, they put me
in a hospital and I was sooverrun that I was ended up being in
the uh in a hallway for liketwo days, and I was so my
chest. I had such double pneumoniathat they were like immediately put me in

(31:53):
and they were giving me cat scansand the big fear was, uh,
blood clots. Oh. So Ifelt like I had like this taking time
bomb and my chest. Not knowingwhat was going to happen, I couldn't
Like it was surreal. I wasjust like how did I get this bed?
You know, like you know it'syou know, it's just a flu
whatever, you know, I don'treally have opinion on it either way.

(32:14):
Like, you know, it waslike, you know, I didn't get
vaccinated. I wasn't feeling sorry formyself. It was what it was.
But this guy convinced me to gobecause he had it. And he's like,
it's not a it's like it's it'sso were you a long holler afterwards?
I was, I was going towork for like almost a month,
you know, and uh I wasin a hospital for like five or six.
The oxygen levels are dropping, yep, Yeah, they were down in

(32:35):
the eighties, you know. Sothey had me hooked up and they were
giving me blood dinners and you know, every day they didn't even know what
they were doing, did they.The hospital was great, you know.
I mean I just felt being it'sokay, so bad being there, you
know, because I just didn't wantto take it away from somebody else.
But I mean it was just itwas bad. But we were afraid they're

(32:57):
gonna put you on a ventilator.I know, you ever almost I think
you were going to die. Yeah. Every day would have a panic attack.
Do you ever have a panic attack? No? Okay, I didn't
have them there either. No,you know, I mean, I honestly,
you know, and you alone,was abdy with you alone? Could
you have anybody with you? Then? You know, I got dropped off

(33:17):
and I didn't know what was happening. And you know, it was just
the one I would know if theywere going to ever see me again.
It was that I was no,no, I wasn't, you know.
I was so beat up from everythingthat had been gone on. I was
going through, like you know,between the closing of the shop and COVID

(33:39):
and having to move, and Iwas going through a really awful breakup and
every I felt like my my mentalstate is what got me so sick.
And I was at the point whereit was like it just wore me down,
and I think that's really what itwas. And I just I said,
if I got out of this thing, I said, you know,
if ever in this body again,I left a lot of a lot of

(34:05):
stones unturned. So I said,if I get out of this, so
I'm going to write a lot ofor finish a lot of things I started
where I wasn't. I felt likeI wasn't ready yet, all right,
So that so yeah, you know, someday we'll be there again. I
just I just I was like,okay, you know I had you turned
the negative into a positive. Well, I mean it was it was I

(34:29):
was forced to to change and Ineeded to like just I mean, it
wasn't a matter of accepting. Itwas just like all right, cool,
like one thing at a time.I mean, it was like there wasn't
one part of my life that wasn'tin turmoil. And then I was just
like I'm gonna you know, I'mgonna die, you know. And I
I didn't care, not that Iwas suicidal or I think like that.

(34:50):
I wasn't even sorry about myself,but I was just like, uh,
you know what, had a goodrun, you know whatever. But I
was like, I think you wantedto think you were normal, thinking normal
back then those thoughts. I wasjust looking at where my life was at
the time, and I'm like everythingI had done, you know, really
kind of like just you know,you think you know people, you don't
you know, like people people willalways let you down. Yeah, but

(35:14):
it was across the board. Itwasn't even like there was one person left.
And it was like that's you know, I've always been like that.
I always try to take care ofmy squad and my team and always put
them first. And it's you know, please take this advice. Take this
advice from some it knows. It'sbetter than anybody. You're going under that
Kansas sign. You don't. Youtreat people with so much loyalty and when

(35:35):
you don't get it back, it'sa kick in the ass and it's a
it's a right hook right to thegut because you don't know how to be
like that. But you have tolearn change. You learned the hard way.
He did, you know, AndI said, this is where it
got me. All of that.That's okay. You will can be small
you know what. I'm in mylife so much smaller. And let me
tell you, as I get older, it's been a lot smaller too.

(35:57):
But you know what, I likeit. But if there is a bright
side to this story, everything Iset out to do I got. I
got past the move, I gotthe Newberry Street opened. Uh thank you,
Uh my my, my dispensary wasapproved. Uh so we're able to,
you know, get that going.We're helping out the VFW and Medford.

(36:19):
We worked out a deal with them. I was an auxiliary, remember,
and the reason why I got intocannabis quite honestly was that it was
infuriating to watch Kappy's liquor be openedthe whole time I was closed, and
you hear about the news about thisalcoholism and this rampant abuse and all of
this stuff that was coming. Yeah, and it was just like how was
this happening? How is this placeto open? And I have to stay

(36:39):
closed? And it was just kindof like you know, talking about like
well, why do you get intobed and breakfast? Why are you get
into that? And like, youknow, you need to have some different
stuff going on in case like youknow, my uh my hands fall off,
you know, like how am I? What am I gonna do for
work? You know exactly you wantto do that. There's also a thing

(37:01):
called you can buy disability assurance.Right well, but if you but I'd
like to say, if he hasfall off or whatever, you get to
a point where you can't do this. Yeah, Like I said, you
know, I arrive wrestled for awhile, I caught an injury suddenly changed
everything overnight, you know, andthat always trained me to just try to
be as prepared as you can.Yeah, but you're you're an old soul,

(37:23):
you do know that, right Bynature. You've been an old soul
your whole life, and you justwhat they say. Yeah, dude,
I know who you are. I'mlooking at a reflection of myself and you.
But it's okay. I like Ilike look, you know, when
you can look in the mirror andlike who you are. And I don't
mean what you look like physically,if you're pretty, or if you like
what's inside. It's all that Madison. You like you, well, you

(37:46):
just don't like people you surround yourselfwith. And that's why givers surround themselves
with takers, and takers will alwayssurround themselves with givers. Okay, Well,
Cindy, if I could just say, you know, at first I
thought it was a loss, butit was almost like a tick breaking off
of you exactly like you think they'reyour friends, but there you know,

(38:07):
once they're gone, you don't realizehow much they did take from you exactly
and how like you know, it'slike cool, like people, I think
I'm in a worse spot, butI'm actually in the best spot I've ever
been in because I don't have toworry about making these concessions anymore for people,
because those pastures that they all notalone. Whatever, it's always greener,

(38:28):
you know how it is. Youknow, I just do what I
think. Here's the problem, andit's not. You will get them out
of your life. You will,but you unfortunately think about what are they
doing now? Are they okay?Where's their life? By way? I
look at it like that. Ifortunately, if this we had this conversation
three years ago, it would beradically different. I have enough time that's

(38:49):
gone by where I can honestly sayI'm in a better spot, you know,
and some people are some people aren't. You know. It was just
really kind of lousy how I feltlike COVID was just like this rest tests
for like every man for himself.You know, everybody looked out for themselves.
Everyone did what was best for them, and you know, you're the
boss, Like it doesn't work thatway, right, you know. I
could have packed up and left andtake the money and move out of my

(39:13):
place and worried about anybody, right, like a jerk, I'm saying here
about my team where it's like,you know, these guys are all behind
the scenes over we're going to gohere, we're you know, and they
know what you're going through and theyyou know, it's it's tough. Yeah,
you know, so for me,I'm like, okay, cool,
Like that's just you know, there'sa little smarter for it, you know,

(39:35):
absolutely, but there's there's a loyaltyfactor. That's what you were.
You're worried about your team. Wewere essential. So we're out there working.
Yeah, and we said, lookat whoever doesn't want to come into
work, don't come in. ButI'm going out there every day. I
didn't skip a day out there.And that's and a couple of guys left
and after being home for two weekswith their wives and kids, they go,
we'll be back to work right away. But Ya'll want to ask a
question for you for listeners out there. So you say you have two shops

(39:58):
open right now, Well we gotwe uh yeah, three three one in
David Square, one in Medford andwell into circles. In each place,
is there artists that specifies or specializein uh, portraits, fine lines,
all different kinds. Yeah, wedo, so, Like I would say,
like the shop that there's a varietyof different styles, so you know
you have every body can kind ofhandle the basics, but then each one

(40:21):
will specialize you different. Okay,we gotta go off to break. I'm
Sidney Stumbling with some Toughest Nails andWBZ see where you and welcome back to
Toughest Nails Sidney Stumpo and we haveSamantha and Chad and Jason from the Boston

(40:45):
Tattoo Company. I just like tothank you Cindy for having me back on
your show. It's you got awonderful family. You should be proud I
am. And if anyone is interestedin getting any sort of high quality tattoo
work, the easiest way is togo to our website at Boston Tattoo dot
com. We have three locations.Our newest one is in two forty two

(41:07):
Newberry Street, brand new, fantastic, world class artists, and all you
need to do is just go toour website for a lot of consultations so
we'll get back to you. Wealso have all of our other services that
are attached to the business, andwe are looking forward to having you come
by and say hi. I guesschat will be in there next week.
I'll be in there next week.Everybody, have a great, safe weekend

(41:28):
and we'll see you next week.This is City Stumbo Tough as Nails, WBZ.