Becoming a Tattoo Apprentice

So the question I'm answering is: How do you become a tattoo artist?

There was a point in my life I wanted an answer to this question more than I wanted to know what comes after death. I never really thought about becoming a tattooer until my friends made me think I'd be pretty good at it, so upon this thought I decided to figure it out. I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky and got tattooed by different artists in that area. I'd ask the artists how they got into the craft, the more I asked, the more I learned there is no real sound way to become a tattooer. The only constant among these tattooers was that they had all completed some sort of apprenticeship, and I needed to do the same thing. In search of some outside perspective, I took a trip to Portland, Oregon; where there were a lot of artists I had found and come to respect. I had a list of all the tattoo shops and artists in Portland I wanted to see, and I checked out every item on my list. I met a lot of awesome artists and got a ton of information, but they don't do apprenticeships in Portland anymore, and most the people I talked to told me I'd be better off getting into tattooing back in Kentucky, so my path to an apprenticeship lead me straight back from where I came. 

At this point, my understanding was that I needed to create at least 20 pages of flash, establish a relationship with a decent tattooer, and weasel my way into gaining an apprenticeship. So I started painting flash and trying to get tattooed by as many people as possible, hoping to build that relationship that could become an apprenticeship. After a few months of this dive into tattoo culture, I had a few light leads on an apprenticeship, but nothing that really felt significant enough for me to invest a ton of time.

I had this idea that I was going to get into an apprenticeship at a great shop, under a great artist, in a super cool place. This just wasn't happening for me in Kentucky. I started feeling discouraged and I felt like I needed drastic change in order to get where I wanted. It felt like no matter what I did, I wasn't going to get where I wanted to be, so I decided I needed to chase the dream, literally. I had heard a lot about the tattoo scene in Los Angeles, and knew there were a ton of talented people there. So after some planning and research, I bought an RV, packed up my shit, and headed west.

(The trip out west was magical.)

Upon my arrival in LA, I was completely overwhelmed. The culture shock was pretty intense, luckily I have some friends in LA I was able to link up with and make the transition a bit easier. With another list of shops and artists I needed to see, I started my search for an apprenticeship immediately. I was going around showing different artists my portfolio, literally full of flash I had obsessively created over the prior months. I talked to some of the best tattooists in the country, showed them my artwork, and asked if they had any advice or information that could lead me to the apprenticeship I wanted so badly. I met some great people and got some great advice, and I even had a few guys tell me they'd call me back about apprenticeships, but nothing really solid. Eventually I got down to the last name on my list, so I went and talked with him and gave me some sound advice and sent me down to Hollywood. 

There are two good tattoo shops in Hollywood, True and Old Tradition. Old Tradition was the last shop I went into, and the first time I had gotten a solid offer on an apprenticeship. So needless to say, I jumped right on board ready to set sail.

After it all, I'd say the only real way to get a tattoo apprenticeship is to completely dedicate yourself to tattoo culture and never give up. I was in and out of over 50 tattoo shops before I found 1 willing to bring me on. I think the only reason any of these guys even took me seriously is because I actually had a full portfolio, and I approached these artists as a student, not an equal. Attitude is everything when it comes to getting an apprenticeship.