I'm a 5 year tattoo artist and have worked in several shops. Of all the tattoo shows, inked has it's place in my opinion as a more honest portrayal of a working tattoo shop. Yeah there's a ton going on that isn't covered, lots of made up drama, but still it rings more authentic than other shows. People getting tattoos aren't prescreened- yeah, they pick and choose which ones to show, but it's not like everyone's walking in with huge sob stories and manila folders full of ideas. Most tattoos a street shop does is small stuff, butterflies, stars, names, kanji, etc, the huge sleeves and backpieces are the realm of the custom shops, and for the most part, a hard working artist will do 10-15 tattoos a week, and maybe 1-2 of them will be bigger than a CD. I've worked for a guy who's just like Thomas - uneducated, weird hair, pissy attitude the minute he walks in the door, but talented as hell. I work with pussyhounds like Jesse, 2 decade artists like Clark, up and coming talented guys like Twig, clueless counterhelp and apprentices... They all actually exist in real life shops. The stuff with the fast cars, Corey Heart's fame, the Vegas stuff - that's all unique to the shop. This show isn't about tattoos, it's about the people in the shop. It's enough entertainment for when you're bored, but it's not that interesting really.
Dizzle ReduxSeason 1 : Ep. 14 (22:07)
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