Some dudes learn to tattoo so they can support their habit. They make you pay ahead of time. By the time they get around to your art, they have already used your money on smoking, drugs or gambling. When they finally begin your art their heart isn't in it. They just slap some shit on you to cover the money you paid. An artist who takes pride in their work and attempts a masterpiece every time is rare in prison. I am that dude.
The tattoo man makes money in prison. It's one of the best hustles going in the chain-gang. If you sell dope the cops run down on you all the time. Not to mention the inmates who try to rob you. But they usually let the tattoo guy slide. At least they aren't out to get you. If they walk up on you, it could go either way. The inmates want your services and most guards see it as an honest hustle.
When you're good, you're haters will be the other artists. They don't want to be in the same dorm as you because you get all the business. I've been the best on every pound I've been on since shortly after I began to tattoo over 7 years ago.
The name Hooligan is known throughout the prison system. I don't attempt to compete with other artists. I really don't see them like that. I compete with the last piece I did. How far have I come since my art a year ago. The haters fuel me. If you don't have opposition your clearly not doing anything.
I don't tattoo because I have to. I do it because I love it. It's the only time I feel 100% removed from my life here. I'm an able bodied man with a gift. Why take advantage of my loved ones? This also ensures I'll come home a seasoned veteran of body art. Once free, my customers will reap the benefits of all the years I spent tattooing in here.
I've paid my dues. Every time I sit down to work I know it could land me in solitary confinement. It's a risk I take to be able to come home with a talent that will make me a small fortune.
I have a look out man I pay to watch for me. He yells something like: HOT WATER or MAIL CALL , when the police come to do security checks. Hopefully I have time to stash things away before they're up on me. We sit on the floor between bunks. Sometimes dudes sit nearby playing cards to block for us. It's a team effort. Being a tattoo man in prison is dangerous. The police don't come for the man getting the ink, they want the artist. I'm the one going to jail.
I've tattooed men's thighs, crotches, butt-cheeks, groins, faces, ears and heads. In seven years I've been to confinement 3 times for my art.
I can't wait to come home and not stress about the police. The shout that signals the cops are coming. Your heart beats faster, your stress-level spikes and your concentration is lost. It's a real pain in the ass. I still love what I do. I know all about my clients. How long before they go home, why they're in prison, how old their kids are. It's a personal experience. I will enjoy putting my art on women one day. So far it's been a one-sided-affair. Most of all I'm blessed to know I can be happy to head to work. Long hours won't be a problem. It will never compare to sitting in a square box watching rats run across the floor........
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