Thanks so much for coming to see my work. My name is Myk (pronounced the same as "Mike") and I've been in the tattoo industry since 2002.  I originally apprenticed to be a Professional Body Piercer, when I was younger but after a few years of it, I knew it wasn't my passion and I transitioned to being a full time tattoo artist. Body Piercing really was a great learning experience, but I always knew I wanted to pursue a career in Art.  That, and to be honest, no matter how well you do a piercing, our bodies don't like foreign objects in them, so about 60% of the time people have issues with their piercings.  Plus, there was no real sense of creativity and pride in that line of work.  So, I apprenticed once again, only this time for Tattooing.  Now, many years later, I've developed a tattoo portfolio that I'm truly proud of, that includes a lot of different styles of art that I've learned over the years.. My favorite/preferred style of tattooing, however, is black and grey realism and portraiture art. 

             Now. my first experience with getting tattooed was actually super uncomfortable and disappointing.  That seems to be true for a lot of you as well.  I was 15 years old, and nervous.  The artist sat me in this open area where there was no privacy, I had to take my shirt off for this tattoo, and all the other customers were just staring at me shirtless, in pain.  The artist didn't offer any advice on improving the design, he just told me the price and had me sit down.  He didn't shake my hand or ask my name, and he spent the majority of the time flirting with my sister...  I remember another artist a few feet away was smoking a cigarette, and when I started to get light-headed, he just laughed and gave me shit about it.  I found out afterwards that I was definitely overcharged for a very simple piece!  Needless to say, I never went back there and certainly didn't recommend that tattoo artists to anyone else.  It was actually many years before I built up the courage to go another tattoo.  To this day I think, if he wouldn't have been the asshole that he was, then I wouldn't have been so motivated to become a tattoo artist myself and improve the industry.  When I first got into this, I had this vision of a tattooing industry that could be far more comfortable, welcoming, enjoyable, and simpler for anyone.  At the very least, I new that if I was just friendly and welcoming to clients, that they would leave with a much better story to tell than the story of my first tattoo.   So if you're sick of going to studios where the artists are rude, dismissive and short with you, or you're sick of getting over-charged for mediocre/poor quality work, then I'd love to have a chance to change your mind about this industry.   I genuinely enjoy tattooing, and I like meeting new people everyday.  Currently, I work at Inception Studios, in White Bear Lake, MN, so stop by (or send me a text message) for a free consultation in person and we'll get started on your idea.  Right Now. Why wait?    :)