I was born in Southern California, and have lived all over the state. In 1990, while living back in Southern California after a very short stint in the Marine Corps, I began an apprenticeship to learn how to tattoo. In 1992 I moved first to Whichita Falls, Texas, and a few months later, to Dallas, where I spent more than a year working at Trilogy Tattoos. In 1994, I moved to Atlanta, GA, where I went to work at Urban Tribe. I moved to Tampa in 1996, and went to work at Instant Gratification. I met Annette LaRue, who at the time owned Blue Devil Tattoo Studio. She offered me a job in New Orleans where she had just bought Electric Ladyland Tattoos. I spent a week there, and loved it. So I went back to Tampa, packed up, and moved to New Orleans. The four years in New Orleans, working for Annette, was probably the most influential of my career. I learned a lot from her, and I am still grateful to have had the opportunity she gave me. However, after four years, I found myself getting ready to start a family. New Orleans can be a tough city to live and work in, and tougher to raise a family in. So in 2001, when my wife became pregnant, we chose to move to Louisville, where she is originally from, and still has family there. I took a position at Tattoo Charlie's of Kentucky / Middletown in May of 2001. Our daughter was born the following November. We stayed in Louisville for the next four years. In May of 2005, I got a job offer in Portland, Oregon at Adorn Body Art where I stayed until mid-December when Matt Reed offered me a job at TigerLily Tattoo, which was too good of a opportunity to turn down. I spent four years in Portland. Working at TigerLily was a great experience. I met and worked with some great people. After 10 years of marriage my wife and I split. The drama of a divorce being what it is, and as tough as it can be on a child, I chose to move. The opportunity to move back to the San Francisco Bay Area arose. I found a job at Soul Patch Tattoo on Haight street.
So...for now...I'm in San Francisco. I still go back to Portland about every four to six weeks to see my daughter and work at TigerLily. Who knows what's next?
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