🍈I understand that tattooing is an art; however, it is also a medical procedure. Skin is being penetrated, tattoo artists are working with blood and potential blood-borne pathogens and they are permanently altering a person's body. I wouldn't tolerate my surgeon, my dentist, or any other professional to be under the influence while my safety is on the line. Same goes for a tattoo artist. Period.
This comment showed a perspective I didn’t even think about ( although I don’t get tattoos anymore and only have a couple) this is a GREAT POINT!! It is a medical procedure!! This needs to be a main talking point when it comes to talking about tattoos and tattoo shops !! Thank you for this comment. It may have seemed like common knowledge to you but it changed how I view tattoos and the seriousness of it , Thank you 🩷
Imagine telling a 22 yr old girl to confront a meth head abt money 😅 y’all are crazy. No one should have to state they have a problem with meth tattoos. It’s kinda a given. Regardless no one in their right mind would blame the client in this situation. Sure she was in a shop but it’s a shop in which they allow their employees to do hard drugs. Walking away was a completely rational thing to do. The way ppl will do anything to displace blame blows my mind.
I don't know about her being a completely helpless 22-year-old "girl". Let's be real. She was an adult. She wasn't alone with him. They were in a shop. Also, the shop didn't allow employees to do hard drugs, so she could've told someone about it, but she chose to let him work on her high and with an unfinished sketch instead of requesting to see a more finished picture. It's going to be a permanent mark on your skin, why wouldn't you be a bit more picky? Especially if you're spending hundreds of dollars on it! That amount of money would melt away any shyness I might've had.
@@Monkey_Boy9602I'm glad you've lived a life where you cannot see how wrong this could have gone as a small, 22 year old woman. That is your feelings and how YOU would have acted but you are not everyone.
@@maddollink When things go wrong for me, the first thing I do is analyze what I could've done differently. So naturally whenever I hear about a person's situation, I immediately go to what they could've done to avoid the consequences. Her gender and size do not matter. There were several times where she could've got up and left without directly confronting him, but she didn't. After he went out for his smoke, she didn't have to wait for him to come back. She could've went to another employee about it or just left out the front door because there's no way that he went to smoke that out front and then called the police from the safety of her car. Also because she just went through with it, who knows how many more victims had sat under his needle before the shop terminated him. As a victim of a drunk driver, I don't take things like this lightly. I wish someone would've called the cops on him. It would've saved me a lifetime of pain and surgeries.
Addicts need compassion, but compassion doesn’t mean putting a tattoo gun in someone’s hand. Just like if someone was dead sober but severely emotionally distressed you wouldn’t want them to be tattooing you. Doesn’t mean they’re a bad person or a bad artist, it just means they probably shouldn’t be making permanent body alterations to people at the moment out of respect for the client AND out of respect for their portfolio/business
Totally with you here. In my opinion an artist can be high as a kite off of any substance known to man when creating the piece (still needs to meet the clients expectations obv), but damn, please be sober when taking to said clients skin.
I dealt with addiction myself. I know former debt collectors, dealers. I know people who drove high, or drunk. The stigma against addiction sucks, but there's a good reason for it.
I think you need to shame addicts not trying to get help and praise those trying to get help or recovered. Too much compassion for a person doing themselves and everyone around them harm is not kind to anyone.
The voucher seems like the behavior of an addict. The tattoo artist needs money NOW, but can’t do the work now… so in order to buy their drugs, they have these IOU’s all over town. 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩 🚩
Agree unless your buying a gift card for someone, then in that case I can see it, but not anymore lol. I'll just buy a visa gift card if I ever want to gift someone money for a tattoo.
Not sure why we're tiptoeing around the fact that an impaired person is getting paid to render a professional service - hence, they should be held accountable/liable to their actions. Getting a shitty tattoo and getting cheated out of your money is one thing, possibly getting a disease because who knows what kind of protocol that person remembered or forgot to follow, that's a bigger problem... I'm a recovering addict and see no problem in an artist's/shop's name be revealed, if they operate that way. Mental problems are not an excuse to risk anyone's safety/wellbeing, and accountability needs to be taken. Imagine if we started feeling bad about drunk drivers, arsonists, murderers... They all have mental problems and feelings too - and actions have consequences.
Doesn't mean she is responsible for calling them out if she's not comfortable with it. It's not secret information and these people are already being tried in the court of public opinion. Why is it her job to hold them accountable if she wants to focus on the root problem instead of the individuals? I must have missed the part where she said addiction "excused" their behavior 🤔 and apparently I hallucinated her saying "there's really *no excusing* this." She also says the artists should get the help they need before they ink people, and she included the name of the studio where Rory went, AND said she *agreed* with the decision to disclose the business's name. So how did you get from "I'm not naming the artists because I don't want to add to their struggles" to excusing MURDER? *Imagine* if people could be compassionate AND believe actions have consequences that people have to face. Both!.... at the same time??! 😱 I really feel like you wrote and posted this preachy rant without actually watching the video.
Being strict with a blasted tattoo artist doesn't automatically mean you're being insensitive to their illness. It's fair to protect/support the clients and then also care about the personal wellbeing of that artist
They knew he was an addict, the owners used the word "Relapsed" so this wasn't a one tike thing. 85% of people in the tattoo industry are greasy or on drugs. They would have another career if they weren't.
Yeah, as a recovering addict myself, I'm really tired of people confusing understanding and empathy with enabling and protecting. You can empathize with someone's struggle while still acknowledging the very real danger their actions pose to others. The two are not mutually exclusive.
since celle didn't explain this part too well, rory DID NOT ask for a refund. she stated at least 3x that she never asked atomic for a refund. she reached out to atomic tattoo to let them know about the situation, and they responded by blaming her and saying they won't refund her. rory showed an email she sent atomic last week where she said "i haven't even ever asked for a refund, but i can definitely tell that you don't want to give me one based on how many times you've brought it up." she did not ask for a refund. celle honestly just assumed rory did even though rory is shown in this video saying "i don't even want a refund though, or else i would've asked for the money back 5 years ago."
@@MSpotatoesI agree but I think the part confusing me is…what did Rory want from them, then? They said they had let that tattoo artist go. I don’t actually understand the conflict at all. And sorry, but letting the studio know FIVE years later after several people could’ve already received bad tattoos is not the heroic measure everyone is making it out to be. I’m glad she felt the need to say something, but five years later ???? And like, the store already got rid of that person. I’m just confused I guess 😭😭😭
@Neomie92 if I had to give my honest opinion, it was for attention. But who knows, maybe she felt it was a righteous cause. Notifying the shop and going on a public tirade isn't exactly the same.
@@Neomie92 The conflict arose after she reached out to them and they replied back by blaming her. I, as her friend, told her she should post about it online to warn others about how the shop operates. You do not know the inner workings of people's lives.
@@MSpotatoes Nah, I told Rory to post about it after the shop replied by blaming her. She also deleted it after her video got too many views because it made her anxious. Please stop making assumptions about other people!
I think the issue we keep running into dealing with addiction in any environment is folks either confront it with total apathy or total sympathy. people wanna act like you can't be compassionate with someone struggling while also holding them responsible for choices and actions made while under the influence. either way, nobody is putting in real work to help someone come out the other side of it and they're left to deal with it on their own.
Exactly. You can be addicted bcs it's an illness and no one should say "just stop using it, it's not that hard". but as soon as you do damage to others it's your fault. That's it. You should be punished.
This is great and I say something similar quite often. Two or more things can exist or be right at the same time. I’ve had multiple family members suffer from addiction. -Was it a choice at first? Yes. Is it now a disease basically impossible to treat without medical intervention? Yes. -Do I feel empathy for them, love them, and appreciate the difficult circumstances that lead them to addiction? Absolutely! Will I enable them in their addiction? Categorically no! Humans are complex creatures. Duality exists in just about everything.
🤩 My first tattoo in a professional shop was performed by someone that was on drugs. My friend and I walked in and he got a nice tattoo and mine was horrible. I came back the next day to complain and the shop owner admitted that the guy who did my tattoo was having drug use issues. If they knew, then why was he tattooing clients!!!!! They had another artist try to fix it but it wasn't better because the damage was done. I was just18 so I didn't know what rights I had and I was so upset at how it looked nothing like the stencil applied to my arm. I drew the design myself and the stencil was good, but he went way off script and the quality was visibly bad. I suffered with it for 20 years and then finally had it removed...
@@mwesttattoos how could they research 20 years ago? The internet wasn't what it's like now, it was just local shops, plus they were 18. C'mon, don't be so ridiculous. It was the tattoo shops responsibility to ensure their employees weren't suffering with addictions that would impact paying clients tattoos. I empathise with addicts, having been one once myself, I'm now in recovery. But, I'm honest enough to admit it 100% effects our work. I respect the tattoo shop for not just kicking him to the curb whilst he was struggling, but they should have demoted him to cleaning/phones/books etc whilst he had an active addiction as its going to effect the work they do which isn't fair to paying customers or the shop in the long run as they'll get a bad name. Anyway, I hope that tattooist and anyone else going through addiction can get clean and make it out the other side and I'm sorry so many people have had shitty work because of addiction. I can empathise with both sides
@@mwesttattoos really!?! I went to a professional shop recommended by friends that were happy with their tattoos. There was no internet, how old even are you with your smart ass response??
@@mwesttattoosare you really a tattoo artist who puts all the blame on their (potential) customers? Not very sympathetic... Advertisement done wrong 🙃
The place where I had most of my tattoos done had a big sign on the wall that said the following: It is our responsibility to respect your body and do our best work. It is your responsibility to speak up if we don’t. You should never hold back if you don’t like something we are doing. A tattoo is forever.
@@shaestewart5261 and everyone here is saying that it’s the artist fault and she deserves compensation. She DID NOT SAY SHIT. She had a chance and chose not to. The artist is to blame for being under the influence but it’s her fault for allowing him to Tattoo her body.
@@catfood233you are honestly such a dumb bitch and it's funny. rory deleted her videos after a lawyer heard her story and reached out to her. she probably has a case against the shop. you do not understand laws, you do not understand consent. you are just continuously blaming an autistic woman for not reading a situation well and going non-verbal in regards to something that traumatized her. she may have a case against the shop, according to professionals. yet you've been on this video blaming her for 4 days now. get a life, you dumb loser!🖤
@@catfood233 Not exactly. This is like saying "because you ate the food a drug addict made you deserve poisoning." lmao. Not true. It's unsafe, first of all, and a lot of people aren't going to feel safe actually confronting someone in that state of mind. Have you ever been around drug addicts? It is their job to keep you safe and comfortable, but knowingly ignoring saftey protocols does not fall on the canvas. If someone reuses ink or doesn't wipe down their station, not my fault. I might not know that's important. The tattoo artists are accountable here.
As a recovering addict, I could barely be trusted to wash the dishes without nodding out or doing something insane, like sticking my Kindle under the water instead of the dish (true story😭). I canNOT imagine being tasked with creating permanent body art on someone in this state. Random drug testing really isn’t a bad idea in this instance.
As someone 1 year sober not really bc I want to be but mostly because I don't wanna go back to that depression pit I agree but I still have a problem with drug test like for weed when I was getting sober off it I would drug test myself 2 to 3 months off it and it would still come back positive or the fact Adderall is m*th in its effects and in its chemical compound Adderall is m*th in reverse I have adhd and can't take my Adderall because any psychoactive drug makes me have panic attacks but it would come up as m*th on a test so i do wonder how that would work for other adhd artist also not to mention the moralizing of certain drugs alcohol is seen as an good drug vs c*caine or m*th if someone says they drink at home it not seen as a crazy thing infact it's the center of alot of adult activities like clubbing brunch social activities think truth or drink but if that person said they use m or c its instantly demonized even tho if said person is addicted why does it matter which substance their on same with cigarettes/nicotine vapes drug addiction is a disease regardless of the substance and back to the story I do think we need a mechanism to make sure these artist aren't getting high before tattooing as this is a medical presedure to a degree and is permanent idk maybe a more ethical random drug testing could work or maybe building a better communication from shop owner to artist to recognize the signs of addiction and get the artist into some form of rehab or aa or therapy with something that can financially sustain them while their not tattooing .
I guess because boomers are usually the ones insisting things have to be done traditionally and don't like new changes. But sometimes there's valid reasons for that...
It's not really a boomer trait and people use it as a way to not have to follow the rules or whatever Tattoo shops have to be approved by the health department. There are a lot of rules and regulations you have to follow to run and/or work in a shop. You also have to do paperwork to get one for everyone's safety
It shouldn't be seen that way, you're right, but there's always someone who is going to say calling out dangerous behaviour is being a "buzz kill" or "boomer" 💀
I think boomer and gatekeeper are getting mixed on that one. There are people that think not agreeing with home studios is a form of gatekeeping against learning or indie artists. As it is often the old heads that will actually try to gatekeep the loudest, I think that's where the gatekeeper=boomer is coming from?
IMO it’s the boomers who don’t care about cleanliness or being healthy lol . I was getting tattooed recently , in my 30s. Another guy in the waiting room was a boomer and kept talking to me about the bar downstairs even though it was 2pm. The guy about to tattoo him looked not a day over 20 and got really stern with the client and asked him if he had been drinking , the kid refused to do the tattoo and boomer threw a fit about how young people care about bullshit like not drinking . It was wild
Yup, as long as you're a functional addict, you can definitely get away with it. At long as you put out good work with no complaints you're solid. I imagine you could easily support a 200$ a day habit with tattooing. Plus you get to pick you're schedule, sleep in and go to work at 10 or 11am! 😊
@@DoorsToHideBehind156 as i understand it you can tell an artist has a problem if their work is hit or miss. If they put out absolutely amazing work on one tattoo and then the next one looks like trash and they go back and forth like that all the time that's a big tell.
16:50 also a big thing that so many ppl *cough* cis men *cough* refuse to recognize is how much misogyny also plays a role in the situation w/ Rory. to expect a 22 y/o woman to feel comfortable confronting a dude who is a) actively h*gh on a substance, b) has access to dangerous tools, and c) is a man in a studio where he is more likely to be respected over a random client, is absolutely bonkers. sincerely hope these folks were able to find ways to get these tattoos fixed and/or removed
Not to mention that she was probably impressionable enough to be convinced that it was “normal” or “not a big deal”. It’s not surprising that it took her a while to realize and then come to terms with the fact that what happened wasn’t ok. Young people are vulnerable like that.
yeah let's sneak an attack at cis men in there. It's harder to disagree with a man high on meth because he's a dude physically stronger than you and he's high on an extremely potent stimulant. How did you manage to say this same statement by throwing shade at like 30% of all tattoo artists? Many hetero men are good people. There are many women who enforce misogyny as well - but they get a pass in your comment lol A woman could've swindled her in the same way. I don't think she didn't complain "because misogyny played a role". I think as the comment above me says, younger people are impressionable and can be convinced it's "normal" and "not a big deal". Women do this to their clients, too.
@MissCaraMint we also live in such a hyperjudgemental society, its caused it to be super common for people to engage in people pleasing behaviors to try and keep the peace at all times. I have a hard time standing up for myself literally all the time, despite all the red flags going off in my head. Often, because I'm so afraid of the situation going wrong if I say anything
The tattoo industry should be like every other industry. It isn’t about the substance, it’s about the impairment. If someone has a drink at lunch at a corporate job it’s usually acceptable. If they come back stumbling drunk and unable to complete their work properly, it’s a problem. Ive worked in HR for a couple decades and have seen this play out many times. Substance use exists everywhere, but people have a responsibility to keep it from affecting their work if they’re getting paid for something.
Im a year and a half clean and sober... It's such a difficult illness to deal with. I feel for these artists struggling with addiction, but they shouldn't put people in that situation.. so much trust goes into this. And if they do? I think they need to make it right. Somehow. I hope these artists can get clean.
I am almost a year sober after 13 years of opioid/benzo addiction. It is hell on Earth, and I came out of it with my life. I worked hard to make enough $ for pills, I impressed them so much I was eventually promoted to an operating partner level, but then the more I made the more I did, then the more I did the more I needed. My “functional addict” ass couldn’t keep up the facade anymore. I wasn’t marking people up permanently at least…
Seems like a decent idea to switch to selling art or taking commissions to design tattoos. They can still make some money without screwing up someone’s body. Congrats too, every day is another accomplishment!!
🍈Surely if you run a tattoo shop and suspect one of your artists is high, you have to send them home to sober up or get help. You can then either reschedule or refund the client. We know that shop owners take a good chunk of their artists' fees. To earn it, they have to exercise some quality control, even if that's uncomfortable. If an artist does get sent home and forfeits a fee, that's their warning that it's time to sort themselves out. 🍈
That’s fair if you have evidence that being high negatively affects their art. But the only people who assume that to usually be the case are uneducated people who know absolutely nothing about psychopharmacology and get their psychopharmacologal “education” from media outlets and societal norms. News flash: media outlets and the general public are embarrassingly incompetent. You shouldn’t be getting your scientific information from people who have degrees in journalism and have never stepped foot in a S.T.E.M. class beyond high school If you have tattoos from more than 5 artists, then I can practically statistically guarantee that AT LEAST one of them was drunk or high during your appointment and you never even noticed. If someone is legitimately addicted to a drug, then they will be MUCH better at tattooing high than sober. A tattoo from a talented high drug addict will ALWAYS come out exponentially better than a tattoo from a less-talented sober person
While I understand not wanting to put someone's struggle with addiction online the artists here are permanently modifying people's bodies. I see this as a different situation
Exactly, I don’t agree with keeping their info secret. They were on Ink Master so they’ll have a lot of people from even outside the local area that want to get tattooed by them & wouldn’t know to avoid that shop.
@@positivevibesveda especially mia, the girl with the sideburn tattoo - if she was under the influence of Master Ink when she got her yolo facetatt after being on the beach with her buddy. It took a blowtorch to remove my facetatts. facetatts are better as color tattoos, preferably in pastel colors especial for future trad wives like mia.
Cause God forbid I'd want the person permanently drawing something on my body to be sober. It's the same if a doctor or nurse came into work plastered and hurt a patient. Yeah, shops should be held accountable if they know one of their artist is doing substances like that. Also hold said artist accountable, if you can't stand up for yourself bring someone with you who can.
I can imagine seeing "substance free" studios someday, with some businesses deciding to prioritize or distinguish themselves with this label as a way of supporting clients and tattoo artists. Could be where artists work who do not have this issue or those who want the support to stay clean if that is their focus. Just a thought...
1:45 my son‘s a tattoo artist, and he tells me all the time about how hard it is to work with people using and not so much that he wants to. It’s just hard to be around all the time. We’ve had our share of addicts in our family and the broken hearts that come along with it so he doesn’t use he’s 26 but he’s an independent contractor and he could go anywhere that he wants. I know that he is doing wonderfully in the business and it’s booked and busy, but I can’t wait till he could maybe have his own studio. I would even help pay for it.
When she said meth head tattoo artists at a "renowned" chain of tattoo shops in Austin, Texas; I instantly knew it was Atomic Tattoo. It's open secret in Austin that nearly all the locations have issues and good artists don't last long there.
my old piercer (also a tattoo artist) from a FL atomic tattoos location recently moved to texas back in september. idk if she’s in austin but she was incredible and i hope she’s not working at atomic tattoos there 😭 idk if i just wasn’t aware since i didn’t get a new piercing often, but there’s never really been issues of addicts working at either the FL mall or turkey lake/I-drive locations-sounds absolutely awful that it’s such a big issue in austin 😬
Unfortunately in tourist heavy areas a accountability isn’t super common because artists are in and out and in and out and there’s a constant stream of impulsive vacationers that don’t know any better so they still make money smh
Not sure why these stories never drop the name of the shop or artist in the first place. I understand you don't want to be directly sending people to hate on them, but it's good to at least try warn other by dropping the name 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
As I have had family members go through addiction issues, I can empathize with these artists. However, clients also have a right to feel safe in the studio and not be scarred for life. 🍈
Much like other mental illnesses, substance abuse is an illness and the people with it need help like anyone else with a mental illness, but that also doesn't mean that they're not responsible for their actions and the way they affect others. The behavior of these artists absolutely disgusts me and I hope they reach a point in their lives where they can take responsibility for their own actions.
I’m a recovering addict & I think you did an incredible job at tackling this. I really appreciate your understanding when talking about addiction. Ppl who have never experienced it first hand or thru a friend/loved one are usually just uneducated & they don’t understand the complexities of what addiction is. How it comes about & how not every addict is the type you see on tv. In my experience it’s actually the opposite. So thank you for being so kind to ppl like me & ppl struggling.
Easy shop rule: don’t blast anyone if you’re blasted. Wouldn’t let a client do it. Feels like the rule should be stricter for the expert with a needle to someone’s skin 🤷♂️
Rory’s artist showcases the huge issue of being a “highly functioning addict”. Sure, you might pass a field sobriety test and you’re not the worst, but you’re not giving your best and providing due care
It's hard to tell a hairdresser you don't like the haircut they gave you. And you know that haircuts are temporary- it will grow back and you'll just have to look like that for a bit. Now imagine you have just spent hundreds of dollars and however many hours getting ink permanently pushed under your skin by a needle, and imagine looking your artist in the eyes and saying 'this looks awful, and i think it's because you're high'. Have compassion for the artist who is suffering, and have compassion for the person who has to have the evidence of that suffering on their skin forever.
Oof the first story hits home a little bit. I’m a hairstylist and even though it’s a different industry, we deal with this problem as well. I have a soft spot for people in my industry with substance abuse problems because I’ve personally been witness to it. You can’t imagine what people are going through and how ashamed they feel. We have had to cover for people and made stories up for them (or follow along with the ones they’ve made up) when clients show up and they’re not there. We’ve even had to try holding someone up and talking them out of driving themselves home after work while under the influence. It’s very sad to see. People don’t do those things maliciously, it’s an illness like you said, and people have to eat (and support their habit), so they WILL absolutely still show up to work at some point when their funds are low. I don’t completely agree with outing people (in certain sensitive situations of course, I’m reasonable) like it’s done nowadays. But to have something permanent on your body, I mean ouch, that is really terrible and irresponsible.
Oh man. That reminds me of a time years ago when I had an appointment w/my hairstylist and he was BLASTED!! I was in my 20s, nervous, and shy. He spilled half of the hair color and after an hour and a half into the appointment, nothing had been done, so I made an excuse and got the hell out of there and never went back.
Oh man I have some STORIES I could tell about some of the guys I worked with in tattoo shops over the years. I have seen some SHIT and unfortunately I have lost quite a few industry friends to substance abuse. It's really sad.
Nahh as soon as i heard that she needed a break after every step i said "that's coke...." no hate to the artist, substance abuse is a serious problem. But please get out if you think your artist is on coke, the way it affects your mind, you can't think straight or properly evaluate your own abilities. Even if it was some other substance you need to leave that situation
Will say that the voucher promos can be good sometimes! One of the artists I go to runs them occasionally, usually around the holidays (generally $150 worth of tattoo per $100 on a tattoo gift card). But he also puts his all even into the smallest flash pieces. I’ve done a few $40-80 flash specials with him and he always makes them insanely detailed and tends to run over his time to make sure the piece is perfect. I am constantly blown away at the quality from his work and the level of professionalism no matter the size or cost of the piece. I am hoping to get a voucher from him at the holidays this year for the backs of my knees!
A few years ago, I got a tattoo on my bicep of a deer and tribal-like pattern around it that I drew because it's a tattoo of one of my Native American characters (as am I) from a story I wrote. I went to a shop my brother had gone to a few times, so I trusted that I would receive a great turn out of it. I asked the price, accepted, made sure that I explained every detail thoroughly. When I came back with the money while they set up, the artist they had assigned to it was... off. He couldn't understand the design despite it being extremely simple, whenever I pointed something out, it was like he couldn't hear me and I know I was speaking loudly because my friend across from us could hear me perfectly. He was getting easily frustrated, started getting mad at me for some reason whenever I said he was missing something. He even charged me more than agreed on. I turned to his co-workers and suddenly they all avoid eye contact with me. When we left, even my friend said that guy was under the influence of something before I could even bring it up. I had a meaningful tattoo ruined because of this unfortunately 🙁🍈
@@CaseyAvalon Thank you! And yeah, I think the most heartbreaking part was that that I got it in celebration of how far I've come with my story and my art. I'm hoping to see if I can find someone who can fix it in the future though! ☺
@@beanybabyrabie Anxiety to speak up unfortunately 😔 But I did learn from that experience to at least try to force myself to even if I feel like I'm being rude
8:48 when she showed the front of her arm and said "you can see the other two pieces she had already done" like they were supposed to look better than the "botched" inner arm I was like ooohh... Honey.. None of those tattoos look good in the first place..... Like... They look bad..... She just didn't realize the artists quality was bad in general. I hope someone told her 😂
Ok thank you for saying this because I was very confused and had to rewatch that part of the video.😅 You're telling me the rose blobs are the "good" tattoos? I mean the unfinished Venus flytraps are worse, but the others aren't great! My heart goes out to the client, but she was happy with the previous work? I feel like I need to look the original video up now just to see it larger so I don't feel like I'm going crazy.
I had a college professor whose first tattoo (from a professional studio) was so botched it was essentially embossed into her skin. She taught a lot of her students to be super careful about this sort of thing.
my mom had a client who was a tattoo artist and he told her he can't do appointments before 12pm because his hands would be too shaky. and another well known artist from that area died because a gang started to get tattoos from him and they let him choose to be paid in money or snow. substance abuse in that line of work is no joke
As an addict (in recovery) I must say thank you for your compassionate take on this. The real truth is there’s addicts (high functioning or otherwise) in probably every single profession, and they can hide it well until they can’t.
As a former addict myself, I greatly appreciate your level of respect and tact while discussing this topic. People forget that drug addicts are someone's loved ones too. Love your more gentle approach to talking about it.
All that being said these artists should still be held accountable, you as an addict must take responsibility for your addiction at some point. The clients deserve respect too. EVERYONE does
I use to work at a studio and we had a guy there who was a drunk plain and simple and we had to fire him because he would show up wasted. Just like telling people who came into the shop drunk wanting to get work done and turning them away we had to shitcan this guy and a few others over the years I worked there. Any responsible owner/operator will do and should do the same because the days of the old school biker junkie owning a shop and being maxed while doing work are over and theres no place for this ever again in my opinion.
I got myself tatted by someone who was clearly messed up but I didn’t understand until later. It’s garbage, was extremely painful, and forever on my body.
I was agreeing with you on everything up until the "whose to say what substances tattoo artists can be on, it's a difficult one." It's not difficult at all to me. Caffeine and meth have wildly different effects on a person. If I'm getting a tattoo from someone, I don't want them on anything I wouldn't be comfortable with my doctor using.
🍈This is an extremely nuanced situation, and you handled it with grace. My bio mother has been an addict since before I was born, and it led her to being incarcerated for my whole childhood. As soon as she would get out of jail, life would get hard and she'd find the nearest plug. My dad had full custody of me, but let me see her on my terms as a teen. I cut her off immediately, and haven't spoken to her in years. We can have all the compassion in the world for the illness side of addiction, but it never excuses the pain that addicted people put others through. Tattoo artists included.
I would consider getting a tattoo in a tattoo studio, piercing studio, dentist office, doctors office, urgent care… Not that it would ever happen but those are the cleanliness standards that I expect. I expect sharps containers. I expect a room dedicated to tattooing. I expect tables and chairs that are sterilized in between clients and dedicated to tattooing. I don’t think a kitchen table would ever be clean enough.
Yea I wouldn’t have a problem being tattooed in someone’s house assuming they had the proper table/ sanitation equipment but otherwise that’s kinda gross
I have full empathy and compassion for people with this illness, but if their job involved driving and they chose to keep driving and putting others in danger, we would rightfully have a problem with that. And putting something permanent on someone's body is a big responsibility. I understand that denial is part of the illness and many affected are in denial about it affecting theirabilities but that doesn't make it okay.The client not being happy with the art is the least that could happen, but what if someone who keeps getting high while tattooing and in between clients doesnt sterilise needles properly, for example? Then it could become a health problem for the client. I do think studios should definitely be aware of the issue and have conversations with their artists about the importance, just like i think they, like any employers, should have to keep their staff members employed and support them while they are in rehab (as is law in my country, you cannot fire someone for an illness). Testing randomly, I don't know, but i think just awareness would already do a lot. As a studio you're responsible for your clients health and safety. This is about more than just clients being unhappy with how a tattoo looks, it can affect their health and safety also.
Wow! I had no idea about this. I'm 5+ years sober from heroin, fentanyl and crack. I went to prison in 2019 and found out I was pregnant. My son saved my life ❤
Agreed. There is a duty of care the business has for the client and employees. The business is responsible for both those pathways. Ownership, not loopholes…
i’m only 57 seconds into this video and can already tell you my opinion on this. if i, as the client, have to sign a consent form to confirm that i am not under the influence in order to sit still and make a decision, then the person tattooing me should not be under the influence either. we should both be held to the standards of the consent form that i am signing - so no drink/drugs, over the age of 18, aware of the risks, etc.
My first professional tattoo in a shop, I got at 16 years old. It was a birthday present from my dad, he made the appointment at a shop a state over (only about a 2 hour drive to the shop from our house, in the neighboring state) a nice cool big forearm piece I could design MYSELF to cover my scars. I was stoked of course, and I got it, and I still love it, but my dad mentioned off hand when we left, the guy doing my tattoo (also the owner) and his artists where talking in blatant “Code” about drugs and drug deals and stuff. And I was like wow damn, but I was 16 I didn’t know and I didn’t rlly care LMAO, but years later, when I was like 18 or 19 my dad mentioned to me that the artist who did my tattoo had died of a heroin overdose. He was a really sweet man, and he made my first tattoo experience a good one, but the saddest part, is he called his 4 year old daughter on the phone before tattooing me… now I can never not look at my arm and think heroin left a 6 year old girl without her father, who adored her, and she adored him :(((
I might be biased because I've been through hell and back with addicted loved ones(even buried one), but my compassion wears thin when someone's addiction starts negatively impacting others. Help is available, and while ultimately it's your choice whether or not you want to get clean, at least have the decency to be sober at work. Tattooing is still a job, just cause it's a cool laid-back job doesn't mean you get to show up trashed. That should not be a controversial statement at all, and I kind of can't believe that it's seen as "gatekeeping" or a "boomer mentality" to expect cleanliness and sobriety when I'm paying someone to perform what is essentially a medical procedure. Random drug tests should be mandatory for all workers who alter people's bodies in any way, from tattoo artists to doctors to nail technicians. No one's getting hurt if the Walmart stockboy smokes a J out back on break, but there needs to be zero tolerance for impairment in jobs that require skill and precision.
im a recovered addict and i flunked out of college my first try when i was 19 but i cleaned up my act and im back in school and doing good, but its a hard thing to go through and i sympathize with these people because i get it
I’ve got a similar story to Rory! At least the initial unable to speak up. I’m now 30 and last year I travelled the world and decided to collect tattoos along my way. I’ve spent thousands on high quality work by wonderful artists I love and respect and do beautiful work. While in one country I decided to put it out on a few social media groups that I was looking for x style and a specific kind of vibe; I’m quite particular in only being tattooed by people I connect and align with as I am carrying a piece of them with me now. Someone in the group reached out to me and sent me their info-that they were super interested and to check out their work to see if we can vibe. I ended up loving their work and we decided to do a piece on my shoulder and it goes into my chest of a sun, moon, and stars. I travelled 2 hours from where I was to meet them at their studio… and red flag number one… not a real studio. It seemed clean and professional- but it was a detached second home and I was a little irked- but this was a nice place for where I was at. I approved the design after some minor changes, and they said they needed to step out but would be right back. They left for an uncomfortable amount of time pre-tattoo, came back. And at this point I had sat through a 10 hour long dot work 1/2 sleeve that curved onto my back, under my arm, and only my inside, multiple 2-4 hour long sessions for other tattoos….After 10 minutes I was HORRIFICALLY in pain. The artist was incredibly heavy handed and I really struggled with that pain. The hour and a half was ROUGH. I was crying, I finally decided I needed to tap- but they said they were done. Nothing prepared me to see on my chest the worst tattoo on my body. Shaky lines, not at all like the stencil, completely uneven. The suns supposed to be goddess like face looked like she was made by Picasso with different line weights and the difference of sizing. I paid- twice what we agreed to. I was already upset and uncomfortable- but I was in the middle of the jungle and didn’t feel very safe. Since then- I have had it worked on by 2 other people. It’s some of the worst work they have ever seen- and it’s nearly not fixable with the uneven-ness, blow outs, and shakiness. It was meant to represent my divine feminine… and has been a literal curse to look at! Next steps are blacking out the sun face and looking for a fine line artist to go in and detail some work to straighten things out, and I also got a bid for laser. It SUCKS to have great art and one shitty person ruin dozens of hours and thousands of dollars in investment. I really wish artists could find it within themselves to not tarnish someone’s body and be real with what is going on or that they can’t perform that caliber of work, it enrages me seeing that tattoo artists work on IG now- I really trusted this person- and something meant to be so beautiful has just left me in a huge pit of depression.
My ex and i both got portraits of our son (different photographs) by the same artist at a biker run in Laughlin. My ex went first and his tattoo turned out great, so i was excited for mine. Before he did mine, he pounded at least one beer, and i should have back out from the tattoo at that point, but i didn't want to be lame or cause a scene (i was young and dumber). It turned out not very good, he was SUPER heavy handed and i felt like i had a permanent Charlie horse for a week straight. The tattoo was on the back of my calf. He did the line work so dark, my son, who was 2 years old in the photo, looked like an old man. The light reflecting in the pupils weren't symmetrical, and honestly, it almost looks like Golem from lord of the rings. It doesn't do the picture or my son justice at all. Moral of the story, trust your gut and if you don't feel comfortable with an artist for any reason, and if they consume any type of substance, like drugs or alcohol, choose a different artist. Be wise out there, friends. 🙏❤
I would be so upset if the tattoo of my baby boy turned out looking like golem, and I don't even have kids 😂 It's weird that the one tattoo looked good and yours didn't. Maybe it had something to do with the photos being different or something
@@DoorsToHideBehind156 It definitely sucks. I think it was a mixture of the beer(s) he pounded after he tattooed my ex, and then immediately going right into mine, another 4-5 hour portrait.... He was tired probably, buzzed, and the picture I chose was more difficult to do in hindsight.
I cannot imagine the thought process involved where you have knowledge of people being harmed and you decide that the persons doing the harm are more worthy of protection than the ones being harmed or at risk of being harmed. Just ick.
I’m a recovering addict and recently after I got sober, my hair stylist gave me a haircut and dye while she was clearly drunk, and I just sat through it like “if anyone deserves this, it’s me” and I’m still growing that bad haircut out 2 years later. Not mad though, I don’t have clients or customers of any sort but I definitely caused more chaos than a bad haircut in my addiction. I hope she’s doing better now.
Getting a bad haircut at the barber, nightmare mode. I have no sympathy for someone doing a procedure while under the influence. They should be fired on the spot for putting someone at risk. As for the question, yes. It's not a hard question at all. If you are in an industry that has this problem and you've been informed of your staff acting suspect, you should take the problem seriously. I'd want my doctor tested too.
On the flip side, my brother got a couple of questionable tattoos during the height of his addiction. Part of his recovery is getting them covered up with a better one that is symbolic of his recovery itself
I’m gonna be honest, I have personally dealt with substance abuse, and I have known people who have dealt with it as well. I know how fucking awful it is. But if I knew someone tattooed me while pretty obviously high on drugs I would report that shop to the health and safety department. I understand that shop owners don’t always know what’s going on, but with Rory’s story particularly, that was straight up negligence. A tattoo isn’t just art, there is a medical aspect to it as well. In my opinion the best thing you could walk out of that shop with is a shitty tattoo. What’s the probability that artist is following proper sanitary practice? You could get so many blood borne illnesses and infections from a dirty tattoo station. What these tattoo artists are doing isn’t just shitty, they are risking people’s health and safety. They deserve compassion but this kind of behavior is not acceptable. Full stop.
I am currently a daily opiate user and have been using for 8.5 years which essentially guarantees that I end up committing crimes nearly every day in order to keep up the appearance of normalcy in society. I can't go to work without getting "high" (kind of a misnomer now) beforehand. Luckily, if I fuck up at work (and I have) it doesnt have permanent life-altering consequences for others. For a lot of people, being high is their normal. But normal doesnt mean not impaired.
My partner is a tatoo artist and at this point he has to work out of a private studio, because most of the shops in town he now refuses to work at exactly because of this issue! They let addicts and drunk people work, which leads to safety and clenliness issues, and he wants no part in that. He has seen some truly awful things. Not to mention it creates a work environment more toxic than feuding cliques of 8th graders! But just imagine that the safest, best place to get tattooed in your entire city is a guy who has a studio in a bedroom of a random house?! So depressing.
for people saying w33d is fine to be on while tattooing someone, i disagree heavily. as a heavy stoner who is just deciding now to start quitting, it really does affect your ability to work normally and to the best of your ability. especially if youre super high. its not normal. tattooing should be a completely sober activity wether youre tattooing or getting tattooed. way too many risks involved.
Really it depends on the person, the effects can vary for different people. I'm not a tattooist but I do realistic traditional art with watercolour, pastel and pencil, guache, acrylic paint ,a variety of mediums. Some of my best work was when extremely high on weed, for me it enabled me to hyper focus on the details. I've been sober now for 17yrs, and still find it harder to get the same level of detail and precision as I could when using weed, which I had to give up for health reasons. Some people get sloppy and lazy, some hyper focus which can be a benifit when doing hyper realism, it can vary widely. The person needs to really step back and assess how it affects their work, and if it's honestly worse to definitely abstain while working. The trouble is most people can't be honest with themselves.
@tabbi888 I see where you’re coming from, but remember that unlike watercolor there is a risk of both pain and infection on the client in tattooing. Better save the weed for if you are sketching tattoo ideas, and not when you are performing a cosmetic procedure on a client.
The hospital I work at requires all nurses (unsure about other providers) to get drug tested, and they recently stopped testing for marijuana because the state I live in legalized it. The hospital started having prolems with turning away a lot of potential employees since many people would test positive for it. Obviously being a nurse and a tattoo artist are very different fields, but in a basic sense we're performing invasive procedures on people. At the end of the day, the safety of clinets always comes first. This also isn't to say that it's right for anyone to be impaired while doing these sort of jobs, or that someone who tested positive on a drug test has a substance issue, or shouldn't be allowed to work. And obviously marijuana is different from meth. I believe there needs to be some kind of standard, and maybe one already exists, I'm not well versed in the tattooing industry. This whole conversation is so nuanced and I appreciate your insight on the topic; thank you for your video on it!
As a tattoo artist I am all for random drug and alcohol tests we should not be impaired on the job. States where weed is legal is one thing but alcohol does not help the artist is any form.
11:04 her calling that a bloodline 😭 my current tattoo has line work and bloodlines to complete the tattoo our next session, and there’s a clear difference.
Doctors: Never allowed to be on drugs even outside of work. Nurses: Not allowed to be on substances in or outside of work if they're on call. Construction works: No substances on site and drugs tests will be done. Everyone else on Earth: No drugs or alcohol allowed at work and can be fired. Tattoo artists (that work with blood, health, and people's bodies): Do drugs and alcohol, I guess? Why do they get a pass? Why shouldn't they be tested? I'm tested as a commercial painter any time I even bump my elbow for the sake of our safety system. Soooo, no. No drugs or alcohol. And also quit smoking! I'm allergic to nicotine so if someone comes in with nicotine on their clothes I can get hives all over. I also don't think coffee is even slightly comparable.
@@Staygolden6996I work in construction. I've personally walked people off site for being drunk or on drugs. I've fired people. I've sent people for OH&S testing. You can't. People do but that's not an accepted trait like it is in tattooing. Nor should it be. Other people not participating in it can get hurt and those are the ones I protect.
As soon as I heard multiple locations in austin I knew it had to be atomic tattoo, kind of wild with their response because the owner is generally a nice person for the most part
Its really unfortunate how many of us deal with substance abuse issues, almost every tattoo artist im friends with/have been tattoed by has been either on something or used in general.Its heartbreaking,im just lucky theyre good people so they dont have bad behaviour that gets amplified by the drugs.
I’m not sure how I feel about putting substances like nicotine & caffeine with things that get you high in the same sentence. Very different. Great video though! This is definitely a serious problem in the industry
Nicotine and caffeine simulate your CNS just like other stimulants do, they are drugs by all metrics Caffeine is incredibly addicting, with most adults being addicted to it (you being moody or having a headache when you didn't have your coffe isn't cute - it's withdrawal symptoms)
I really think tattooing out of the house is just not sanitary. A tattoo studio is a single-use venue, every cleaning protocol and every chore is done to the standards of a tattoo studio (every studio i go to smells like a hospital and thats how i prefer it). A home can be cleaned "good enough" for home purposes without being sanitary for tattooing, especially when you start introducing other variable like kids, pets, roommates, whatever.
@@yassine8935 if the employee is high as a kite they might put other people at risk if an emergency happens, which is always a possibility. They can do whatever on their free time, but when on the clock employees have a responsibility to be sober imo.
The smoking and addiction issue is also a big thing in the hair dressing industry too. My sister is a hairdresser and she’s had to fix SO many people’s hair because of coworkers and report several coworkers. A lot of the time, the hairdresser won’t face any repercussions at all too.
My artist owns a shop in their state. But i get tattoos from them in his air BnB all the time. He always clears a room and does his full setup. I love the chillness of not being in a shop!
I think part of the problem of prevalence regarding addiction is “illness” does not sound serious. It doesn’t sound like permanent changes of the brain & chemical production/interactions.
As a recovering addict who is also an artist, you are 100% right. NO ONE under the influence should be tattooing people. And while I'm all for making rehabilitation more accessible and decriminalized drugs in favor of funding recovery programs, I do kind of think shops should drug test artists. I mean, if someone is smoking weed here and there, whatever. But you don't need to be coming into work tweeked off your ass and acting like you're in any condition to be putting something permanent on anyone's body Not to mention the health concerns. I'm speaking from experience when I say, most junkies are fuggin GROSS. Like, toxic hazard condemned building levels of gross. When you're constantly out of your mind on drugs, sanitation and organization often wind up taking a back seat entirely. And that poses a MASSIVE safety risk for clients. This isn't just a matter of risking someone being ripped off for a toddler quality design that's now permanently etched into their skin, it's also a matter of making sure people don't get diseases, or infections, etc. And that cannot be understated. On top of all of that is the reality that one artist f'ing up like this will wind up tanking the reputation of the shop and will, as a result, screw over the other employees there. If someone who is a newb goes looking for a shoo, they're not going to think "Oh, it was just this one artist rolling in bad reviews." They're going to see that the shop has 2 stars, and even if every single negative review is only regarding one artist, those people still aren't going to go there. I also think it's important that we all vocally acknowledge the chokehold that gangs have in the tattoo industry and how their constant and overbearing presence in these spaces facilitate these issues. Such as sexual violence/harassment, addiction, trafficking, etc. Like, I genuinely don't think people understand how influenced the industry is by these groups. And so to speak out on that shit could put someone's career or life on the line depending on their level of association with those groups. And that's not hyperbole.
I completely agree, when I was deep in my heroin addiction I quit my job as a line cook because I knew all it took was a couple of seconds of nodding out to make a really dangerous mistake. Substance abuse also runs rampant in that industry and I remember feeling enabled at times (not taking away any responsibility of my own) but it was so normalised and encouraged.
I don't think tattoo studios should test artists. But I 100% think they should be held accountable if artists are openly using substances on the job and actively endangering clients. All body modification comes with risks. Not only is getting a bad tattoo awful, but you run the risk of infection which can be deadly in certain cases. Like if you're smoking m*th out back in between sessions, sterilizing your workspace might be low on your list of priorities
I was tattooed at the home of my long time artist, who was VERY pregnant. Everything went beautifully, she’s a gem, and a family friend, she’d always tattooed me in a shop and only did this piece in her home due to some unexpected circumstances. HOWEVER, i have experienced the “takes too many breaks” at a shop where i knew and was friends with everyone who worked there. I had been tattooed by this guy several times, as had my friend and my sister. He’s very talented and a good guy. But his whole vibe was different on this day, he was more agitated and couldn’t sit still. I just knew something was off. I havent been back to him since, he hoped shops after that, and recently i was informed that my suspicions were correct and my visit with him was the beginning of a very bad time for him. But he’s doing much better now so im happy to hear that for him
I am 100% for testing artists when they work at a studio. There are many more industries where it is either standard practice or even mandatory to submit yourself to random, unscheduled drug tests throughout your employment. It is completely unsafe to tattoo someone while under the influence. Hygiene practices may not be followed, contamination might happen, sterilisation might be messed with, you don't know the line quality or shading you'll be getting from an artist UTI. Just the idea of putting my health and my body in the hands on someone who might be counting rainbows or be so delirious they can't follow regulation to keep me safe is an absolute nightmare. There are no other industries where a person health and body are put on the line where it would be acceptable to welcome a worker who's using substances. Tattoo artists have the same potential for causing harm as a surgeon (open wounds, blood, hygiene, sterile environment, etc.) so they should be held to a similar standard of workplace conduct. It is not helping someone to allow them to cause harm at work. This is not how you keep someone from substances or help them get through that painful time in their life. Letting them work without testing being a standard pratice at the shop is asking for lawsuits that will further ruin that artist's life. Test your artists, ffs
I will be 3 years sober in spring of 2025, I hurt people while I was on substances. I was not in my right mind but I knew I was sick and I chose not to get help. The people I hurt were hurt by me and I have to take responsibility for that regardless of what was going on in my own life. I was not, however, putting permanent art in people’s skin.
WHO WAS THE INK MASTER IN THE FIRST ONE?!? PS love your channel!! I got an upcomong appt at Smith St in Brooklyn and been watching ur content, getting stoked!! Lolll. Great video!!!!
I used the same artist for years, he’s done over 150 hours of work on me. He’s always had really high quality work. I had a years break from being tattooed and naturally booked in with him. He was acting odd and a bit off, but I put it down to his partner having a new baby and he was a little tired. I discovered afterwards that he was high on drugs and had possibly been drinking too. I genuinely couldn’t smell anything on him, but he kept disappearing for 30-40 minutes at a time, every hour or so. The tattoo he did was horrendous, colour out of the lines, the lines were really wonky, line weight was all over the place, colour in random smudges outside of the tattoo, none of the colours I wanted were used. I have never had a tattoo bleed like this one did. The tattoo didn’t look like what it was meant to be. Half way through I asked him if he was going to fix some of the lines. He said yes. He ended making it so much worse. He decided to end it, saying I was bleeding too much for him to see what he was doing. It was the hardest tattoo I’ve ever had to heal. It was still actively bleeding 4 days after the day of the tattoo. The swelling was out of this world. Once it had finally peeled nearly two weeks later. I could really see just how awful it was. I was then informed by his partner why my tattoo was so bad. I contacted him, asking for my money back. He sent me voice notes threatening me. I ended up going to another artist to fix it, so I paid in total £600 for a hand sized tattoo. The artist that fixed it was fucking amazing! She did a phenomenal job on repairing the tattoo. I was so stupid, I kept looking at it and thinking “he’s always done great work, he’ll fix it” when I should have just called it a day!
I heard about this tory through treacle tatts and ik she left pretty early and was making an excuse to leave so yeah I highly doubt thats the artist house .
I was 18, when I got first tattoo, and I didn’t do enough research and my artist was as well on something. And it was a really special tattoo for my best friend who died😭. They ended up letting the guy go, and he ended up passing. But I wish I did something back then. Now I’m 23 and I found an artist, I love!
It seems to me that the concern level should be higher when the substance abuse is hidden and denied. I know artists who use different things but they are right out in the open and it's clear they use on their own time and not when they are on the clock. The professional and personal don't collide.
that’s the difference between recreational use and dependency, being able to actually separate it from your day to day and only using substances in appropriate settings and safe ways
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🍈I understand that tattooing is an art; however, it is also a medical procedure. Skin is being penetrated, tattoo artists are working with blood and potential blood-borne pathogens and they are permanently altering a person's body. I wouldn't tolerate my surgeon, my dentist, or any other professional to be under the influence while my safety is on the line. Same goes for a tattoo artist. Period.
Absolutely my view on the situation
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
@Zer0rchestra
Solid advice! 👍
This!
This comment showed a perspective I didn’t even think about ( although I don’t get tattoos anymore and only have a couple) this is a GREAT POINT!! It is a medical procedure!! This needs to be a main talking point when it comes to talking about tattoos and tattoo shops !! Thank you for this comment. It may have seemed like common knowledge to you but it changed how I view tattoos and the seriousness of it , Thank you 🩷
Imagine telling a 22 yr old girl to confront a meth head abt money 😅 y’all are crazy. No one should have to state they have a problem with meth tattoos. It’s kinda a given. Regardless no one in their right mind would blame the client in this situation. Sure she was in a shop but it’s a shop in which they allow their employees to do hard drugs. Walking away was a completely rational thing to do. The way ppl will do anything to displace blame blows my mind.
I don't know about her being a completely helpless 22-year-old "girl". Let's be real. She was an adult. She wasn't alone with him. They were in a shop. Also, the shop didn't allow employees to do hard drugs, so she could've told someone about it, but she chose to let him work on her high and with an unfinished sketch instead of requesting to see a more finished picture. It's going to be a permanent mark on your skin, why wouldn't you be a bit more picky? Especially if you're spending hundreds of dollars on it! That amount of money would melt away any shyness I might've had.
@@Monkey_Boy960222 is young and trying to bring something up around even more people? You are insane and obviously not a woman.
@@Monkey_Boy9602I'm glad you've lived a life where you cannot see how wrong this could have gone as a small, 22 year old woman. That is your feelings and how YOU would have acted but you are not everyone.
@@maddollink When things go wrong for me, the first thing I do is analyze what I could've done differently. So naturally whenever I hear about a person's situation, I immediately go to what they could've done to avoid the consequences. Her gender and size do not matter. There were several times where she could've got up and left without directly confronting him, but she didn't. After he went out for his smoke, she didn't have to wait for him to come back. She could've went to another employee about it or just left out the front door because there's no way that he went to smoke that out front and then called the police from the safety of her car.
Also because she just went through with it, who knows how many more victims had sat under his needle before the shop terminated him. As a victim of a drunk driver, I don't take things like this lightly. I wish someone would've called the cops on him. It would've saved me a lifetime of pain and surgeries.
@@Monkey_Boy9602 Bear...
Addicts need compassion, but compassion doesn’t mean putting a tattoo gun in someone’s hand. Just like if someone was dead sober but severely emotionally distressed you wouldn’t want them to be tattooing you. Doesn’t mean they’re a bad person or a bad artist, it just means they probably shouldn’t be making permanent body alterations to people at the moment out of respect for the client AND out of respect for their portfolio/business
Totally with you here. In my opinion an artist can be high as a kite off of any substance known to man when creating the piece (still needs to meet the clients expectations obv),
but damn, please be sober when taking to said clients skin.
I dealt with addiction myself. I know former debt collectors, dealers. I know people who drove high, or drunk. The stigma against addiction sucks, but there's a good reason for it.
Addicts need compassion, but giving them unlimited compassion is just being an enabler. Addiction is not an excuse.
I think you need to shame addicts not trying to get help and praise those trying to get help or recovered. Too much compassion for a person doing themselves and everyone around them harm is not kind to anyone.
Beautifully said
The voucher seems like the behavior of an addict. The tattoo artist needs money NOW, but can’t do the work now… so in order to buy their drugs, they have these IOU’s all over town. 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩 🚩
This
Agree unless your buying a gift card for someone, then in that case I can see it, but not anymore lol. I'll just buy a visa gift card if I ever want to gift someone money for a tattoo.
yup
Not sure why we're tiptoeing around the fact that an impaired person is getting paid to render a professional service - hence, they should be held accountable/liable to their actions. Getting a shitty tattoo and getting cheated out of your money is one thing, possibly getting a disease because who knows what kind of protocol that person remembered or forgot to follow, that's a bigger problem... I'm a recovering addict and see no problem in an artist's/shop's name be revealed, if they operate that way. Mental problems are not an excuse to risk anyone's safety/wellbeing, and accountability needs to be taken. Imagine if we started feeling bad about drunk drivers, arsonists, murderers... They all have mental problems and feelings too - and actions have consequences.
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Doesn't mean she is responsible for calling them out if she's not comfortable with it. It's not secret information and these people are already being tried in the court of public opinion. Why is it her job to hold them accountable if she wants to focus on the root problem instead of the individuals?
I must have missed the part where she said addiction "excused" their behavior 🤔 and apparently I hallucinated her saying "there's really *no excusing* this." She also says the artists should get the help they need before they ink people, and she included the name of the studio where Rory went, AND said she *agreed* with the decision to disclose the business's name.
So how did you get from "I'm not naming the artists because I don't want to add to their struggles" to excusing MURDER? *Imagine* if people could be compassionate AND believe actions have consequences that people have to face. Both!.... at the same time??! 😱
I really feel like you wrote and posted this preachy rant without actually watching the video.
@@positivevibesveda really? That's unfortunate.
@@LunarElevenwhere’d they say it’s her responsibility to name names? They just said they see no problem with the shop/artist’s name being public
@@LunarEleven Honeybun... You wrote and posted this preachy rant without even reading the comment you're responding to...
Being strict with a blasted tattoo artist doesn't automatically mean you're being insensitive to their illness. It's fair to protect/support the clients and then also care about the personal wellbeing of that artist
You can love and empathize with an alcoholic and still not allow them to drive you home. Same thing here
They knew he was an addict, the owners used the word "Relapsed" so this wasn't a one tike thing. 85% of people in the tattoo industry are greasy or on drugs. They would have another career if they weren't.
Yeah, as a recovering addict myself, I'm really tired of people confusing understanding and empathy with enabling and protecting. You can empathize with someone's struggle while still acknowledging the very real danger their actions pose to others. The two are not mutually exclusive.
since celle didn't explain this part too well, rory DID NOT ask for a refund. she stated at least 3x that she never asked atomic for a refund. she reached out to atomic tattoo to let them know about the situation, and they responded by blaming her and saying they won't refund her.
rory showed an email she sent atomic last week where she said "i haven't even ever asked for a refund, but i can definitely tell that you don't want to give me one based on how many times you've brought it up."
she did not ask for a refund.
celle honestly just assumed rory did even though rory is shown in this video saying "i don't even want a refund though, or else i would've asked for the money back 5 years ago."
That's important. Asking for a refund after 5 years doesn't make a lot of sense, but notifying the shop is good.
@@MSpotatoesI agree but I think the part confusing me is…what did Rory want from them, then? They said they had let that tattoo artist go. I don’t actually understand the conflict at all. And sorry, but letting the studio know FIVE years later after several people could’ve already received bad tattoos is not the heroic measure everyone is making it out to be. I’m glad she felt the need to say something, but five years later ???? And like, the store already got rid of that person. I’m just confused I guess 😭😭😭
@Neomie92 if I had to give my honest opinion, it was for attention. But who knows, maybe she felt it was a righteous cause. Notifying the shop and going on a public tirade isn't exactly the same.
@@Neomie92 The conflict arose after she reached out to them and they replied back by blaming her. I, as her friend, told her she should post about it online to warn others about how the shop operates. You do not know the inner workings of people's lives.
@@MSpotatoes Nah, I told Rory to post about it after the shop replied by blaming her. She also deleted it after her video got too many views because it made her anxious. Please stop making assumptions about other people!
I think the issue we keep running into dealing with addiction in any environment is folks either confront it with total apathy or total sympathy. people wanna act like you can't be compassionate with someone struggling while also holding them responsible for choices and actions made while under the influence. either way, nobody is putting in real work to help someone come out the other side of it and they're left to deal with it on their own.
This!
Exactly. You can be addicted bcs it's an illness and no one should say "just stop using it, it's not that hard". but as soon as you do damage to others it's your fault. That's it. You should be punished.
amen exactly! They are not mutually exclusive!
This is great and I say something similar quite often. Two or more things can exist or be right at the same time. I’ve had multiple family members suffer from addiction.
-Was it a choice at first? Yes. Is it now a disease basically impossible to treat without medical intervention? Yes.
-Do I feel empathy for them, love them, and appreciate the difficult circumstances that lead them to addiction? Absolutely! Will I enable them in their addiction? Categorically no!
Humans are complex creatures. Duality exists in just about everything.
@@NancyChistine0486 so well said
🤩 My first tattoo in a professional shop was performed by someone that was on drugs. My friend and I walked in and he got a nice tattoo and mine was horrible. I came back the next day to complain and the shop owner admitted that the guy who did my tattoo was having drug use issues. If they knew, then why was he tattooing clients!!!!! They had another artist try to fix it but it wasn't better because the damage was done. I was just18 so I didn't know what rights I had and I was so upset at how it looked nothing like the stencil applied to my arm. I drew the design myself and the stencil was good, but he went way off script and the quality was visibly bad. I suffered with it for 20 years and then finally had it removed...
It’s your job to research your artist before you get the tattoo
@@mwesttattoos how could they research 20 years ago? The internet wasn't what it's like now, it was just local shops, plus they were 18. C'mon, don't be so ridiculous.
It was the tattoo shops responsibility to ensure their employees weren't suffering with addictions that would impact paying clients tattoos.
I empathise with addicts, having been one once myself, I'm now in recovery. But, I'm honest enough to admit it 100% effects our work.
I respect the tattoo shop for not just kicking him to the curb whilst he was struggling, but they should have demoted him to cleaning/phones/books etc whilst he had an active addiction as its going to effect the work they do which isn't fair to paying customers or the shop in the long run as they'll get a bad name.
Anyway, I hope that tattooist and anyone else going through addiction can get clean and make it out the other side and I'm sorry so many people have had shitty work because of addiction. I can empathise with both sides
@@mwesttattoos really!?! I went to a professional shop recommended by friends that were happy with their tattoos. There was no internet, how old even are you with your smart ass response??
@@mwesttattoosare you really a tattoo artist who puts all the blame on their (potential) customers? Not very sympathetic... Advertisement done wrong 🙃
@@mwesttattoos I didn't know you could google if someone's on drugs
The place where I had most of my tattoos done had a big sign on the wall that said the following:
It is our responsibility to respect your body and do our best work. It is your responsibility to speak up if we don’t. You should never hold back if you don’t like something we are doing. A tattoo is forever.
love that!!!!!
@@shaestewart5261 and everyone here is saying that it’s the artist fault and she deserves compensation. She DID NOT SAY SHIT. She had a chance and chose not to.
The artist is to blame for being under the influence but it’s her fault for allowing him to
Tattoo her body.
@@catfood233you are honestly such a dumb bitch and it's funny. rory deleted her videos after a lawyer heard her story and reached out to her. she probably has a case against the shop. you do not understand laws, you do not understand consent. you are just continuously blaming an autistic woman for not reading a situation well and going non-verbal in regards to something that traumatized her. she may have a case against the shop, according to professionals. yet you've been on this video blaming her for 4 days now. get a life, you dumb loser!🖤
@@catfood233 Not exactly. This is like saying "because you ate the food a drug addict made you deserve poisoning." lmao. Not true. It's unsafe, first of all, and a lot of people aren't going to feel safe actually confronting someone in that state of mind. Have you ever been around drug addicts?
It is their job to keep you safe and comfortable, but knowingly ignoring saftey protocols does not fall on the canvas. If someone reuses ink or doesn't wipe down their station, not my fault. I might not know that's important. The tattoo artists are accountable here.
@@maddiewhatever441 you don’t need to confront anyone. JUST GET UP AND LEAVE. y’all are just ignorant.
As a recovering addict, I could barely be trusted to wash the dishes without nodding out or doing something insane, like sticking my Kindle under the water instead of the dish (true story😭). I canNOT imagine being tasked with creating permanent body art on someone in this state. Random drug testing really isn’t a bad idea in this instance.
As someone 1 year sober not really bc I want to be but mostly because I don't wanna go back to that depression pit I agree but I still have a problem with drug test like for weed when I was getting sober off it I would drug test myself 2 to 3 months off it and it would still come back positive or the fact Adderall is m*th in its effects and in its chemical compound Adderall is m*th in reverse I have adhd and can't take my Adderall because any psychoactive drug makes me have panic attacks but it would come up as m*th on a test so i do wonder how that would work for other adhd artist also not to mention the moralizing of certain drugs alcohol is seen as an good drug vs c*caine or m*th if someone says they drink at home it not seen as a crazy thing infact it's the center of alot of adult activities like clubbing brunch social activities think truth or drink but if that person said they use m or c its instantly demonized even tho if said person is addicted why does it matter which substance their on same with cigarettes/nicotine vapes drug addiction is a disease regardless of the substance and back to the story I do think we need a mechanism to make sure these artist aren't getting high before tattooing as this is a medical presedure to a degree and is permanent idk maybe a more ethical random drug testing could work or maybe building a better communication from shop owner to artist to recognize the signs of addiction and get the artist into some form of rehab or aa or therapy with something that can financially sustain them while their not tattooing .
9:11 I'm NOT sorry but why is being concerned about healthy, cleanliness, professionalism, etc. always seen as a "boomer" trait? I don't understand...
I guess because boomers are usually the ones insisting things have to be done traditionally and don't like new changes. But sometimes there's valid reasons for that...
It's not really a boomer trait and people use it as a way to not have to follow the rules or whatever
Tattoo shops have to be approved by the health department. There are a lot of rules and regulations you have to follow to run and/or work in a shop. You also have to do paperwork to get one for everyone's safety
It shouldn't be seen that way, you're right, but there's always someone who is going to say calling out dangerous behaviour is being a "buzz kill" or "boomer" 💀
I think boomer and gatekeeper are getting mixed on that one. There are people that think not agreeing with home studios is a form of gatekeeping against learning or indie artists. As it is often the old heads that will actually try to gatekeep the loudest, I think that's where the gatekeeper=boomer is coming from?
IMO it’s the boomers who don’t care about cleanliness or being healthy lol . I was getting tattooed recently , in my 30s. Another guy in the waiting room was a boomer and kept talking to me about the bar downstairs even though it was 2pm. The guy about to tattoo him looked not a day over 20 and got really stern with the client and asked him if he had been drinking , the kid refused to do the tattoo and boomer threw a fit about how young people care about bullshit like not drinking . It was wild
Tattooing is the perfect (not in a good way) job for somebody with a drug problem because it's fast cash and it can be a LOT of money day to day.
The crazy thing is that you’re right 😅
hard truth
Yup, as long as you're a functional addict, you can definitely get away with it. At long as you put out good work with no complaints you're solid. I imagine you could easily support a 200$ a day habit with tattooing. Plus you get to pick you're schedule, sleep in and go to work at 10 or 11am! 😊
Yyyyep. Easy scam too unfortunately. But this absolutely falls on the individual artists unless the shop KNOWS they have substance issues
@@DoorsToHideBehind156 as i understand it you can tell an artist has a problem if their work is hit or miss. If they put out absolutely amazing work on one tattoo and then the next one looks like trash and they go back and forth like that all the time that's a big tell.
16:50 also a big thing that so many ppl *cough* cis men *cough* refuse to recognize is how much misogyny also plays a role in the situation w/ Rory. to expect a 22 y/o woman to feel comfortable confronting a dude who is a) actively h*gh on a substance, b) has access to dangerous tools, and c) is a man in a studio where he is more likely to be respected over a random client, is absolutely bonkers. sincerely hope these folks were able to find ways to get these tattoos fixed and/or removed
Not to mention that she was probably impressionable enough to be convinced that it was “normal” or “not a big deal”. It’s not surprising that it took her a while to realize and then come to terms with the fact that what happened wasn’t ok. Young people are vulnerable like that.
yeah let's sneak an attack at cis men in there. It's harder to disagree with a man high on meth because he's a dude physically stronger than you and he's high on an extremely potent stimulant.
How did you manage to say this same statement by throwing shade at like 30% of all tattoo artists? Many hetero men are good people. There are many women who enforce misogyny as well - but they get a pass in your comment lol
A woman could've swindled her in the same way. I don't think she didn't complain "because misogyny played a role". I think as the comment above me says, younger people are impressionable and can be convinced it's "normal" and "not a big deal". Women do this to their clients, too.
@MissCaraMint we also live in such a hyperjudgemental society, its caused it to be super common for people to engage in people pleasing behaviors to try and keep the peace at all times. I have a hard time standing up for myself literally all the time, despite all the red flags going off in my head. Often, because I'm so afraid of the situation going wrong if I say anything
Ew seeing this comment made me realize the failure of society. Like cus men?? Isn't that sexist? It's not a real term 😂
The tattoo industry should be like every other industry. It isn’t about the substance, it’s about the impairment. If someone has a drink at lunch at a corporate job it’s usually acceptable. If they come back stumbling drunk and unable to complete their work properly, it’s a problem. Ive worked in HR for a couple decades and have seen this play out many times. Substance use exists everywhere, but people have a responsibility to keep it from affecting their work if they’re getting paid for something.
Im a year and a half clean and sober... It's such a difficult illness to deal with.
I feel for these artists struggling with addiction, but they shouldn't put people in that situation.. so much trust goes into this.
And if they do? I think they need to make it right. Somehow.
I hope these artists can get clean.
I am almost a year sober after 13 years of opioid/benzo addiction. It is hell on Earth, and I came out of it with my life. I worked hard to make enough $ for pills, I impressed them so much I was eventually promoted to an operating partner level, but then the more I made the more I did, then the more I did the more I needed. My “functional addict” ass couldn’t keep up the facade anymore.
I wasn’t marking people up permanently at least…
Congrats on 1.5 years sober!!!
Seems like a decent idea to switch to selling art or taking commissions to design tattoos. They can still make some money without screwing up someone’s body. Congrats too, every day is another accomplishment!!
This is a WAY, WAY more common issue in the industry than people even realize or would imagine
Fast money, flexibility, trading, sordid pasts etc….
🍈Surely if you run a tattoo shop and suspect one of your artists is high, you have to send them home to sober up or get help. You can then either reschedule or refund the client. We know that shop owners take a good chunk of their artists' fees. To earn it, they have to exercise some quality control, even if that's uncomfortable. If an artist does get sent home and forfeits a fee, that's their warning that it's time to sort themselves out. 🍈
That’s fair if you have evidence that being high negatively affects their art. But the only people who assume that to usually be the case are uneducated people who know absolutely nothing about psychopharmacology and get their psychopharmacologal “education” from media outlets and societal norms. News flash: media outlets and the general public are embarrassingly incompetent. You shouldn’t be getting your scientific information from people who have degrees in journalism and have never stepped foot in a S.T.E.M. class beyond high school
If you have tattoos from more than 5 artists, then I can practically statistically guarantee that AT LEAST one of them was drunk or high during your appointment and you never even noticed. If someone is legitimately addicted to a drug, then they will be MUCH better at tattooing high than sober. A tattoo from a talented high drug addict will ALWAYS come out exponentially better than a tattoo from a less-talented sober person
A lot of times Most are on the Speed or Crank .
While I understand not wanting to put someone's struggle with addiction online the artists here are permanently modifying people's bodies. I see this as a different situation
I only date humans with tattoos.
Exactly, I don’t agree with keeping their info secret. They were on Ink Master so they’ll have a lot of people from even outside the local area that want to get tattooed by them & wouldn’t know to avoid that shop.
@@positivevibesveda especially mia, the girl with the sideburn tattoo - if she was under the influence of Master Ink when she got her yolo facetatt after being on the beach with her buddy. It took a blowtorch to remove my facetatts. facetatts are better as color tattoos, preferably in pastel colors especial for future trad wives like mia.
Cause God forbid I'd want the person permanently drawing something on my body to be sober. It's the same if a doctor or nurse came into work plastered and hurt a patient. Yeah, shops should be held accountable if they know one of their artist is doing substances like that. Also hold said artist accountable, if you can't stand up for yourself bring someone with you who can.
I can imagine seeing "substance free" studios someday, with some businesses deciding to prioritize or distinguish themselves with this label as a way of supporting clients and tattoo artists. Could be where artists work who do not have this issue or those who want the support to stay clean if that is their focus. Just a thought...
Full support!
I'm a sober aspiring tattoo artist, I appreciate you talking about this topic
1:45 my son‘s a tattoo artist, and he tells me all the time about how hard it is to work with people using and not so much that he wants to. It’s just hard to be around all the time. We’ve had our share of addicts in our family and the broken hearts that come along with it so he doesn’t use he’s 26 but he’s an independent contractor and he could go anywhere that he wants. I know that he is doing wonderfully in the business and it’s booked and busy, but I can’t wait till he could maybe have his own studio. I would even help pay for it.
you sound like a wonderful mother
@@lilylemon2225 thx! Best gift I ever received❤️
When she said meth head tattoo artists at a "renowned" chain of tattoo shops in Austin, Texas; I instantly knew it was Atomic Tattoo. It's open secret in Austin that nearly all the locations have issues and good artists don't last long there.
my old piercer (also a tattoo artist) from a FL atomic tattoos location recently moved to texas back in september. idk if she’s in austin but she was incredible and i hope she’s not working at atomic tattoos there 😭
idk if i just wasn’t aware since i didn’t get a new piercing often, but there’s never really been issues of addicts working at either the FL mall or turkey lake/I-drive locations-sounds absolutely awful that it’s such a big issue in austin 😬
Who is the person that did the tattoo in the first story?
Unfortunately in tourist heavy areas a accountability isn’t super common because artists are in and out and in and out and there’s a constant stream of impulsive vacationers that don’t know any better so they still make money smh
Not sure why these stories never drop the name of the shop or artist in the first place. I understand you don't want to be directly sending people to hate on them, but it's good to at least try warn other by dropping the name 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
@ probably trying to avoid a lawsuit 😬😬
As I have had family members go through addiction issues, I can empathize with these artists. However, clients also have a right to feel safe in the studio and not be scarred for life. 🍈
Much like other mental illnesses, substance abuse is an illness and the people with it need help like anyone else with a mental illness, but that also doesn't mean that they're not responsible for their actions and the way they affect others. The behavior of these artists absolutely disgusts me and I hope they reach a point in their lives where they can take responsibility for their own actions.
So it's discrimination if an addict gets fired or not hired for being an addict?
I’m a recovering addict & I think you did an incredible job at tackling this. I really appreciate your understanding when talking about addiction. Ppl who have never experienced it first hand or thru a friend/loved one are usually just uneducated & they don’t understand the complexities of what addiction is. How it comes about & how not every addict is the type you see on tv. In my experience it’s actually the opposite. So thank you for being so kind to ppl like me & ppl struggling.
i wish you the best in your recovery /gen 💙
Easy shop rule: don’t blast anyone if you’re blasted. Wouldn’t let a client do it. Feels like the rule should be stricter for the expert with a needle to someone’s skin 🤷♂️
They hire their buddies and have no idea what's going on until it's too late, money missing from till, bad tattoos etc.
@@wizardofahhhs759 either that or they give them the benefit of the doubt until it’s too late
Rory’s artist showcases the huge issue of being a “highly functioning addict”. Sure, you might pass a field sobriety test and you’re not the worst, but you’re not giving your best and providing due care
It's hard to tell a hairdresser you don't like the haircut they gave you. And you know that haircuts are temporary- it will grow back and you'll just have to look like that for a bit. Now imagine you have just spent hundreds of dollars and however many hours getting ink permanently pushed under your skin by a needle, and imagine looking your artist in the eyes and saying 'this looks awful, and i think it's because you're high'. Have compassion for the artist who is suffering, and have compassion for the person who has to have the evidence of that suffering on their skin forever.
Oof the first story hits home a little bit.
I’m a hairstylist and even though it’s a different industry, we deal with this problem as well. I have a soft spot for people in my industry with substance abuse problems because I’ve personally been witness to it.
You can’t imagine what people are going through and how ashamed they feel.
We have had to cover for people and made stories up for them (or follow along with the ones they’ve made up) when clients show up and they’re not there.
We’ve even had to try holding someone up and talking them out of driving themselves home after work while under the influence.
It’s very sad to see.
People don’t do those things maliciously, it’s an illness like you said, and people have to eat (and support their habit), so they WILL absolutely still show up to work at some point when their funds are low.
I don’t completely agree with outing people (in certain sensitive situations of course, I’m reasonable) like it’s done nowadays. But to have something permanent on your body, I mean ouch, that is really terrible and irresponsible.
Oh man. That reminds me of a time years ago when I had an appointment w/my hairstylist and he was BLASTED!! I was in my 20s, nervous, and shy. He spilled half of the hair color and after an hour and a half into the appointment, nothing had been done, so I made an excuse and got the hell out of there and never went back.
Oh man I have some STORIES I could tell about some of the guys I worked with in tattoo shops over the years. I have seen some SHIT and unfortunately I have lost quite a few industry friends to substance abuse. It's really sad.
@@ViloniousTV it is super sad
Same
I only date whales with tattoos, cuz I love beautiful murals.
Yep…. It’s a pervasive problem. Very sad indeed.
Nahh as soon as i heard that she needed a break after every step i said "that's coke...." no hate to the artist, substance abuse is a serious problem. But please get out if you think your artist is on coke, the way it affects your mind, you can't think straight or properly evaluate your own abilities. Even if it was some other substance you need to leave that situation
Your most likely wright got to do another bump . All day long and night. Been there done that .
Will say that the voucher promos can be good sometimes! One of the artists I go to runs them occasionally, usually around the holidays (generally $150 worth of tattoo per $100 on a tattoo gift card). But he also puts his all even into the smallest flash pieces. I’ve done a few $40-80 flash specials with him and he always makes them insanely detailed and tends to run over his time to make sure the piece is perfect. I am constantly blown away at the quality from his work and the level of professionalism no matter the size or cost of the piece. I am hoping to get a voucher from him at the holidays this year for the backs of my knees!
Which artist is it? I’d love to get work by them.
❤❤
A few years ago, I got a tattoo on my bicep of a deer and tribal-like pattern around it that I drew because it's a tattoo of one of my Native American characters (as am I) from a story I wrote. I went to a shop my brother had gone to a few times, so I trusted that I would receive a great turn out of it. I asked the price, accepted, made sure that I explained every detail thoroughly. When I came back with the money while they set up, the artist they had assigned to it was... off. He couldn't understand the design despite it being extremely simple, whenever I pointed something out, it was like he couldn't hear me and I know I was speaking loudly because my friend across from us could hear me perfectly. He was getting easily frustrated, started getting mad at me for some reason whenever I said he was missing something. He even charged me more than agreed on. I turned to his co-workers and suddenly they all avoid eye contact with me. When we left, even my friend said that guy was under the influence of something before I could even bring it up. I had a meaningful tattoo ruined because of this unfortunately 🙁🍈
Gosh that's so messed up and frustrating. I'm sorry. It sounds like a pretty cool design you made too.
@@CaseyAvalon Thank you! And yeah, I think the most heartbreaking part was that that I got it in celebration of how far I've come with my story and my art. I'm hoping to see if I can find someone who can fix it in the future though! ☺
I'm so sorry this happened to you, that's so messed up
Why did you continue the process? Just wondering
@@beanybabyrabie Anxiety to speak up unfortunately 😔 But I did learn from that experience to at least try to force myself to even if I feel like I'm being rude
Honestly, as a “smaller” creator on UA-cam, the fact you’re donating a portion of the video’s earnings is so dope. 🙏🏼
8:48 when she showed the front of her arm and said "you can see the other two pieces she had already done" like they were supposed to look better than the "botched" inner arm I was like ooohh... Honey.. None of those tattoos look good in the first place..... Like... They look bad..... She just didn't realize the artists quality was bad in general. I hope someone told her 😂
Ok thank you for saying this because I was very confused and had to rewatch that part of the video.😅
You're telling me the rose blobs are the "good" tattoos? I mean the unfinished Venus flytraps are worse, but the others aren't great! My heart goes out to the client, but she was happy with the previous work? I feel like I need to look the original video up now just to see it larger so I don't feel like I'm going crazy.
Realll I was like are we looking at the same thing
Ikr generous of celle to call the outer arm side "good" - the tattoos she has are actually good!
legit what i thought all the work was not good at all girls trippen LOL
I had a college professor whose first tattoo (from a professional studio) was so botched it was essentially embossed into her skin. She taught a lot of her students to be super careful about this sort of thing.
my mom had a client who was a tattoo artist and he told her he can't do appointments before 12pm because his hands would be too shaky. and another well known artist from that area died because a gang started to get tattoos from him and they let him choose to be paid in money or snow. substance abuse in that line of work is no joke
As an addict (in recovery) I must say thank you for your compassionate take on this. The real truth is there’s addicts (high functioning or otherwise) in probably every single profession, and they can hide it well until they can’t.
17:58 That’s an insane response. The problem is it’s low quality because he rushed because he was literally fucking tweaking in their studio.
As a former addict myself, I greatly appreciate your level of respect and tact while discussing this topic. People forget that drug addicts are someone's loved ones too. Love your more gentle approach to talking about it.
All that being said these artists should still be held accountable, you as an addict must take responsibility for your addiction at some point. The clients deserve respect too. EVERYONE does
I use to work at a studio and we had a guy there who was a drunk plain and simple and we had to fire him because he would show up wasted. Just like telling people who came into the shop drunk wanting to get work done and turning them away we had to shitcan this guy and a few others over the years I worked there. Any responsible owner/operator will do and should do the same because the days of the old school biker junkie owning a shop and being maxed while doing work are over and theres no place for this ever again in my opinion.
You don't deserve privacy when your actions harm another person. People deserve to know, so they can protect themselves from harm.
Agree
I got myself tatted by someone who was clearly messed up but I didn’t understand until later. It’s garbage, was extremely painful, and forever on my body.
I was agreeing with you on everything up until the "whose to say what substances tattoo artists can be on, it's a difficult one." It's not difficult at all to me. Caffeine and meth have wildly different effects on a person. If I'm getting a tattoo from someone, I don't want them on anything I wouldn't be comfortable with my doctor using.
Guess what? Your dr probably does dr*gs
They still need to be held accountable. Mental illness and addiction is not an excuse.
🍈This is an extremely nuanced situation, and you handled it with grace. My bio mother has been an addict since before I was born, and it led her to being incarcerated for my whole childhood. As soon as she would get out of jail, life would get hard and she'd find the nearest plug. My dad had full custody of me, but let me see her on my terms as a teen. I cut her off immediately, and haven't spoken to her in years.
We can have all the compassion in the world for the illness side of addiction, but it never excuses the pain that addicted people put others through. Tattoo artists included.
I would consider getting a tattoo in a tattoo studio, piercing studio, dentist office, doctors office, urgent care…
Not that it would ever happen but those are the cleanliness standards that I expect. I expect sharps containers. I expect a room dedicated to tattooing. I expect tables and chairs that are sterilized in between clients and dedicated to tattooing. I don’t think a kitchen table would ever be clean enough.
Yea I wouldn’t have a problem being tattooed in someone’s house assuming they had the proper table/ sanitation equipment but otherwise that’s kinda gross
Tell me why I think Celle is so pretty and her voice is so comforting🥰🥰
She speaks so soft. And her expressions just seem so warm!!
I agree 100 percent. Because also, she's very unpretentious and so much content is pretentious these days. Very real girl❤❤❤
I have full empathy and compassion for people with this illness, but if their job involved driving and they chose to keep driving and putting others in danger, we would rightfully have a problem with that. And putting something permanent on someone's body is a big responsibility. I understand that denial is part of the illness and many affected are in denial about it affecting theirabilities but that doesn't make it okay.The client not being happy with the art is the least that could happen, but what if someone who keeps getting high while tattooing and in between clients doesnt sterilise needles properly, for example? Then it could become a health problem for the client.
I do think studios should definitely be aware of the issue and have conversations with their artists about the importance, just like i think they, like any employers, should have to keep their staff members employed and support them while they are in rehab (as is law in my country, you cannot fire someone for an illness). Testing randomly, I don't know, but i think just awareness would already do a lot. As a studio you're responsible for your clients health and safety. This is about more than just clients being unhappy with how a tattoo looks, it can affect their health and safety also.
Wow! I had no idea about this. I'm 5+ years sober from heroin, fentanyl and crack. I went to prison in 2019 and found out I was pregnant. My son saved my life ❤
Agreed. There is a duty of care the business has for the client and employees. The business is responsible for both those pathways. Ownership, not loopholes…
As a recovering addict of five years I really hope at the very least this was a wake up call for the artist and she gets the help she needs!
i’m only 57 seconds into this video and can already tell you my opinion on this. if i, as the client, have to sign a consent form to confirm that i am not under the influence in order to sit still and make a decision, then the person tattooing me should not be under the influence either. we should both be held to the standards of the consent form that i am signing - so no drink/drugs, over the age of 18, aware of the risks, etc.
That tattoo studio showed no empathy and accountability. They chose not to refund her money, nor did they offer to correct the tattoo for free.
In grocery stores we only test if there are obvious signs. I think that’s the best way to deal with drug use. And alcohol. 🍈
My first professional tattoo in a shop, I got at 16 years old. It was a birthday present from my dad, he made the appointment at a shop a state over (only about a 2 hour drive to the shop from our house, in the neighboring state) a nice cool big forearm piece I could design MYSELF to cover my scars. I was stoked of course, and I got it, and I still love it, but my dad mentioned off hand when we left, the guy doing my tattoo (also the owner) and his artists where talking in blatant “Code” about drugs and drug deals and stuff. And I was like wow damn, but I was 16 I didn’t know and I didn’t rlly care LMAO, but years later, when I was like 18 or 19 my dad mentioned to me that the artist who did my tattoo had died of a heroin overdose. He was a really sweet man, and he made my first tattoo experience a good one, but the saddest part, is he called his 4 year old daughter on the phone before tattooing me… now I can never not look at my arm and think heroin left a 6 year old girl without her father, who adored her, and she adored him :(((
I might be biased because I've been through hell and back with addicted loved ones(even buried one), but my compassion wears thin when someone's addiction starts negatively impacting others. Help is available, and while ultimately it's your choice whether or not you want to get clean, at least have the decency to be sober at work. Tattooing is still a job, just cause it's a cool laid-back job doesn't mean you get to show up trashed. That should not be a controversial statement at all, and I kind of can't believe that it's seen as "gatekeeping" or a "boomer mentality" to expect cleanliness and sobriety when I'm paying someone to perform what is essentially a medical procedure. Random drug tests should be mandatory for all workers who alter people's bodies in any way, from tattoo artists to doctors to nail technicians. No one's getting hurt if the Walmart stockboy smokes a J out back on break, but there needs to be zero tolerance for impairment in jobs that require skill and precision.
im a recovered addict and i flunked out of college my first try when i was 19 but i cleaned up my act and im back in school and doing good, but its a hard thing to go through and i sympathize with these people because i get it
I’ve got a similar story to Rory! At least the initial unable to speak up.
I’m now 30 and last year I travelled the world and decided to collect tattoos along my way. I’ve spent thousands on high quality work by wonderful artists I love and respect and do beautiful work. While in one country I decided to put it out on a few social media groups that I was looking for x style and a specific kind of vibe; I’m quite particular in only being tattooed by people I connect and align with as I am carrying a piece of them with me now.
Someone in the group reached out to me and sent me their info-that they were super interested and to check out their work to see if we can vibe.
I ended up loving their work and we decided to do a piece on my shoulder and it goes into my chest of a sun, moon, and stars.
I travelled 2 hours from where I was to meet them at their studio… and red flag number one… not a real studio. It seemed clean and professional- but it was a detached second home and I was a little irked- but this was a nice place for where I was at. I approved the design after some minor changes, and they said they needed to step out but would be right back.
They left for an uncomfortable amount of time pre-tattoo, came back. And at this point I had sat through a 10 hour long dot work 1/2 sleeve that curved onto my back, under my arm, and only my inside, multiple 2-4 hour long sessions for other tattoos….After 10 minutes I was HORRIFICALLY in pain. The artist was incredibly heavy handed and I really struggled with that pain. The hour and a half was ROUGH. I was crying, I finally decided I needed to tap- but they said they were done.
Nothing prepared me to see on my chest the worst tattoo on my body. Shaky lines, not at all like the stencil, completely uneven. The suns supposed to be goddess like face looked like she was made by Picasso with different line weights and the difference of sizing.
I paid- twice what we agreed to. I was already upset and uncomfortable- but I was in the middle of the jungle and didn’t feel very safe.
Since then- I have had it worked on by 2 other people. It’s some of the worst work they have ever seen- and it’s nearly not fixable with the uneven-ness, blow outs, and shakiness. It was meant to represent my divine feminine… and has been a literal curse to look at!
Next steps are blacking out the sun face and looking for a fine line artist to go in and detail some work to straighten things out, and I also got a bid for laser.
It SUCKS to have great art and one shitty person ruin dozens of hours and thousands of dollars in investment. I really wish artists could find it within themselves to not tarnish someone’s body and be real with what is going on or that they can’t perform that caliber of work, it enrages me seeing that tattoo artists work on IG now- I really trusted this person- and something meant to be so beautiful has just left me in a huge pit of depression.
You tackled this in a really respectful and empathetic way, well done
My ex and i both got portraits of our son (different photographs) by the same artist at a biker run in Laughlin. My ex went first and his tattoo turned out great, so i was excited for mine. Before he did mine, he pounded at least one beer, and i should have back out from the tattoo at that point, but i didn't want to be lame or cause a scene (i was young and dumber). It turned out not very good, he was SUPER heavy handed and i felt like i had a permanent Charlie horse for a week straight. The tattoo was on the back of my calf. He did the line work so dark, my son, who was 2 years old in the photo, looked like an old man. The light reflecting in the pupils weren't symmetrical, and honestly, it almost looks like Golem from lord of the rings. It doesn't do the picture or my son justice at all. Moral of the story, trust your gut and if you don't feel comfortable with an artist for any reason, and if they consume any type of substance, like drugs or alcohol, choose a different artist. Be wise out there, friends. 🙏❤
I would be so upset if the tattoo of my baby boy turned out looking like golem, and I don't even have kids 😂
It's weird that the one tattoo looked good and yours didn't. Maybe it had something to do with the photos being different or something
@@DoorsToHideBehind156 It definitely sucks. I think it was a mixture of the beer(s) he pounded after he tattooed my ex, and then immediately going right into mine, another 4-5 hour portrait.... He was tired probably, buzzed, and the picture I chose was more difficult to do in hindsight.
Even when they discuss sensitive topics, I find all of your videos so relaxing, for some reason. Thank you!
I cannot imagine the thought process involved where you have knowledge of people being harmed and you decide that the persons doing the harm are more worthy of protection than the ones being harmed or at risk of being harmed. Just ick.
I’m a recovering addict and recently after I got sober, my hair stylist gave me a haircut and dye while she was clearly drunk, and I just sat through it like “if anyone deserves this, it’s me” and I’m still growing that bad haircut out 2 years later. Not mad though, I don’t have clients or customers of any sort but I definitely caused more chaos than a bad haircut in my addiction. I hope she’s doing better now.
Getting a bad haircut at the barber, nightmare mode. I have no sympathy for someone doing a procedure while under the influence. They should be fired on the spot for putting someone at risk. As for the question, yes. It's not a hard question at all. If you are in an industry that has this problem and you've been informed of your staff acting suspect, you should take the problem seriously. I'd want my doctor tested too.
On the flip side, my brother got a couple of questionable tattoos during the height of his addiction. Part of his recovery is getting them covered up with a better one that is symbolic of his recovery itself
lmao at the end i really thought you were about to say 'leave this emoji 🍈so I know you are you are on molly' 💀😂
Hahahahahahahahah
I’m gonna be honest, I have personally dealt with substance abuse, and I have known people who have dealt with it as well. I know how fucking awful it is. But if I knew someone tattooed me while pretty obviously high on drugs I would report that shop to the health and safety department. I understand that shop owners don’t always know what’s going on, but with Rory’s story particularly, that was straight up negligence.
A tattoo isn’t just art, there is a medical aspect to it as well. In my opinion the best thing you could walk out of that shop with is a shitty tattoo. What’s the probability that artist is following proper sanitary practice? You could get so many blood borne illnesses and infections from a dirty tattoo station. What these tattoo artists are doing isn’t just shitty, they are risking people’s health and safety. They deserve compassion but this kind of behavior is not acceptable. Full stop.
I am currently a daily opiate user and have been using for 8.5 years which essentially guarantees that I end up committing crimes nearly every day in order to keep up the appearance of normalcy in society. I can't go to work without getting "high" (kind of a misnomer now) beforehand. Luckily, if I fuck up at work (and I have) it doesnt have permanent life-altering consequences for others. For a lot of people, being high is their normal. But normal doesnt mean not impaired.
My partner is a tatoo artist and at this point he has to work out of a private studio, because most of the shops in town he now refuses to work at exactly because of this issue! They let addicts and drunk people work, which leads to safety and clenliness issues, and he wants no part in that. He has seen some truly awful things. Not to mention it creates a work environment more toxic than feuding cliques of 8th graders! But just imagine that the safest, best place to get tattooed in your entire city is a guy who has a studio in a bedroom of a random house?! So depressing.
for people saying w33d is fine to be on while tattooing someone, i disagree heavily. as a heavy stoner who is just deciding now to start quitting, it really does affect your ability to work normally and to the best of your ability. especially if youre super high. its not normal. tattooing should be a completely sober activity wether youre tattooing or getting tattooed. way too many risks involved.
Really it depends on the person, the effects can vary for different people. I'm not a tattooist but I do realistic traditional art with watercolour, pastel and pencil, guache, acrylic paint ,a variety of mediums. Some of my best work was when extremely high on weed, for me it enabled me to hyper focus on the details. I've been sober now for 17yrs, and still find it harder to get the same level of detail and precision as I could when using weed, which I had to give up for health reasons. Some people get sloppy and lazy, some hyper focus which can be a benifit when doing hyper realism, it can vary widely. The person needs to really step back and assess how it affects their work, and if it's honestly worse to definitely abstain while working. The trouble is most people can't be honest with themselves.
I agree with you. The artist should be sober when they are tattooing a paying client.
Weed is fine off duty, not on the job.
@tabbi888 I see where you’re coming from, but remember that unlike watercolor there is a risk of both pain and infection on the client in tattooing. Better save the weed for if you are sketching tattoo ideas, and not when you are performing a cosmetic procedure on a client.
The hospital I work at requires all nurses (unsure about other providers) to get drug tested, and they recently stopped testing for marijuana because the state I live in legalized it. The hospital started having prolems with turning away a lot of potential employees since many people would test positive for it. Obviously being a nurse and a tattoo artist are very different fields, but in a basic sense we're performing invasive procedures on people. At the end of the day, the safety of clinets always comes first. This also isn't to say that it's right for anyone to be impaired while doing these sort of jobs, or that someone who tested positive on a drug test has a substance issue, or shouldn't be allowed to work. And obviously marijuana is different from meth. I believe there needs to be some kind of standard, and maybe one already exists, I'm not well versed in the tattooing industry. This whole conversation is so nuanced and I appreciate your insight on the topic; thank you for your video on it!
As a tattoo artist I am all for random drug and alcohol tests we should not be impaired on the job. States where weed is legal is one thing but alcohol does not help the artist is any form.
Oh boy 🍈 this is super tough, but I think you handled the topic soooo gracefully
11:04 her calling that a bloodline 😭 my current tattoo has line work and bloodlines to complete the tattoo our next session, and there’s a clear difference.
Doctors: Never allowed to be on drugs even outside of work.
Nurses: Not allowed to be on substances in or outside of work if they're on call.
Construction works: No substances on site and drugs tests will be done.
Everyone else on Earth: No drugs or alcohol allowed at work and can be fired.
Tattoo artists (that work with blood, health, and people's bodies): Do drugs and alcohol, I guess?
Why do they get a pass? Why shouldn't they be tested? I'm tested as a commercial painter any time I even bump my elbow for the sake of our safety system. Soooo, no. No drugs or alcohol. And also quit smoking! I'm allergic to nicotine so if someone comes in with nicotine on their clothes I can get hives all over.
I also don't think coffee is even slightly comparable.
Pretty sure doctors often do drugs outside of work. Still, I agree, you need to be sober on the ob.
Construction workers are not sober lmao regardless of drug test, you’re saying I can get blacked out drunk but god forbid I go home and smoke a joint…
@@Staygolden6996 Roofer gang coming in hot LOL
@@joeblow9657 They actually can't. Google it.
@@Staygolden6996I work in construction. I've personally walked people off site for being drunk or on drugs. I've fired people. I've sent people for OH&S testing. You can't. People do but that's not an accepted trait like it is in tattooing. Nor should it be. Other people not participating in it can get hurt and those are the ones I protect.
As soon as I heard multiple locations in austin I knew it had to be atomic tattoo, kind of wild with their response because the owner is generally a nice person for the most part
Its really unfortunate how many of us deal with substance abuse issues, almost every tattoo artist im friends with/have been tattoed by has been either on something or used in general.Its heartbreaking,im just lucky theyre good people so they dont have bad behaviour that gets amplified by the drugs.
I’m not sure how I feel about putting substances like nicotine & caffeine with things that get you high in the same sentence. Very different. Great video though! This is definitely a serious problem in the industry
Nicotine and caffeine simulate your CNS just like other stimulants do, they are drugs by all metrics
Caffeine is incredibly addicting, with most adults being addicted to it (you being moody or having a headache when you didn't have your coffe isn't cute - it's withdrawal symptoms)
I really think tattooing out of the house is just not sanitary. A tattoo studio is a single-use venue, every cleaning protocol and every chore is done to the standards of a tattoo studio (every studio i go to smells like a hospital and thats how i prefer it). A home can be cleaned "good enough" for home purposes without being sanitary for tattooing, especially when you start introducing other variable like kids, pets, roommates, whatever.
That's not "a difficult one" , a job should always been done sober, doesn't matter what kind of job. Wtf
Exactly.
It depends lol ofc tattooing you need to be sober but if a movie theater employee smoked a spliff before their shift I don't care.
@@yassine8935 if the employee is high as a kite they might put other people at risk if an emergency happens, which is always a possibility.
They can do whatever on their free time, but when on the clock employees have a responsibility to be sober imo.
@@yassine8935
It happened to me at the movie theater. The film split apart, I don’t know how the Titanic ended. Thank Gawd for the digital age.
Genuinely so glad you're talking about this
8:39 girl i think that's the client's kitchen she's taking pictures in, not the artist 😭😭
The smoking and addiction issue is also a big thing in the hair dressing industry too. My sister is a hairdresser and she’s had to fix SO many people’s hair because of coworkers and report several coworkers. A lot of the time, the hairdresser won’t face any repercussions at all too.
This was a good topic to discuss. Thank you!
Even though I don’t have any tattoos or even align with alt culture, I always enjoy watching your videos. Very interesting and informative.
@@32kAnthony thank you I appreciate that !! 🤗
My artist owns a shop in their state. But i get tattoos from them in his air BnB all the time.
He always clears a room and does his full setup.
I love the chillness of not being in a shop!
This is one of the reasons why I'm a firm believer in building relationships with your tattoo artists.
I think part of the problem of prevalence regarding addiction is “illness” does not sound serious. It doesn’t sound like permanent changes of the brain & chemical production/interactions.
As a recovering addict who is also an artist, you are 100% right. NO ONE under the influence should be tattooing people. And while I'm all for making rehabilitation more accessible and decriminalized drugs in favor of funding recovery programs, I do kind of think shops should drug test artists. I mean, if someone is smoking weed here and there, whatever. But you don't need to be coming into work tweeked off your ass and acting like you're in any condition to be putting something permanent on anyone's body
Not to mention the health concerns. I'm speaking from experience when I say, most junkies are fuggin GROSS. Like, toxic hazard condemned building levels of gross. When you're constantly out of your mind on drugs, sanitation and organization often wind up taking a back seat entirely. And that poses a MASSIVE safety risk for clients. This isn't just a matter of risking someone being ripped off for a toddler quality design that's now permanently etched into their skin, it's also a matter of making sure people don't get diseases, or infections, etc. And that cannot be understated.
On top of all of that is the reality that one artist f'ing up like this will wind up tanking the reputation of the shop and will, as a result, screw over the other employees there. If someone who is a newb goes looking for a shoo, they're not going to think "Oh, it was just this one artist rolling in bad reviews." They're going to see that the shop has 2 stars, and even if every single negative review is only regarding one artist, those people still aren't going to go there.
I also think it's important that we all vocally acknowledge the chokehold that gangs have in the tattoo industry and how their constant and overbearing presence in these spaces facilitate these issues. Such as sexual violence/harassment, addiction, trafficking, etc. Like, I genuinely don't think people understand how influenced the industry is by these groups. And so to speak out on that shit could put someone's career or life on the line depending on their level of association with those groups. And that's not hyperbole.
I completely agree, when I was deep in my heroin addiction I quit my job as a line cook because I knew all it took was a couple of seconds of nodding out to make a really dangerous mistake. Substance abuse also runs rampant in that industry and I remember feeling enabled at times (not taking away any responsibility of my own) but it was so normalised and encouraged.
I don't think tattoo studios should test artists. But I 100% think they should be held accountable if artists are openly using substances on the job and actively endangering clients. All body modification comes with risks. Not only is getting a bad tattoo awful, but you run the risk of infection which can be deadly in certain cases.
Like if you're smoking m*th out back in between sessions, sterilizing your workspace might be low on your list of priorities
I was tattooed at the home of my long time artist, who was VERY pregnant. Everything went beautifully, she’s a gem, and a family friend, she’d always tattooed me in a shop and only did this piece in her home due to some unexpected circumstances. HOWEVER, i have experienced the “takes too many breaks” at a shop where i knew and was friends with everyone who worked there. I had been tattooed by this guy several times, as had my friend and my sister. He’s very talented and a good guy. But his whole vibe was different on this day, he was more agitated and couldn’t sit still. I just knew something was off. I havent been back to him since, he hoped shops after that, and recently i was informed that my suspicions were correct and my visit with him was the beginning of a very bad time for him. But he’s doing much better now so im happy to hear that for him
Pregnant women are the best tattoo artists!
I am 100% for testing artists when they work at a studio. There are many more industries where it is either standard practice or even mandatory to submit yourself to random, unscheduled drug tests throughout your employment. It is completely unsafe to tattoo someone while under the influence. Hygiene practices may not be followed, contamination might happen, sterilisation might be messed with, you don't know the line quality or shading you'll be getting from an artist UTI.
Just the idea of putting my health and my body in the hands on someone who might be counting rainbows or be so delirious they can't follow regulation to keep me safe is an absolute nightmare. There are no other industries where a person health and body are put on the line where it would be acceptable to welcome a worker who's using substances.
Tattoo artists have the same potential for causing harm as a surgeon (open wounds, blood, hygiene, sterile environment, etc.) so they should be held to a similar standard of workplace conduct. It is not helping someone to allow them to cause harm at work. This is not how you keep someone from substances or help them get through that painful time in their life. Letting them work without testing being a standard pratice at the shop is asking for lawsuits that will further ruin that artist's life.
Test your artists, ffs
I will be 3 years sober in spring of 2025, I hurt people while I was on substances. I was not in my right mind but I knew I was sick and I chose not to get help. The people I hurt were hurt by me and I have to take responsibility for that regardless of what was going on in my own life. I was not, however, putting permanent art in people’s skin.
WHO WAS THE INK MASTER IN THE FIRST ONE?!? PS love your channel!! I got an upcomong appt at Smith St in Brooklyn and been watching ur content, getting stoked!! Lolll. Great video!!!!
Madison Loftis! treacle tatts has a video exposing her too 👀
@@raynarekway ohhhhhhhhhh, was that "Maddie Labelle"?? Oh man, she looked like a crackhead even back then!!! Lolll
I used the same artist for years, he’s done over 150 hours of work on me. He’s always had really high quality work.
I had a years break from being tattooed and naturally booked in with him.
He was acting odd and a bit off, but I put it down to his partner having a new baby and he was a little tired.
I discovered afterwards that he was high on drugs and had possibly been drinking too. I genuinely couldn’t smell anything on him, but he kept disappearing for 30-40 minutes at a time, every hour or so.
The tattoo he did was horrendous, colour out of the lines, the lines were really wonky, line weight was all over the place, colour in random smudges outside of the tattoo, none of the colours I wanted were used. I have never had a tattoo bleed like this one did. The tattoo didn’t look like what it was meant to be.
Half way through I asked him if he was going to fix some of the lines. He said yes. He ended making it so much worse. He decided to end it, saying I was bleeding too much for him to see what he was doing.
It was the hardest tattoo I’ve ever had to heal. It was still actively bleeding 4 days after the day of the tattoo. The swelling was out of this world.
Once it had finally peeled nearly two weeks later. I could really see just how awful it was.
I was then informed by his partner why my tattoo was so bad.
I contacted him, asking for my money back. He sent me voice notes threatening me.
I ended up going to another artist to fix it, so I paid in total £600 for a hand sized tattoo.
The artist that fixed it was fucking amazing! She did a phenomenal job on repairing the tattoo.
I was so stupid, I kept looking at it and thinking “he’s always done great work, he’ll fix it” when I should have just called it a day!
That’s probably her own kitchen lol she probably went home and took the pics for her video
@@Mcgturtle3 yesss lol I realized this once I was editing my bad 😅
Yeah I doubt they were freshly done and was taking pics before she left the house
I heard about this tory through treacle tatts and ik she left pretty early and was making an excuse to leave so yeah I highly doubt thats the artist house .
I was 18, when I got first tattoo, and I didn’t do enough research and my artist was as well on something. And it was a really special tattoo for my best friend who died😭. They ended up letting the guy go, and he ended up passing. But I wish I did something back then. Now I’m 23 and I found an artist, I love!
And I don’t think should be tested often, but I think they should test when hired, then test if something thinks they’re using
It seems to me that the concern level should be higher when the substance abuse is hidden and denied. I know artists who use different things but they are right out in the open and it's clear they use on their own time and not when they are on the clock. The professional and personal don't collide.
that’s the difference between recreational use and dependency, being able to actually separate it from your day to day and only using substances in appropriate settings and safe ways
i’m with you on being a boomer about kitchen tattoos-especially as a microbiologist it’s so disgusting 😭