Our History

John developed his interest in tattooing in the late 70s after getting a tattoo from Birmingham artist Pat Mahon in Birmingham. Before long he was drawing tattoo designs on scraps of paper and visiting Pats shop when it was closed so he could stand on the seat of his moped to look at designs that he could memorise then copy when he got home. At that time tattoo images, pictures or designs were almost unavailable in shop publications or media and when it was reported it was mostly looked at as a fringe or freak part of the art world, if indeed anyone classed it then as an art!

His first step into working in a tattoo studio was through meeting a friend, Mickey Sharpze who, at the time, was one of three tattoo artists operating in Birmingham, the others being Pat Mahon in Small heath/Saltley area and Tony Lynx in Erdington.