The tattoo artist talks about turning self-discovery into skin stories, balancing artistry with responsibility, and why he&rsquo;ll never stop creating.

PHOTOGRAPHY Robert Narag

Do you remember the first time you put a needle into skin? What did that moment tell you about yourself?
It was actually my first time holding a machine when I tattooed somebody's skin. And it wasn&rsquo;t really something I wanted to do during that time, because I wanted to learn first before I got to touch actual human skin. But my friend forced me to tattoo her when she found out that I got a tattoo machine. I was really hesitant, but she signed up for it. I didn&rsquo;t touch a tattoo machine right after that for six months, because I thought that I would never progress in this field since it&rsquo;s so hard. I realized how much commitment you have to make to get better at tattooing; you really need to put a lot of time into it. Eventually, I found out that I actually loved [tattooing], and that this is something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I can't live a day without tattooing. Every time I go on vacation, all I think about is working. I just fell in love with it. I feel like I&rsquo;m more rested when I tattoo than I am when I&rsquo;m actually resting.
Every artist has an entry point. Was tattooing a natural path for you?
Art in general was never a natural path for me. I used to study engineering at Map&uacute;a University because I wanted to take physics in college. Then, I went through psychiatry because I had a hard time, I guess, focusing in school because I had ADHD. And one of the suggestions my psychiatrist gave to my parents was to just let me do whatever I want, because I would excel no matter what, because with ADHD, you tend to hyper fixate on things you like to do and excel at it.
I wanted to do Culinary Arts for the longest time, but my parents were never really for it, because it&rsquo;s a hard industry to be in, so I just Hail Mary-ed it. And I was like&hellip; I&rsquo;ll try multimedia arts first. During my first year, we had figure drawing classes and I realized just how much I loved drawing. I started with zero skills in drawing and fell in love with it. When the pandemic happened, I took a leave of absence and went looking for things that I wanted to do. I learned how to paint and really enjoyed it. So, I decided to shift from multimedia arts to fine arts and painting. Around that time, I got my first tattoo on my 21st birthday and I really liked how it felt for me. I was so happy when I got my first tattoo and wanted other people to experience it too, so I told my mom that I wanted to learn how to tattoo and then she got me my first tattoo machine on my birthday.

What did it take to make a style your own?
It started with painting. My painting style was mixing photos &mdash; candid photos or film photos of my family &mdash; and adding nostalgic elements like doodles or crayon drawings, because one of the things I wanted to communicate through my art is how powerful nostalgia is and I feel like I'm able to communicate it well through tattoos.
Tattooing is as much a collaboration as it is art. How do you guide a client from the idea to the final piece without losing your point of view?
I think a big factor of being a tattoo artist is not actually about being an artist, but it&rsquo;s also being in the customer service industry. A lot of the time, when I talk to my clients, I always hear their ideas and direct them to what works as a tattoo, because not every idea does. It's also part of my moral grounds with tattooing that I need to do what I think is best for the client, not just whatever they want. I just talk to them and understand who they are first. That's why I have [my own] space, because I wanted to have an actual conversation with the people I tattoo. It gives me an idea of what they want and I'm able to ingrain the idea that I have in mind and lead them in that direction.
What does the current tattoo scene look like from where you sit? Is it more experimental, more mainstream or more competitive?
Personally, I do more experimental work. Like with painting, I experiment with different mediums and styles. I feel like one of the best aspects about art is that you&rsquo;re always learning. You&rsquo;re always picking up new techniques. I really don&rsquo;t care about being good at a specific style. I always want to be known for how I communicate with my clients through my artwork. There is a style I want to pursue, but for the most part, my main priority in tattooing is just making the people I tattoo happy.

What&rsquo;s a part of the job no one talks about?
How tattooing is a 24-hour job. Basically, 70 percent of the work is behind the scenes. People always wonder why tattooing is so expensive in the first place. For a start, I think getting tattoos is a luxury. But there&rsquo;s also a lot of mental preparation and conversation that go through it, and marketing as well. You&rsquo;re basically doing everything by yourself and people only get to see the tattoo you did, not everything else that happened at the back.
Tattooing takes a lot: creatively, physically and emotionally. What keeps you sharp?
I think it&rsquo;s just how much I love what I do and seeing people happy with what I did for them. It&rsquo;s very fulfilling for me because one of the things I wanted to do growing up was something that would benefit other people. Just the thought of me not tattooing keeps me going. When I&rsquo;m bored, I offer free tattoos to my friends. Even when I travel, I always message a tattoo studio that&rsquo;s around and ask if I could get a spot.
Imagine you could tattoo anything, on anyone, with zero limitations. What would it look like?
It would be like a Dadaist piece or something very conceptual. I like things that are in your face, something that&rsquo;s not standard, like a non-conformist way of tattooing, especially here in the Philippines. The tattoo industry here has been more focused on the technicalities of tattooing, more realistic, more traditional, like Japanese Traditional. There aren&rsquo;t that many artists here who experiment with different styles, something that would make people question why you did it this way instead of the normal route. I want to do more pieces that look like a postmodern painting, where it&rsquo;s a combination of different media.

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