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May 5th
Well as many of you may already know the MWA and myself have yet again went our separate ways. Yeah, yeah I know, no one is really surprised by this. Hell, I wasn’t really surprised by it myself. However, the cool part is that this time there is no heat. Just merely a conflict of interest. Nothing more and nothing less. I am sure that before long there will be a ton of stories circulating about how Mike said this and I said that. Chances are what you are going to hear from others is going to be plain and utter bullshit.
The facts are that I was given a choice, A - I could work for the MWA or B - I could continue to run Rated R Wrestling in Parkersburg. I decided that I had such a great time with Rated R Wrestling that I wanted to continue running my own shows. I could understand Mike’s point of view and he understood mine; however out points never agreed. We decided to agree to disagree for the time being. The door is open for my return if I decide to stop running Rated R Wrestling. I can honestly say that I don’t plan to stop any time soon and the next Rated R show is scheduled for September 18th. There will be more details about the show in the up coming months.
Since I obviously had a little extra free time I decided to get some more ink. I am a big believer in self expression and I can’t think of any better way to express yourself than tattoos. Each and every tattoo on my body has a story and a meaning that goes with the tattoo. Some of which I have already told and a few that I haven’t yet. Maybe one of these days I will take the time to take close up pictures of my tats and tell the stories, but not today. Today I have a different point I would like to make.
Today’s point is about not just getting a tattoo because it looks cool now. After spending a great deal of time hanging out at the shop I have seen lots of people come in complaining about a tat that they thought was cool at one point in time but since their lives and times have changed they no longer like the ink that they have, so they have them covered up or changed. I don’t know why people don’t seem to realize that when they get a tattoo it is going to be there for the rest of their lives. Hell if you really think about it; the tattoo will be there in the skin long after the person is dead.
I have gotten very lucky, one of if not the best in tattoo artist in West Virginia also happens to be a close personal friend of mine. I have learned a lot about tattoos and the people that get tattoos while hanging out at Ashen 18 Tattoos and talking with Randall (my friend and owner of Ashen). Here is a little advice I would like to give you before you get your next tattoo based on what I have seen and learned.
It is very rude to price match tattoo artists. True artist are offended by this and will jack up the price because it pisses them off that you would try to price match. It shows the artist that they weren’t your first choice. It also shows that you don’t care about who does the best work you care about the cheapest price. You get what you pay for in this case.
You also don’t want to walk into the shop with a know it all attitude. If you knew it all why would you be there and not doing the tat yourself? Oh yeah, and walking in drunk or under the influence of drugs is a good way to get yourself kicked out of the tattoo shop. In most cases you will be asked to come back when you have sobered up, but you sure as hell won’t be getting a tattoo while you are wasted. You aren’t even thinking clearly enough to make a life long decision. Maybe not every artist will stick to this rule, but common sense should tell you that if you are drunk or under the influence you aren’t in the right mind to get a tattoo in the least little bit.
Do not under any circumstances call a tattoo shop and ask for a price. A tattoo artist can not give you a price over the phone. They have to see the piece that you want, where you want it, and how big or small you want the piece. It doesn’t matter how many times you explain the piece and how many different ways you explain the piece; an artist can not quote a price with out seeing the piece.
Try to be creative. Tattoo artist are just that artists. Each have their own style and like to incorporate their style into each piece that they do. As an artist, most would rather do an original piece with thought and meaning that have you walk in and go hey that looks cool give me that one. The flash, the magazines, and the pictures are there to give you ideas. A good artist can do anything that you can dream up. Your skin is the canvas and their gun is the brush.
I know that tattoos are painful, some places hurt more than others do. That, however, does not change one very important thing to getting a great tattoo. Set the fuck still. Don’t move when the artist is working on you. Get a drink or whatever when the artist is cleaning his gun or changing colors. Talking to friends or the artist is ok. Well, that is as long as you can talk with out moving all over the place. If you are a person that needs to use your hands to talk, shut the fuck up until the artist tells you its break time or when he/she tells you the piece is finished.
One last thing I would like to say is kinda life advice in general. None the less, here it goes. The artist is going to be extremely close to you so don’t be afraid to take a bath or shower before. If you stink, guess what, the artist truly doesn’t want to be that close to you. This one can go both ways, don’t wear to much perfume of cologne either. Both cases here are a simple matter of respect and personal hygiene. Just be respectful, it really isn’t that hard.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again. If you are looking for a great tattoo Artist look no further than Ashen 18 Tattoos owned and operated by Randall Hupp, the best damn tattoo artist that I have ever met and believe me I’ve met a bunch. All you have to do is click this link below to check out his myspace and online portfolio.
Lets not forget this this coming Sunday is Mother’s Day. Not a single one of us would be where we are today without our Mothers. Of course that exact same thing can be said about our Fathers as well; however, we are talking about Mother’s Day. LOL
Some of us love our Mothers, some of us hate our Mothers, and yet some of us are somewhere in the middle. I am personally one of the people that loves my Mother. With the exception of about 5 years or so when my parents first got divorced, my Mother has been someone that I can always rely on. That five year time period is water under the bridge and all has been forgiven and we have both moved past that part of our lives.
My Mother has bailed me out of more trouble than I care to remember. LOL She is always the first person I call when I need help. No matter what it may be, she does anything and everything that she can do to help me. Hell, there have been times that she has gone too far when it comes to helping me.
I remember one night when my second wife and I were in a car crash. She was pregnant with Princess Jezabel and we were hit in the rear by a teenage girl. Bridget was driving because I was drinking. The girl that hit us must have smelled the alcohol on my breath because she kept lying to the cop saying that the accident was my fault because I was driving drunk. None the less, I wasn’t driving and Bridget vouched of course that I was not driving.
Anyway, my Mother heard about the accident on the fucking scanner and showed up at the scene just as the cop was making me take a sobriety test. She first checked on Bridget to make sure she wasn’t hurt and that Princess Jezabel was going to be ok. She then walks over and watches the cop explain the test to me and watches me take the test. At some point my Mother starts bitching, as she is well known for. LOL
She looks at the cop and says, “This is fucking ridiculous, I know my son and he is drunk. The sad part is I know he is drunk and he is doing the test better than what you are and you’re the fucking cop.”
All I could do was stand there and laugh my ass off as I was wishing she would have just kept her mouth shut. Needless to say, since I wasn’t driving the sobriety tests were pointless and nothing came of them. I was just amazed that my Mother tries to help so much that sometimes she goes just a little bit too far. LOL
Either way I just want to say Mom, I love you!!! Thank you for always being there for me.
To all of the Mothers out there have a great and happy Mother’s Day. To everyone else, don’t forget your Mother and try to make this Mother’s day the best one yet.
Until next time,
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