Inky Thoughts

South Asian heritage and mehndi tattoos 

That is the topic for ep 46 of your favourite nerdy tattoo podcast, as we return with the 5th installment of the Beyond the Gate sub-series! 

This time I am joined by Nikki Kotecha, a south Asian tattoo artist based out of north west London in the UK. Not only is she proudly Asian, she also loves motorcycles and her beautiful dogs (of which one makes an audio guest appearance in this episode). 

Indeed, Nikki is much more than what any could know at first glance and she has also become an expert at creating beautiful tattoos inspired by her south Asian background, as well as the art of mehndi (henna) tattoo designs, which she got from her mother. 

But, if you want to know more, I suggest you enjoy the full episode! 

Massive thank you to Nikki for sharing her experiences and insights, and a big thank you to anyone enjoying the episode, every bit of support means a lot! 

Guest: Nikki Kotecha
Insta: @nikkitattoox
link to all socials and more: linktr.ee/nikkitattoox

Show the episode and the podcast some support by linking, subscribing and following etc. and go check out Nikki's awesome work! 

thank you all!

Find more Inky Thoughts using the following link:

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Does it belong in a museum? 

That is the question we answer in ep 45 of  the Inky Thoughts Podcast

This time I am joined by tattoo educator and museum curator Sean Colgrave, whom as you will come to learn, is a great person to ask about the exciting reasons for why tattoos indeed do belong in a museum! 

From preserving its history and culture, to being a way for those outside of the tattoo world to engage with said culture and the people involved in it, educating people on tattoos, tattooing and tattooed people, the reasons are many! 

But you should really enjoy the full episode if you want to learn more. 

Massive thank you to Sean for coming on the podcast, you can find his socials below 

Guest: Sean Colgrave
Socials: @seancolgrave 

Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe! 

See you around!

Find more Inky Thoughts using the following link:

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Brotherly love and tattoos 

Welcome to episode 44 of your favourite nerdy tattoo podcast 

This time Robbie Ripoll returns to the podcast and he has brought along his brother Jayvo Scott. Both brothers are veteran tattoo artists in their own rights, who grew up with a tattoo artist father, and today they are themselves fathers. 

Together, the brothers and I get into the feud they had with one another for years, how they mended the bond between them, as well as the effect being born into the tattoo industry has on familial bonds and how to best be mindful of this. 

There is a lot to learn from this episode, as always and I can't thank Robbie and Jayvo enough for coming on and sharing their wisdom 

Please show the episode some love and if you have not yet, you can find more of what the brothers are up to, with the information below

Guest: Robbie Ripoll
Studio: @radinkflorida
Personal socials: @robbieripoll 
Robbie also founded: @the_rad_movement

Guest: Jayvo Scott
Studio: @truetoyoutattoo
Personal socials: @jayvoscott

Thank you for your support and follow and subscribe to the podcast on all platforms to stay up to date when new episodes come out. 
You can find link to everything here: linktr.ee/inkythoughtspodcast

Find more Inky Thoughts using the following link:

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Hello Inky Thinkers and welcome to the 43rd episode of the podcast

This time we are diving deep into the cauldron of nerdiness, focusing on the awesome convention Literary Ink in Chattanooga Tennessee, I get into why nerds, from academics and book lovers, to gamers and sci-fi fans, have such an attraction to tattoos as well, and why fandoms make for such great tattoo material! 

Of course I am not alone, and I have allied with tattoo Gandalf herself, Jennifer Edge, the wizard behind Literary Ink and Mainline Tattoo. 
A fellow nerd and avid tattoo and booklover, Jennifer has quite a lot of wisdom to share, regarding why nerdy tattoos are so great and mean so much, to so many. 

As always, there is love, laughter, deep discussion, and something to learn!

Please enjoy and share with your friends, family, pets, and anyone else into tattoos! 

Guest: Jennifer Edge
Instagram: @jenniferedge
Litrary Ink Insta: @literary Ink
Studio: @mainlinetattoo
Website: literaryink.com

Show Jennifer and this podcast some love and support, with a like, follow, subscription and all that goodness. 

Thank you all!

Find more Inky Thoughts using the following link:

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Hello Inky Thinkers and welcome to the 42nd episode of the podcast

This time we are focusing on how the tattoo industry might function better and how you artists can tattoo smarter, minding both hygiene, client interactions and marketing. Of course, improving an industry is about way more than just focusing on money, expenses and equipment, the most important thing is focusing on people, interactions, morals and ethics.

Of course, since I am not a tattoo artist myself I have brought along an awesome guest, the founder of Tattoo Smarter, Kezz Richardson. Kezz lends her eye for detail and vast knowledge and experience to this episode and together we discuss how the tattoo industry could improve moving forward, what is working and what might need to be changed. 

As always, there is love, laughter, deep discussion, and something to learn!

Please enjoy and share with your friends, family, pets, and anyone else into tattoos! 

Guest: Kezz Richardson
Instagram: @tattoosmarter
Website: msha.ke/tattoosmarter

Show Kezz and this podcast some love and support, with a like, follow, subscription and all that goodness. Thank you all!

Find more Inky Thoughts using the following link:

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Hello Inky Thinkers and welcome to the 41st episode of the podcast

This time we are returning once again to the long running sub series tattooed academics, with the lovely Alyssa Grocutt, a PhD candidate passionate about not just tattoos but also knowledge mobilization! 

Together Alyssa and I discuss her experiences with being a tattoo collector and visibly tattooed while undertaking post doctoral aka PhD research, and being part of highlevel academica. Not only that, but we also discuss Alyssas research, which switched its focus, inspired by her own passion for tattoos, to tattoos in the workplace and especially what workers think of tattooed leaders! 
 
As always, there is love, laughter, deep discussion, and something to learn! 

Please enjoy and share with your friends, family, pets, and anyone else into tattoos! 

Guests Lal Hardy
Instagram: @alyssagrocutt
Website: alyssagrocutt.com
You can find other social on her website! 

Show Alyssa and this podcast some love and support, with a like, follow, subscription and all that goodness. 

Thank you all!

Find more Inky Thoughts using the following link:

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Hello Inky Thinkers and welcome to the 40th episode of the podcast

This time we are once again diving into tattoo history, specifically the British tattoo scene in recent history and up untill today, from the beginnings of modern tattooing in the 1970s up untill today, and even talking about how it all compares with contemporary tattooing today 

But since I am neither British, a historian or a tattoo artist, I have of course brought on a guest, as always. I am truly honoured to be accompanied by the legendary Lal Hardy for this episode, a living piece of modern tattoo history, a man that has written forewords to and been featured in books on tattooing and tattoo history and much more, and he had a weatlh of widsom, knowledge and experience to share!
 
As always, there is love, laughter, deep discussion, and something to learn! 

Please enjoy and share with your friends, family, pets, and anyone else into tattoos! 

Guests: Lal Hardy
Instagram: @lalhardy
Hist tattoo shop: @newwavetattoo
Website: Newwavetattpp.co.uk

Show Lal and this podcast some love and support, with a like, follow, subscription and all that goodness. 

Thank you all!

Find more Inky Thoughts using the following link:

linktr.ee/inkythoughtspodcast

Hello Inky Thinkers and welcome to the 39th episode of the podcast

This time we are diving into the world of tattoo documentaries, ethnography, and how someone can build a library of knowledge, through first garnering a following and presence on social media. Building connections, doing their research and learning of just the right people to go and talk to, and importantly where to go in this world to find the information.

I am honoured to be joined by non other than the legend himself, Dakota Weik also known as  @Inkedabroad   which is but one of his awesome projects.
Dakota is a self styled ethnographer and tattoo documentarian, who uses his incredible passion for tattoos, natural charm and people skills, as well as a hunger for knowledge, to create incredible documentary work. All for his ambition to document the tattoo world, people and history, in as much detail as possible. It was incredible nerd out about tattoos with Dakota.

As always, there is love, laughter, deep discussion, and something to learn!

Please enjoy and share with your friends, family, pets, and anyone else into tattoos!

Guests Dakota Weik
Instagram @inkedabroad
Website inkedabroad.com
Also check out his other project The Halls of Ink
Instagram @thehallsofink
and his documentary Life Beyond Ink
All on his YouTube  @Inkedabroad  

Show Dakota and this podcast some love and support, with a like, follow, subscription and all that goodness. 

Thank you all!

Find more Inky Thoughts using the following link:

linktr.ee/inkythoughtspodcast

Hello Inky Thinkers and welcome to the 38th episode of the podcast

This time we return to our long running sub series; Beyond the Gate, where I focus on marginalized groups within the tattoo world, community and industry, to promote the beauty and power of diversity. 
This time around, we are taking a deeper look at trans and queer identity, within the tattoo industry, and also discussing some of the historical importance these groups have had, to tattooing. 

Of course, I am not doing this on my own, I am joined by the lovely and very knowledgeable Luka Weinberger, trans and non-binary tattoo artist and I would argue, also educator and activist, whom has even hosted seminars for the APT aka the Alliance of Professional Tattooists, the US foremost union for tattoo artists.   

As always, there is love, laughter, deep discussion, and something to learn! 

Please enjoy and share with your friends, family, pets, and anyone else into tattoos! 

Guests Luka Weinberger
Instagram: @lowbarluka
Website: lowbarart.com
Feel free to contact Luka for tattoo appointments, and if you want to discuss and learn more about trans people in tattooing

Show Luka and this podcast some love and support, with a like, follow, subscription and all that goodness. 

Thank you all!

Find more Inky Thoughts using the following link:

linktr.ee/inkythoughtspodcast

Hello Inky Thinkers and welcome to the 37th episode of the podcast

This time, the episode is (as is sometimes the case), aptly named after the guest of this episode. because we are going beyond the tats to see how it connects to not only self-identity, but also fitness and confidence. 

Of course, as I already revealed, I am not doing this alone, and I am honoured to welcome Chris Holt aka Beyond the Tats, on the podcast. Together we get into everything from fitness, to how tattoos helped both him (as an identical triplet) and me (as an identitcal twin), claim a sense of self, seperate from our siblings. 

As always, there is love, laughter, deep discussion, and something to learn! 

Please enjoy and share with your friends, family, pets, and anyone else into tattoos! 

Guests: Chris Holt
All socials: @beyondthetats
Website: Beyondthetats.com

Show Chris and this podcast some love and support, with a like, follow, subscription and all that goodness. 

Thank you all!

Find more Inky Thoughts using the following link:

linktr.ee/inkythoughtspodcast