Mike Giant interviews Nalla Smith at his home in upstate New York. Recorded April 26, 2026.

Topics discussed include: Learning how to tattoo from Nalla, informal apprenticeships, piercing at Body Manipulations (1989-1991), Daljeet’s on Haight Street, Freddy Corbin, odd jobs, Spaghetti Western, Greg Kulz/Erno’s, ReSearch/Modern Primitives book, Jaime Trujillo, Dave Lum, Realistic Tattoo/Ed Hardy, Tattoo City, Eddy Deutsche, Dan Higgs, Jef Whitehead, Dungeons & Dragons, Kevin Howard, Japanese tv shows (1978), Art and Design high school, graphic design, Josh Humphries, Elf Quest, getting his first tattoo from Fineline Mike, early 1990s blackwork style, alternative sex scene, Greg Carroll, Everlasting Tattoo, Aaron Cain, Primal Urge, Marcus Pacheco, Grime, East Side Inc, Patrick Conlon, Jason McAfee, Scott Campbell, Andrea Elston, Hells Angels, flat shader needles, Allison and Tracy, Roseland Tattoo Convention, Dan Trocchio, move to LA in 2002, Shamrock Social Club/Mark Mahoney, True Tattoo/Chris Garver, Miami Ink, Kat Von D, stories behind tattoos, how women changed the tattoo business, off-the-street tattoo shops, shop lighting, Inkstop Tattoo, his father’s death, Goose Tattoo, learning new styles, John Poverty, Chris Welk, blackout tattoos, self tattooing, Derick Montez, Hudson River Tattoo, Sticks and Stones (formerly Peter Tattoo), thriving in our 50s and being inspired by love.

@nallasmith

Mike Giant in conversation with Morning Breath, the graphic design/fine art studio of Doug Cunningham and Jason Noto based in Brooklyn, New York.

Topics discussed include: Working at Think Skateboards in the 1990s, vouching for Doug, Chris Cycle, Doug getting arrested painting freight trains, TMF crew night at Cafe Babar, Dave Schubert (Evade), punk fliers, drawing as a kid, access to surplus paper/pads, copying imagery from tv, Cholo culture, Teen Angels, Lowrider, making art for friends, Subway Art, Pratt Institute, Kevin Game, The Drawing Board, Def Jam “Jeep Room”, community college, Academy of Art, diplomas, getting hired at Think, working as a team, Ben Lovejoy, learning how to use computers, Jason moves to NYC, Craig Costello, working with major record labels (JayZ, Eminem, Kanye), mistaken for the weed guy, perfectionism, Desert Sessions, Q-Bert, moving into creating personal work as a team, showing work in magazines/galleries, Mike Davis, balancing personal and commercial work, the impressiveness of going all-city, Bles AWR, San Francisco pits, Shotsie Gorman, Elio España, Nalla Smith, Colin Stevens, Doug tattooing at 12 years old, Dig Dug video game, first tattoo at 14, Eddy Deutsche, Igor Mortis, the legendary Ed Hardy’s Tattoo City, Grime, Dan Santoro, copying of styles, old school printing imperfections, Drew Jorstad, paste-up compositions, light box, painting heavy metal jackets, airbrush, New York City, rent prices, raising kids in Brooklyn and saving money.

morningbreathinc.com

Conversation between Mike Giant and photographer Bee Gats.

Topics discussed include: photographic aesthetics, the beauty of decay, Estevan Oriol, Boogie, opening doors for the next generation, the Tulsa series by Larry Clark , The Americans, playing with cameras as a child, Kodak cameras, hip-hop album covers: Mobb Deep - The Infamous, Thrasher and Transworld magazines, discovering Big Brother at 13 years old, magazine shops, Life Sucks Die, While You Were Sleeping, Mass Appeal, F.E.D.S. and Don Diva, Arme, The Wire, learning lessons from law enforcement/forensics shows, moving around, finding parallels in Buddhism, early love of guns, Miami Vice, Knight Rider, Dirty Harry, GI Joe, The Punisher, burglaries at 8 years old, picking locks, the register button, grand theft (first felony at 12), TICO, skate/punk houses, Camu Tao, The MHz, preferential treatment from police due to his mother’s murder, racial inequality, Don Pendleton: (Mack Bolan, The Executioner, Phoenix Force), learning to shoot at 10, Boy Scouts, Raven handgun, stashing guns, getting jumped, finding the courage to fight back, learning how to box, libraries, free pizzas for reading, learning dynamic framing from comic books, biting, “standing on the shoulders of giants”, reading the room, Mindful Listening, body language, Steve Jobs, unforeseen advantages, an eye for choosing interesting subjects, building an audience through authentic work, feeling grateful, artistic process, Meas, Flaks, flow state, the quest for greatness, punk ethos, punk house, comfort of regularity, gambling on yourself, learning from exes, having the hard conversations, “Don’t believe everything you think”, How to Think and Grow Rich, Gabe/Mortal Machine Gallery, seeing tattoos at 8 years old, first tattoo at 16, subcultural connections, BJ Betts, Huero, Dave Calvelli, Jesse Strother, Instagram as a curated portfolio vs lifestyle feed, mutual inspiration, Frank Miller (Sin City), and life goals without expectations.

Recorded on March 1st, 2026 on Mike Giant's studio in Dayton, Ohio.

Instagram: @beegats

Mike discusses his experiences with psychedelics. Topics discussed include: early experiences with marijuana, friends smoking with their parents, propaganda films, first gravity bong experience, effect of cannabis on color, meth labs in the woods, shrooms, peyote, early experiences with lsd, varieties of paper acid, liquid lsd, dipping process, “bad” acid, tripping with friends at Juan Tabo Park, audio recording of trip, DMV trip, buying 10-packs, shipping in blackbooks, Western Union, black gel pyramids, dips, friend gets arrested by Feds, deckled edges, The Family, Sunday solo missions, inability to describe lsd experience, All Is One, the lineage of Seekers, E, meth, Tweaker Girl, Morgan, Terence McKenna video, breakup sex, tripping at work, lsd on graham crackers, meeting Dalek in Las Vegas, the heaviest trip of my life, Crossover, Brandon, Jack and Cokes, dry heaving in public, clean comedown after 11 hours, shrooms, DMT, timelessness, psilocybin capsules, creating a good atmosphere, psychedelic virginity, the meditative realm, the importance of sharing your experience and discussing it with fellow trippers.

A conversation about tattooing between Mike Giant and Big Meas, both of Dayton, Ohio. Recorded in Mike's art studio on December 5, 2025. Topics discussed include: Seeing biker tattoos at 10 years old, flash, JD Crowe, line sheets for stencils, Boog, Jack Rudy, BJ Betts, trades, apprenticeship under Brian Brenner, lettering, Mr Cartoon, Bobby Tribal, Baby Ray, broom handles, Swindle magazine, Koolsville/Beatniks CC, Brian Everett/Route 66 Tattoo, Guy Aitchison, Paul Booth, East Side Inc, Seen, Kingpin seminar, respect among professionals, politics of opening a shop, Seventh Son Tattoo, Tattoo City/Ed Hardy, drugs, Norm, Art Work Rebels Tattoo, Jason Kundell, Grime, Primal Urge (Tim Lehi, Jef Whitehead, Jeff Rassier, Scott Sylvia), Everlasting Tattoo/Mike Davis, paintings of tattoo ideas, Josh Cook, specializing in lettering, moving into Asian themes, Angel Bustos, Nathan Kostechko, Filip Leu, Bill Canales, Mick Tattoo, Erik Reith, Horiyoshi II and III, cultural appropriation, Chris Trevino, Dave Lum, Horitaka, constructive critique, Javier De Luna, tattoo preservation, rates for tattooing/discounts/specials and social media difficulties.

Mike recites a written piece in homage of the Declaration of Independence.

Mike recalls memories from his early adventures in San Diego, California from 1984 to 1992. Topics discussed include: Michigan weed, CHiPs, Charlie’s Angels, Spring Break in San Diego, Disneyland, Universal Studios, Battlestar Galactica, skateboarding in 1984, orange plastic skateboards, first attractions to women, Padres game, Pacific Drive skate shop, Sims Kamikaze deck, Bones Brigade video show, slappies, Hamel’s, Tano’s, Sea World, Old Town SD, Guadalajara, fish tacos, Action Sports Kamikaze skateboard, Skate City, pro models vs shop decks, Punk, City Streets two-tone wheels, curb tricks, Dogtown Web deck, Independent trucks, Alva Rocks wheels, Del Mar Skate Ranch, Eric Dressen, parking block tricks, Dave Crabb, Uncle Wiggly skateboards, Gullwing orange, Sick and Twisted Animation Festival, MTV, Heavy Metal magazine, Taliesin West, Europe trip, Thailand trip, MC Rock in the Navy, Dyse, Sero and Cheno, trading photos in the mail, Phil Kosaka, roadtrip with Vez, G St and Woodlawn, Dyse’s mom, racking with Crims, Euclid Yard, small vs large pieces, Zodak, Sake, Vapor, Quasar, graffiti legibility, Bobby Ruiz/Tribal Gear, streetwear, Penal Code 594, DJ Daze, Lath, Dyse/Zodak vs Sake/Quasar battle, Hex vs Slick battle, Laban Pheidias, Jim Prigoff and a run-in with Border Patrol.

Mike recalls more memories from living in San Francisco in 2000. Topics discussed include: 214 Clara, Damon Soule, Adrian Sanchez, The Loft Invasion, web developers, Valeria Hursyz, Tweaky Pete, basement studio, rat hunting, dead junkie, Sketch group show, blackbook art, Millennium Blackbook Project, JUICE, Pagina Vilot, Skulls Press, Art Crimes, Dibs, roller fills, Defenestration Building (6th and Howard), Slim, dissed by a crackhead, East Side Ink, frustrating tattoo session, Mr Went, Mahakala, tunnel bombing with Vez, MTA jumpsuit, taxi escape, Alex Grey, Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, Percept One, Concrete Jungle, Body and Soul, John Copeland, Everlasting Tattoo on McAllister (Aaron Cain, Mike Davis, Troy Denning, Kimberly Hooper), Everlasting on Divisadero, Jaya Bonderov, Newskool Tattoo, chubs, moonshine, LOR sleeves, Bears, George Campise, funky crotch, shop tunes, metal shows, Amoeba records, Anthony G. Morris, getting sleeves from Chris Conn, Temple Tattoo, staying balanced, filler tattoos and the Applied Science group show in Baltimore.

Mike Giant in conversation with Dalek at Mike's studio in San Diego, California on June 21, 2024.

Topics discussed include: Tyke, pickup basketball games, Hurley (2009-2015), Mark Parker, Roger Gastman, Black Dot, fashion world, Spacemonkey racing yacht, apartment mural, Cycle, dominatrix girlfriend, sex in SF in the 1990s, unintentional harm, painting freights at night in Chicago, closing out bars, interaction with Chicago PD, etiquette with cops, backing away from a sketchy girl, exhilaration of release, picking up Semz and Nekst from jail, referrals from fellow graffiti writers, writing to T-Dee, meeting Kaws (1995), car stolen in Queens, The Limelight club, Leeway, Sume, flow among creatives in NYC, Alphabet City, squatters, Sidewalk Cafe, Z Bar, East Side Inc, 111 Minna Gallery, Move shows by Rich Jacobs, Chouinard, location flexibility, disinterest in public school, DODDS, 16 years old in Japan (1984), 6’6” white hair, sexual standards, 1982 World Cup trip to Spain, teenage drinking and topless beaches in Europe, Iron Maiden “Number of the Beast” Tour, engaging with a new culture, Japanese cartoons, food mascots, Naval Academy in Maryland, family roots in Annapolis, new wave/punk, MTV, Oceans Two record store, confrontational attitude to punks, trip to Ocean City, meeting skaters, acting out, sleeping on floors, Espo arriving in a limo, lack of compassion/discussion from parents, parenting, honest conversation with children, self discovery through trials, processing childhood trauma as an adult, pressure of life clouding clarity of mind, Let It Go meditation to help sleep, medication, blood disorder, masking vs fixing, chaos bringers, Old Souls, difference in how sons first responded, Shannon’s past lives, realizations on road trips, people watching, investigating emotions, discovering new places, memory recollection, casing neighborhoods before writing graffiti, mind mapping, Web3, global anonymous community, Tunny and Joe, importance of meeting in-person, Art Basel, Buffmonster, Bobby Tribal, Nate Lyons and Kris Markovich, Jay Strickland, Duffs team manager, Shepard Fairey, mailing canvases to artist friends, making connections, pulling off life as an artist, the blessing of support and the impact of murals.

Mike recalls more memories from living in New York City and San Francisco in late 1999. Topics discussed include: Working at East Side Inc, staying with Nalla, Zoe, freelance writing, The Vault, Dom scene, Barmacy and Beauty Bar, Deb Parker, Saoirse, Henna patterns, subletting apt on Grand Street in Williamsburg, after hours club, artist John Copeland, Juice Design, Bob Kissinger, Jason Noto of Morning Breath, sleeve on older fellow, solidarity with granddaughter, martial arts instructor, evidence of personal exploits, hand/throat tattoos, Mormon hardcore kids, The Cock, dance contest winner, Stars girl, client love connection, Elio’s art night, huge Eddie Deutsche snake tattoo, fully suited, Chris Garver, Kaz, weekends in Poughkeepsie, reconnecting with an ex-gf, Pepe Rosso, Two Boots pizza, Benny’s Burritos, MaryAnne’s, Indian Row, Polish diners, Bliss Cafe, return to 214 Clara Street, Paco Excel, weekends at Newskool tattooing walk-ins, commuting to San Jose on CalTrain with a bicycle, Adrian Lee, Jason Kundell, Ron Earhart, Adam Barton, Eric Ross, Brent Patten, Frankenstein bong, buck-toothed panthers, finger waves, being the least skilled tattooer in a shop, Ron’s bagged dually, Uneekbilt box truck, South First Street, Cholas, fist fights, Iguana’s, Michelle, Eklectik, rock climber, tattooing Charles (Charles Atlas) and Xmas tattoo trip to NYC.