NeoTrad Life

This week we finish the conversation with Val and Mike, the husband-and-wife team behind The Funk tattoo shop in New Port Richey, FL, for a conversation that hits close to home. Like us, they're a married couple building a business together in the tattoo industry, and they get real about what that looks like day to day.

We talk tattooing, the craft, and the work that goes into running a shop as partners in both life and business. Val and Mike share what it's like working alongside your spouse: the parts that come easy, the parts that test you, and how they keep the shop and the marriage strong when the two overlap.

Most of all, this episode is about why we love doing this together. Building something side by side with the person you love, and creating a community where artists and clients feel at home, is something special. Whether you're in the industry, thinking about going into business with your partner, or just love tattoo culture, this one's for you.

Tune in, and go show The Funk some love!

🌐 Website: whatsthefunk.com

www.neotradlife.com

This week we sit down with Val and Mike, the husband-and-wife team behind The Funk tattoo shop in New Port Richey, FL, for a conversation that hits close to home. Like us, they're a married couple building a business together in the tattoo industry, and they get real about what that looks like day to day.

We talk tattooing, the craft, and the work that goes into running a shop as partners in both life and business. Val and Mike share what it's like working alongside your spouse: the parts that come easy, the parts that test you, and how they keep the shop and the marriage strong when the two overlap.

Most of all, this episode is about why we love doing this together. Building something side by side with the person you love, and creating a community where artists and clients feel at home, is something special. Whether you're in the industry, thinking about going into business with your partner, or just love tattoo culture, this one's for you.

Tune in, and go show The Funk some love!

🌐 Website: whatsthefunk.com

www.neotradlife.com

Beth's birthday came with a theme, and the theme was conspiracy theories. We get into how the party came together, who committed the hardest to the bit, and which theory nobody could let go of by the end of the night.

Then things get heavier. We talk about where the court situation with grace as it stands right now, what the process has looked like from the inside, and how we're holding up while we wait. No details we can't share, but honest about the parts we can.

We close it out on the good stuff: what's coming up at NeoTrad Life this fall, new services we currently offer and upcoming apprentice tattoo opportunities, and a few things we've been sitting on that we're finally ready to talk about.

Chaotic, loving, and mostly held together with titanium. Come hang out.

www.neotradlife.com

Beth is turing 40, so we turned it into Conspiracy Theory Month. Friends will be standing up in the shop delivering fully committed presentations on theories they may or may not believe. Prizes go to best delivery, not best theory — conviction beats evidence.

This episode: the highlights so far, what's coming up at the shop, and our newest service, ear seeding. No needles, no healing time, and a very different thing from piercing.

Come by. Bring a theory. Commit to it.

NeoTrad Life — Largo, FL.

www.neotradlife.com

Clients are walking in with AI images that can't be tattooed or A images that will take 3 times as long as they want to tattoo— and that's the smallest problem in the room.

This episode is about what AI is actually doing to tattooing. Not the doomsday version. The daily version: less time designing, more time reverse-engineering something a machine hallucinated. The slow erosion of the part of the job that made it worth doing.

But AI isn't why people are quitting. It's the newest weight on a pile that was already too tall.

We get into the rest of it. The unpaid second job of making content every day. Costs climbing while prices stay where they were three years ago because you're scared to lose your regulars. Clients who want a sleeve for four hundred dollars and emotional labor on the side.

Then we talk about the artists hanging it up. Good ones. People who decided the math stopped working — and whether that's on them or on what this industry turned into.

No clean answers. Just honest conversation from people still in the chair.

Beth's traveling for work this week, so it's just Chuck and Steve holding down NeoTrad Life. In this solo episode, Chuck talks about what happens to the rhythm of a shared life when it gets stretched across a couple of time zones — missing the routine without falling apart, rooting for your partner from a distance, and the question nobody really says out loud: how do you know you're loving your person well?

It builds to the honest and emotional one. Chuck saw a question the other day — what's the most important thing you've ever done? — and the answer surprised him. It wasn't the studio or anything he built. It was becoming the man he needed to be, so that when it was finally time for him and Beth to meet, she could love him. Because the man he was a few years before? She wouldn't have.

No script. No polish. Just a guy, a bulldog, and some real thoughts about building a life with someone you're proud of. Go do your thing, Beth. We got it covered here.

This week, Beth sits down with Ethan Dangberg from Ignite Meds for a conversation about GLP-1's, hormone optimization, and how it's effecting tattooing.

Ethan's team focuses on GLP-1 weight loss therapies and hormone optimization, helping people stay active, strong, and feeling like themselves well into their 40s, 50s, and beyond. It's physician-guided, personalized care designed for real life — not a one-size-fits-all program.

In this episode, we cover:

Ethan's philosophy is simple: F&#k Your Impossible. Whatever goal you've written off as out of reach — it isn't. This episode is your sign to go get it.

Connect with Ignite Meds:

Connect with NeoTrad Life:

Follow, rate, and share the show — it helps more than you know. New episodes drop weekly.

Big things are happening at NeoTrad Life, and we're spilling all of it. This episode is your behind-the-scenes pass to everything new, exciting, and upcoming at the shop.

We're recapping our MER-MAY walk-in event, which was a total splash — thank you to everyone who came out and made it one for the books. We're also breaking down our wet specimen class, one of the most fascinatingly weird workshops we've hosted yet (and proof that our community shows up for the unconventional).

Then we look ahead to the big one: the Stuck by Chuck Piercings Grand Opening on June 20! It's our Summer Kickoff, and Chuck's got the details on featured hours, per-placement discounts, raffles, and everything we've been building toward. Five placements, implant-grade titanium, done really, really well.

Plus all the usual NeoTrad Life fun — fresh ink from Inked by Beth, art classes, zero-gravity massage chair sessions, and a few surprises we're not quite ready to reveal.

Whether you're a longtime regular or just finding us, pull up a chair (or a piercing table), and let's get into it.

Chaotic, loving, and a little bit weird — just the way we like it. 🖤

NeoTrad Life | 8380 Ulmerton Rd, Unit 314, Largo, FL | www.neotradlife.com

This week we're sitting down with Kali, our apprentice and one of the most exciting new artists to watch. Kali brings serious natural talent to the chair, paired with a hunger to learn that's impossible to miss. In this episode, we get to know her — where her art comes from, what drew her to tattooing, and what the apprenticeship has looked like so far. Whether you're an aspiring artist, a tattoo collector, or just love a good origin story, you don't want to miss this one.

What happens when two artists decide they’re not here to fit the mold — they’re here to build something louder, rawer, and more real?

In this episode of Neotrad Life, we dive into the story behind the growth of Stuck by Chuck and how a simple idea turned into something bigger than either of us imagined. From late-night conversations and crazy ideas to building a brand with heart, hustle, and chaos — this episode is all about the journey.

Chuck opens up about creating something different alongside Inked by Beth, the challenges of building from the ground up, and the passion that fuels the vision. More than anything, this episode shines a light on partnership, loyalty, and believing in someone before the world catches on.

“She’s been my rock, my support, and my biggest cheerleader.”

This is the story of friendship, trust, artistic rebellion, and building a life around doing what you love with people who truly believe in you.

If you’ve ever dreamed about creating your own lane instead of following someone else’s path — this episode is for you.

www.neotradlife.com