Rinto celebrated this year his 40 years career. In Holland he’s well known as one of the old timers but, if you met him, you know that his humbleness matches his experience and dedication. 

Natural born storyteller, Rinto shared with us some grounding words, valuable especially to young tattooers in this age where the digital medias shape the distribution of information. Some of those things you can’t learn on your phone, they must be lived in the shop. 

You can find Rinto in Burgum, Netherlands at Rinto Tattoo Shop

You can follow updates on the podcast on Instagram and at stefbastian.com

Like many of you I have been following Timothy’s career for many years, getting lost in his beautiful impossible worlds. I’m naturally fascinated by good draftsmanship, but Tim’s paintings go beyond that.

Apart from the privilege of peeking into his studio, filled with sketches, artworks and painting supplies, I feel grateful for his insights about inspiration and the way we look at things. Observing his work you can really see how his 35 years of tattooing translate on paper his surrealistic vision, suggesting rather than stating, making him an absolute reference in the field. 

You can find Tim on Instagram and on his webshop Three Hours Past Midnight

Follow the updates on the podcast on Instagram

Learn more about Stef’s Mentor Program and Webinars here

Eddy has been part of the tattoo Renaissance in the San Francisco area in the 90’s, together with other key figures like Freddy Corbin, Juan Puente, Scott Sylvia, Marcus Pacheco… it’s because of him that a whole trend started and evolved in countless interpretations.

As the motto of this show says, “Go to the roots, not to the fruits”, we want to honor who paved the way for us. By discovering their stories we not only support them, we can also become more aware, competent and contributive as artists.

Even better?

Book an appointment with him, you’ll bring home a great experience, first hand knowledge and a dope tattoo👌

You can find Eddy at Adventure Tattoo in Nashville and on Instagram

Follow the updates on new episode on Instagram and at Stefbastian.com, together with available classes such as the Seminars and Mentorship Program

If you follow Shane you’re familiar with his work: bold, striking, elegant in its simplicity. His painting a reference in the industry. 

Follow Shane on Instagram

You can find him and his crew at feathercloudgallery.com

Follow updates on the podcast Instagram

Are you interested in tattoo history?

If you’re in the city you can’t miss on the opportunity of taking one of her NYC Tattoo history walking tours, a priceless experience for those who cultivate an interest in the origins of this trade. 

Special thanks go to Andreas Coenen for making this possible and in general to organize one of the best shows on the planet for artists lineup but especially the authenticity of the event. 

You can find Michelle on Instagram and Daredevil Tattoo

Book a NYC tattoo history walking tour here 

Learn more about Stef’s Mentor Program & Webinars

What do podcasts bring to the tattoo world? What to do with haters? Will Andrew produce Nick’s new career into the videoverse? And will I ever try Nick’s power barbecue? 

I sat with Andrew Stortz and Nick Swartz, hosts of the two best tattoo podcasts around, to answer these and other deep philosophical questions. 

Find Nick’s podcast on Instagram and Spotify

Find Andrew’s podcast on Instagram and booksclosedpodcast.com

Learn more about our Webinars

For tattooers and creatives the artistic side is not the only factor in running a successful business and giving life to our vision. Money is often a painful note that can stress us out and rob us of creative and productive energy. Ryan, tattooer and financial advisor, teaches us that it doesn’t have to be.

What I find particularly valuable in Ryan’s approach is how he works on the blocks that subconsciously affect our relationship with finances, especially our rooted feelings about money. A deeper work that in the long run is more powerful than just quick investing hacks.

You can find Ryan on Instagram, at theartfuldollar.com and on his new podcast

Learn more about Stef’s Mentor Program & Webinars

Michael is a Danish abstract painter that has been represented at the Van Gogh Art Gallery and the danish Creative Mind Art&Design.

I’ve know Michael for over ten years, through his previous job managing one of Copenhagen best art supply. 

I’ve always believed that if you really wanna know more about specific paints, brushes and paper you just have to talk with the people at the desk, they’re walking encyclopedias. Michael is one of those, especially as a self taught artist I’ve learned lots from him over the years, stuff you don’t find in books. 

You can find Michael on Instagram

You can read more about the Food Bank projects and all the other charity initiatives here

You can get more info on my painting seminars, where I go into depth on some of these topics here  and on the webstore

Tattooing and everything connected to it changed profoundly in the last years: the rise of social medias; the opening of a once underground world to a wider audience, with a controversial spectrum of consequences; the distribution of information. These and more aspects of this art form are being redefined and one of them is particularly present in today’s modus operandi: technology.

The traditional approach has been disrupted by the advent of iPads and Procreate.

Russ has seen this shift before everybody and created TattooSmart, a company that provides tattooers with digital tools specifically related to tattoo iconography and designs, establishing his company as leader in the field.

Today we talked about how technology and progress are something not to be feared but a helpful tool to optimize process, the evolution of business models, the future of TattooSmart and how to implement know-how from other fields to propell our businesses into a new era.

You can know more about Russ and his projects on:

tattoosmart.com

Inkanddagger.com

Instagram

For this episode we found ourselves in Aachen at the Kaiserstadt Tattoo Expo, as always flawlessly organized by Andreas Coenen.

The show opened with a pre-party exhibiting the life work of Bernie Luther, a mind-blowing array of flashes produced over four decades of traveling the world. 

You can find Bernie on Instagram

Find the Aachen’s convention on Instagram