TATTOO TALES

By Stef BastiànSociety & Culture Business Arts Visual Arts Careers

TATTOO TALES episodes

May 29, 2023 43. RINTO - A good story
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
1 hr 8 min
February 24, 2023 42. TIMOTHY HOYER - Beyond formalism
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
55 min
January 26, 2023 41. EDDY DEUTSCHE- The dream of a kid in Detroit
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
55 min
December 12, 2022 40. SHANE TAN- Chewing gum & Gangsters
If you follow Shane you’re familiar with his work: bold, striking, elegant in its simplicity. His painting a reference in the industry.
I recommend you to meet him and his crew if you cross them at some convention, you won’t be disappointed. What I like most of Shane is his ethics and his contagious energy, which make his tattooing 100 times better. Today was great to have a laugh with him and a chat about his upbringing, me eating ass sausage in Paris and how to put a stencil with glue.

Follow Shane on Instagram
You can find him and his crew at feathercloudgallery.com

Learn more about Stef’s Mentor Program & webinars
Follow updates on the podcast Instagram
1 hr 26 min
October 03, 2022 39. MICHELLE MYLES- NYC Tattoo history
Are you interested in tattoo history?
Get your pen and notebook because this episode is packed with goodies.

Once again live at the Aachen’s tattoo convention, I had the pleasure of sharing an afternoon with Michelle Myles from Daredevil Tattoo.
Her professional journey goes all the way back to the days of New York’s ban on tattooing. As she crossed path with some true legends in the business - she tells us of when she got tattooed by Mike Malone to mention one - she also did live and breathe the true spirit of the city’s tattooing and history with the Bowery as its pulsing heart.

Michelle is a living encyclopedia, I’m still astonished by the level of detail of her research and memory. I’ll have to listen to this interview a few more times myself to get all the info on the various artists that passed through this area, truly one of the birthplaces of modern tattooing.

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
54 min
September 07, 2022 38. ANDREW STORTZ & NICK SWARTZ- Tattoo podcasts
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 Tattoo Mentor Program
Learn more about our Webinars
1 hr 10 min
August 18, 2022 37. RYAN ROI- The spiritual side of money
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

50 min
June 13, 2022 36. MICHAEL MORILD- Art supplies: why it’s better to invest in quality
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.

In this interview, originally part of the Food Bank project - a series of Live Zoom talks with various artists to raise money for food banks across the world - we explored different mediums and materials. The goal was to shine some light on some of the most common questions we have as artists, regardless of the level, so to help you understand better at the moment of choosing the right stuff.

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

1 hr 8 min
June 06, 2022 35. RUSS ABBOTT- Innovation within tradition
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

47 min
May 13, 2022 34. BERNIE LUTHER- The smile of a kid in an old timer
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.
On the following day I had the pleasure of recording this interview in front of a lovely audience, which made the energy of this afternoon very special.

Bernie shared with us the recollections from his 40 years tattooing carreer, filled with laughter, priceless anecdotes and with the joyful energy that makes him unique.

You can find Bernie on Instagram
Find the Aachen’s convention on Instagram
50 min

About TATTOO TALES

From the publisher's feed

Go to the roots, not to the fruits.

I’m your host, Stef Bastiàn, tattooer with over twenty years of experience, traveler, painter, coach. Join me to improve your artistic, personal and…