This is why we are hard on scratchers

I had this woman come in my shop the other day who needed a cover-up, something her son put on her (her son was w/ her). Anyway I get set up and begin when her son starts asking me if I can color in one he put on himself, he lifts up his sleeve, I'm still not sure what I was looking at, but I told him no, but I'd be happy to cover it up. He then tells me it was supposed to turn out better, but he took 9 "zannies" first and fell asleep w/ the needle in his arm. ???????????? How would you feel if you came in for a tattoo and for what ever reason when I was done I looked up and said "well it was supposed to be better", I mean come on. But apperently in this guys mind thats ok. He then goes on to tell me all his friends like the ones he gave them. At this point I'm tottaly mortified, because, he thought my autoclave would make a good pressure cooker, and dosen't know the first thing about disposable tubes. Then he starts naming off all the piercings he's done including a clit, with a piercing gun. I know there's gonna be a lota people getting all defencive by this, but if you do there is probably a reason, but this guy is mutalating people, and risking their lives, plus the girl that got her clit pierced will probably never get off again. (i'm not sure which is worse) but to everyone that can sit there and argue that some kinda formal training is not needed, I beg to differ. To me this guy was just waiting for natural selction to take its course. And the fact that anyone out there had let this guy scar them like this is beyond me. I dont want you to get me wrong I'm sure there are great artist out there that want more than anything to be a tattooist, but go to a shop do what ever it takes to do it right, otherwise in my mind your in the same catagory as this moron.

And now comes the age old dilemna...Just what can we do to protect an unsuspecting public from idiots like this? I have pondered this question for 30 plus years and the only answer I came up with is..NOT MUCH!...There always has been and always will be low lifes out there who will take peoples life in their hands performing invasive proceedures with little or no experience and without the proper tools not to mention no training in creating and maintaining sterile fields...all we can do as responsible artists is to continue to try to EDUCATE even though our advice usually falls on deaf ears. If by spending the time to educate we as professionals can save one person from a bad tattoo or piercing or worse a lifelong or even FATAL disease then that time is well spent.Of course there will also always be those that say we "pros" are simply trying to keep the art of body mods all to ourselves...well I say to that...FUCK YOU!!! If only everyone contemplating a Tattoo or piercing proceedure could see some of the absolute horrors I have seen in my 35 years in the business....horrible infections...A beautiful young girl contracting HIV...a 19 year old soccer player with a bright future devastated by having to have an arm amputated all because of a scratcher with a homade "gun" with a contaminated guitar string needle.And we cannot simply lay the blame at the scratchers door either...When a person goes to a respectable studio and gets a price and walks out saying crap like "Hell my cousin will do that for ten bucks and a six pack!",then proceeds to get tattooed or pierced in some assholes basement thinking only "Hey I saved fifty bucks" and NOT thinking " I hope he didn't use that needle on someone before me" or " I wonder if boiling the needles REALLY kills all the germs?" or "If I have to go to the doctor and spend a couple hundred bucks then it really was NOT that good of a deal was it?" We are ethically and morally bound to at least TRY OUR HARDSET to keep these reprehensible people from ever hurting anymore innocents...and maybe to protect the "innocents" from making bad decisions ...WE CAN ONLY DO WHAT WE CAN DO, BUT WE MUST DO WHAT WE CAN! OK OK I'm getti down off the soapbox now!..Grumpy old fart Taz

WOW! That is horrible. Is there any one that this guy could be reported to in your state?

Been done, dumbass put his name and address on consent form, w/ copy of drivers lisence

In missouri the government ( because I think a relative of a government official got an underage tattoo along with hep c) is starting to agressively enforce tattoo and piercing laws. If you are caught tattooing or piercing in anything other than a licensed ,health board inspected shop or if you are caught performing these proceedures on minors YOU CAN AND PROBABLY WILL GO TO JAIL!!!!! In the past 5 years there have been over 60 people charged and convicted under these laws. You can be charged with misdemeanors (operating a business without a license etc ) or a FELONY (practicing medicine without a license ...Yep it HAS been done!.)..and or felony endangerment) I know of two people prosecuted in my area....one was fined $5,000 and sentenced to one year in county and one was sentenced to FIVE YEARS in PRISON....So keep it up scratcher scum someone has finally got your number!!!Taz