Honest Tattooer Podcast

Episod

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  Fineline Tattooing with Joe Redding 27.07.2026 1j 4min

  Send us Fan Mail Jon Mesa and Matt Truiano sit down with special guest Joe Redding (@coyoteeyes), a fine line and black-and-gray micro realism tattooer who apprenticed in 2017 and went full time during COVID after bartending and other work. They break down misconceptions about fine line tattoos by reacting to a reel and its polarized comments, then discuss what makes fine line work last: consistent depth control, avoiding blowouts, using “bloodlines/train tracks” and “scrubbing” to create a p...
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  Coming to America with Eoghann McGregor 20.07.2026 58min

  Send us Fan Mail On the Honest Tattoo Podcast, Jon Mesa and Matt Truiano welcome guest tattooer Eoghann McGregor, a Scottish artist now working in New York, who has been tattooing about seven and a half years and describes his style as “weirdo trad” The group recaps the intimate Third Coast show in Chicago, talks about convention tattooing, walk-ups, and how body positioning can drastically change stencil size and placement. Eoghann shares how he got into tattooing through h...
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  Neo-Pre-Eckelism with Russ Abbott 13.07.2026 1j 28min

  Send us Fan Mail Jon Mesa, Matt Truiano welcome guest Russ Abbott back to the Honest Tattooer podcast and discuss his major fitness changes, how improved health impacts tattooing, and the ergonomic setup he uses to stand while tattooing. Russ explains his magnifying dental-style glasses, reading glasses, and custom prescription polarized lenses with a polarized headlamp to reduce glare. The conversation shifts to the Abbott Color Wheel, why ink pigment transparency and lightfastness mat...
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  Heads Up! with Michael L. 06.07.2026 1j 10min

  Send us Fan Mail Jon Mesa, Matt Truiano, Gabe (“G Money”), and guests Michael L. and Matt Buck play Heads Up Tattoo artist edition hosted by Vega to identify tattoo-related “personalities” taped to their foreheads—some real tattooers and some decoys. They debate messy rules, points, and whether questions should be strictly yes/no, while correctly landing names. Afterward they discuss how to refine the game with clearer themes and fewer points, then each shares recent tattoos and broader refle...
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  Shop Managing with Bunnie Lebowski 29.06.2026 1j 15min

  Send us Fan Mail Jon Mesa and Matt Truiano talk with special guest Bunny about her path through tattoo culture from the early 1990s to New York City. Bunny recalls getting a first hand tattoo at 14 in Milan, then finding a safe community working around a Milan shop as a teen alongside misfits and bikers. She describes moving to Scotland and London, returning to Milan to see tattooing dramatically evolve, and how Instagram and shifting social acceptance helped tattoos become mainstream and tre...
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  What Keeps A Tattooer Going For Hours with David Martinez and Dat 22.06.2026 1j 30min

  Send us Fan Mail The Honest Tattooer podcast welcomes guests David and Dat discussing their backgrounds, preferred styles, and the realities of long back-to-back tattoo sessions, including managing skin trauma and the mental side of sitting. They talk about building deep client relationships through honest conversation, navigating fear of judgment around politics and religion, and the importance of expressing love and respect even with opposing views. David shares plans to serve oversea...
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  West Coast Tats In Jersey with Ses 15.06.2026 1j 44min

  Send us Fan Mail The hosts interview Ses about how tattooing was harder to enter in the early ’90s without the internet, leading him to start underground as a “scratcher,” build a mail-order tattoo supply/flash hustle, and eventually learn by hanging around Fat Mike’s biker shop, where he began tattooing with a homemade machine and later inherited clients after Fat Mike died. Ses describes the importance of flash to shop identity, collecting and drawing flash, and meeting key artists like Jac...
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  Solving Your Problems with Pony Lawson 01.06.2026 1j 7min

  Send us Fan Mail On the Honest Tattooer podcast, Jon, Matt, Ermes, and Pony read listener letters about common tattoo shop problems: shops favoring artists with big social followings, two artists dating and bringing relationship tension into the workplace, and a shop owner whose talented friend drives away managers and staff through harsh communication. They discuss balancing shop promotion across artists, encouraging simple, consistent content for introverted tattooers, and separating busine...
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  The Corporate Takeover with Pony Lawson 25.05.2026 1j 21min

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  Tooling Around with Joshua Bowers 18.05.2026 1j 8min

  Send us Fan Mail We back guest Joshua Bowers about a year after his last appearance, this time with show-and-tell including the Steel Driver rotary that emulates a coil stroke, the Heavy Hand weighted pencil grip (plus an Apple Pencil prototype), and a battery adapter that turns a battery into a power supply and can shift weight off the machine. They discuss foot switches vs wireless/constant-on setups, cord management, and why many artists return to coil-style performance after starting on p...
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  Painting With Blood with Vincent Castiglia 11.05.2026 1j 30min

  Send us Fan Mail In this podcast episode, tattooer and fine artist Vincent Castiglia explains how he began using blood as a medium, describing its unique kinetic energy and personal connection. He details the technical process—collecting blood (initially via diabetic lancets), preventing clotting, storing it refrigerated in airtight vials, diluting only with water, and using decomposition stages to control hue and value. Castiglia discusses public reactions, misconceptions, and the spiritual ...
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  A Couple Of Funny Guys with Phil Luck and Stevie Wells 04.05.2026 1j 30min

  Send us Fan Mail This week we welcome guests Stevie “Crazy Stevie” Wells and Phil Luck. They discuss the overhead of large shops, a global slowdown in tattooing, and how social media has changed community and communication. The conversation contrasts street shops and private studios, arguing tattooers should educate clients and that younger generations struggle with in-person communication and expectations of permanence. They define a good tattoo as readable and built to last, compare tattoos...
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  Everything Happens for a Reason with Jeremy Schad 27.04.2026 1j 9min

  Send us Fan Mail On the Honest Tattooer Podcast, we talk with special guest Jeremy Schad from Syracuse, New York, who started tattooing in 2019 during COVID through an informal mentorship that drilled clean linework and helped him become known for fine, crisp lines. Jeremy shares his background in digital art and music, how a blown-off tattoo appointment led him to meet his mentor Michael Conklin (now his shop co-owner), and how he transitioned from working at Apple’s Genius Bar to full-time ...
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  Talking About Art with Matt Buck 20.04.2026 1j 17min

  Send us Fan Mail The hosts celebrate Matt Buck’s birthday and apprenticeship “graduation day,” reflecting on his years tattooing and how his perspective changed after realizing the medium’s limitations and longevity needs. Buck discusses his fine art training, the value of academic realism fundamentals, and why tattooing often requires breaking painting “rules” (like avoiding outlines) to embrace tattoo rules that age well. The conversation explores how illustration and visual storytelling tr...
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  American Tattooing To The Roots with Zach Grimm 13.04.2026 1j 12min

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  Being A Lifelong Creative with Roman Abrego 06.04.2026 1j

  Send us Fan Mail This week we talk with realism and biomechanical pioneer Roman Abrego, who has tattooed for about 25 years, including in prison and on the streets. Roman shares his early life as a standout baseball athlete, his roots in San Bernardino and time in Wisconsin, and how meeting artists like Mike Cole, Carson Hill, Nick Baxter, shaped his path into hyperrealism and biomech. He reflects on building and running multiple shops (including in Yucaipa, Melrose, and Brazil), nonsto...
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  Starting With An Ebay Kit with Nico Negron 30.03.2026 1j 6min

  Send us Fan Mail This week we talk with realism tattooer Nico Negron from Northport, New York, about starting tattooing with an eBay kit in 2006, how tattoo culture has changed, and the opening of his new shop, Icon Tattoo. The group reacts to viral tattoo “hot takes,” arguing that “bold will hold” still matters, fine line can last when tattooed correctly, and different styles often attract different clients. They criticize content that glamorizes poor technique, discuss spiritual “ener...
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  Tattooing Is Too Accessible with Nick Bones 23.03.2026 1j 1min

  Send us Fan Mail The hosts welcome Las Vegas tattooer Nick Bones, who has tattooed for 20 years in a traditional-ish pop culture style and plans to spend the next two years traveling in a self-built camper van doing guest spots, promoting stops like a band on tour, and starting a van-recorded podcast, “Between Appointments,” about what tattooers do outside tattooing and their favorite local spots. The conversation covers rock climbing and hand/grip training, convention seminars and networking...
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  Tattoo Pricing with Justin Reid 15.03.2026 1j 8min

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  Is Tattoo Culture Shifting? with Missi Blue 09.03.2026 1j 3min

  Send us Fan Mail The hosts discuss a shift back to Instagram from TikTok for tattoo discovery, debating new Instagram features like trial reels and follower-only early release posts. They critique content-first tattoo marketing, low engagement on strong tattoo work versus casual videos, and the use of shirtless “hooks.” Conversation turns to cultural and economic forces behind minimalist/fine-line trends, tattoo pricing inflation, and how reduced disposable income affects demand, with h...