This episode is about promises.

The kind that say you can be fully booked in 90 days.
That you can skip the apprenticeship.
That you can build a six-figure tattoo career if you just “optimize your content.”

I’m joined by Jeff Zalesak — tattooer of 20 years and owner of Camp Hill Collective in Pennsylvania — and we go deep into the rise of marketing gurus in tattooing.

We talk about the $5,000 sales calls and the predatory tactics behind them. About cold-messaging clients and why that quietly destroys respect. About online tattoo education versus real apprenticeships. About why technical foundations still matter. Why so many artists burn out. And about a question almost nobody stops to ask: why do you tattoo what you tattoo?

This isn’t an anti-marketing rant.

Learning how to communicate your work matters. Understanding social media matters. But selling shortcuts to mastery is something else entirely.

Tattooing was never built on hacks. It was built on repetition, humility, mentorship, and respect for the craft.

And if we lose that, we lose more than bookings.

We lose the culture.

—

Follow Jeff on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube: @imatattooer

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @under_the_skin_podcast
Watch full episodes on YouTube: Under the Skin – The Tattoo Podcast

If this one resonates, share it with another tattooer.

See you next week — under the skin.

Tattoo Culture Is Fake — with Yiwu Duan

In this episode of Under The Skin, I sit down with Yiwu Duan — a tattooer who still tattoos, but no longer identifies with the tattoo industry as it exists today.

We talk about why tattoo culture feels fake, ego-driven, and transactional — and what that does to artists who actually care. Yiwu opens up about burnout, shop ownership as a prison, the instability of tattooing, and the emotional cost of creating with “no skin” in an industry that often rewards noise over responsibility.

This conversation goes deep into the things rarely talked about:
the gap between skill and self-doubt, why artists feel worse as they get better, and how ego becomes a defense mechanism instead of a tool for growth.

We also explore what tattooing should be about: care, respect, and responsibility. Yiwu breaks down his philosophy on consultations, why placement matters more than imagery, how tattoos shape identity, and how a tattoo — even a beautiful one — can permanently harm someone if it ignores who they are.

This episode is not about trends, social media hacks, or how to get famous as a tattooer.
It’s about craft, honesty, emotional labor, and why being underrated and real might be the only sustainable path left.

If you tattoo, this one’s for you.

🎙 Under The Skin – The Tattoo Podcast
📍 Follow the podcast on Instagram & YouTube: @under_the_skin_podcast
📍 Yiwu Duan on Instagram: @yiwuduan

This week’s episode is out in video format, and I’m joined by Ron Smith — tattooer from Vancouver, Canada, known online as @crybabyron.

We start with the reality of the last couple years: tattooing feels oversaturated, especially in big cities like Berlin, London, Paris, LA, and Vancouver. But Ron makes a point that matters: it’s not oversaturated with good tattooers — because quality still stands out when the fundamentals are there.

From there we go deep into the stuff that actually makes a tattoo work long-term: drawing, composition, and flow with the body. Ron’s been tattooing for 15+ years, specializes in large-scale Japanese work, and recently started posting drawing breakdowns that exploded online — not “how to tattoo” tutorials, but the foundation behind strong tattooing.

We also talk about gatekeeping vs responsibility, client experiences, fast track learning and why simplicity is so hard.

This episode explains why the best tattoos always come back to the same truth: Tattooing follows the art.

Ron Smith on the socials:IG: @crybabyronSkool: Crybaby Ron Drawing Studio

Under the Skin — The Tattoo PodcastInstagram / Youtube: @under_the_skin_podcast

For this episode, I’m joined by Doug Hardy — a tattooer who quite literally grew up inside tattoo shops, surrounded by tattoo history, but who took the long road to finding his own voice in the craft.

We talk about what it really means to grow up around tattooing, learning through apprenticeship, making mistakes, and understanding the responsibility that comes with putting permanent work on people’s bodies.

From there, the conversation opens up into:

• ​Apprenticeship, patience, and learning the craft the hard way
• ​Being Ed Hardy’s son — and becoming your own person
• ​Tattooing before and after social media
• ​Trends, speed, and tattoo longevity
• ​ADHD, autism, focus, and creativity behind the needle
• ​Tattooing in Japan and cultural misunderstandings
• ​Pop culture, tradition, and why tattooing has always lived between the two
• ​Digital tools, AI, and where the line between tool and crutch really is
• ​Client relationships and why connection still matters most

This isn’t a hype episode.It’s not nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, and it’s not about chasing trends.

It’s an honest conversation about tattooing as a craft, responsibility, and why staying curious — without standing still — is the only way to last in this work.

🎥 This episode is available in video format on Spotify and Youtube.

Doug Hardy on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/tattoosbydoughardy

Under the Skin – The Tattoo Podcast:https://www.instagram.com/under_the_skin_podcasthttps://www.youtube.com/@under_the_skin_podcast

This is the first episode of the year — and the first one we’re releasing in video format.

For this episode, I’m joined by Chris Cockrill, tattooer and tattoo machine builder from San Diego.
We spend most of the conversation digging into tattoo machines: how coils really work, how pens and rotaries changed the way people tattoo, what gets gained, what gets lost, and why understanding your tools still matters if you want to tattoo well long-term.

We also talk about machine building from the inside — tuning, materials, geometry, breaking machines in through actual tattooing, and why there’s no such thing as a “perfect machine” that does everything.

Along the way, we get into tattoo history, shop culture in the 90s vs today, the trade mentality, apprenticeships, and how tattooing slowly shifted from a craft you had to earn into something that often looks easier than it really is.

This isn’t a gear review and it’s not nostalgia for the sake of it.
It’s a long, honest conversation about tattooing as a trade, responsibility, and why shortcuts usually come with a cost.

Chris Cockrill on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chriscockadoodledo

Under the Skin – The Tattoo Podcast:
https://www.instagram.com/under_the_skin_podcast
https://www.youtube.com/@under_the_skin_podcast

Gatekeeping in tattooing — is it protecting the craft, or just protecting egos?

In this solo episode, Ricardo breaks down the real layers behind gatekeeping:
the toxic “you don’t belong here” mentality,
the protective version that keeps clients safe,
and the necessary level of filtering that tattooing desperately needs.

From the trauma-driven “suffer like I suffered” approach
to the rise of fast-track dreamers, plug-and-play machines, and self-taught sofa-tattooers,
this episode asks the uncomfortable questions:

• Why does toxic gatekeeping still exist?

• What skills should an apprentice actually have before touching skin?

• Is removing all gatekeeping irresponsible?

• And what does healthy, meaningful gatekeeping look like today?

This is an honest talk about standards, mentorship, accountability, and respect — and a reminder that a good gatekeeper isn’t a bouncer…

it’s a guardian of the craft.

If you care about the future of tattooing, this episode is for you.

Stay connected — follow us on Instagram: @under_the_skin_podcast

toxic tattoo gatekeeping, fake tattoo artists, tattoo influencers exposed, fast-track tattoo scams, kitchen tattooing debate, dangerous tattoo machines, tattoo industry controversy, bad tattoo education, tattoo culture problems, tattoo apprenticeship crisis, untrained tattooists, plug-and-play tattoo machines, tattoo industry meltdown, should anyone tattoo, tattoo gatekeeping debate, stop self-taught tattooers, tattoo industry red flags

In this episode of Under the Skin – The Tattoo Podcast, I sit down with Aaron Sewl, a realism and cover-up specialist with 19 years in the craft, to talk about something many people avoid: not everyone should be tattooing — and the industry is paying the price for pretending otherwise.

We dive straight into the problems shaping tattooing today:
• Tattoo schools promising shortcuts and selling dreams
• Why real apprenticeships matter more than ever
• The loss of respect for tattoo history and foundations
• Why new generations enter tattooing for the wrong reasons
• The decline of standards through trends and social media
• The coming wave of regulations — and why artists need a voice
• Real talk about longevity, design responsibility, and client education
• Aaron’s unique approach to cover-ups as camouflage, not “coloring over mistakes”

This conversation goes deep into what tattooing used to be, what it’s becoming, and what needs to happen if the craft is going to survive the next decade. If you care about tattoo culture, real education, and the future of the industry, this one will hit home.

Follow Aaron:👉 https://www.instagram.com/aaronsewltattoos/

Follow the podcast:👉 https://www.instagram.com/under_the_skin_podcast/

tattoo podcast, tattoo apprenticeship, tattoo schools, realism tattooing, cover-up tattoos, tattoo industry problems, tattoo education, tattoo regulations, tattoo culture, tattooing truth, professional tattooing, tattoo history, old school tattooing, modern tattoo trends, longevity in tattooing, tattoo standards, tattoo gatekeeping, Reno tattoo artist

Pym Avery — Part 2

In Part 2 of my conversation with Pym Avery, we pick up right where we left off — so if you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, start there first.
This second half only hits the way it should if you’ve heard the beginning of her story.

Here we keep going through decades of tattoo history, culture, and lived experience. From conventions and community to the realities of staying in the craft for so many years — this episode is another unapologetically honest chapter from one of tattooing’s most authentic voices.

If you care about the culture, the craft, and where tattooing actually comes from, this one belongs on your list.

📚 Pym Avery’s Book — Show Time

Official website: https://pymavery.com/
Available as paperback, ebook, and audiobook everywhere books are sold.

📸 Find Pym Online

Instagram: @pymtattoo
https://www.instagram.com/pymtattoo

📣 Follow the Podcast

Instagram: @under_the_skin_podcast
https://www.instagram.com/under_the_skin_podcast

🔗 Listen to Part 1

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6YRIctM0EkJBOoBq5FbkwD?si=h1nhTBG4S4q7QRqYoQzE4w