Ep. 227 "High on Grace" (Diary Entry 2:3 with Wheelyum Dee)

[00:00:00] Alright diary listeners, welcome back. This is the second half of my time with

[00:00:06] William Dee and we're calling the second part of his three-part diary entry

[00:00:12] High on Grace and you'll see why. Enjoy listeners!

[00:00:20] Welcome to the Apprenticeship Diaries where raw meats refined.

[00:00:24] Let's be real, we're still working on the fine.

[00:00:26] What it took, what it takes, and the stories that are made.

[00:00:30] Join us as we learn from professionals about how their stories begin.

[00:00:45] What do you use when you paint? I use, actually I use acrylics first.

[00:00:53] Okay. I block everything in, okay and then I go back to oils and sometimes here lately

[00:00:59] I've been taking, it's funny I've been taking spray cans and going over the top of the acrylics too.

[00:01:08] Ooh, that's nice.

[00:01:09] To give it a more layer and a shine so it then like it'll just pop out more.

[00:01:16] Because I like the dullness sometimes of a certain area but then I want it brighter or

[00:01:22] make it more live as I call it. More, I don't know, I grew up in an age of like the 80s.

[00:01:29] Like we watched a lot of, you know like legend.

[00:01:36] Watched, what is it? The never-ending story.

[00:01:39] Yeah, Willow.

[00:01:41] Willow, still some of my greatest movies I love to watch and their fantasy that

[00:01:48] it only, they made those movies, somebody thought about this in their head and they made it and

[00:01:58] said if it looks good, like I said it's a happy mistake that I actually got it one week.

[00:02:03] And if it looks good, it looks good and you know us, it might look great to a thousand people out

[00:02:09] there but to me I'm like man I forgot to add that yellow right there.

[00:02:13] Oh my gosh.

[00:02:14] Man, it's a bit more purple there. Yeah, you are enough.

[00:02:17] Yeah, but yeah people like I said it's not watercolor.

[00:02:20] If you like to get more of my cotton candy, it's cotton candy.

[00:02:24] It's cotton candy.

[00:02:28] And realism, I love it.

[00:02:30] That's awesome.

[00:02:31] Yeah well that the cotton candy term is mine, it's teal.

[00:02:36] That the realism is not totally mine.

[00:02:40] Oh okay.

[00:02:41] I did not actually come up with that.

[00:02:43] Okay, all right, right on.

[00:02:46] But I just think that's a happy accident in itself then.

[00:02:52] That's really cool.

[00:02:53] No I know, well you know I think that's great to coin a term like that for marketing sake.

[00:03:02] You know like Justin Nordin who does a lot of stuff that people would consider watercolor and

[00:03:09] I do think that would be more of what it is but it's gone so many spaces.

[00:03:13] It's like abstract expressionism meets watercolor, you know like very conceptual

[00:03:20] but he calls his synth nouveau is his style.

[00:03:25] Say that again.

[00:03:27] Synth nouveau.

[00:03:30] Wow.

[00:03:32] And I don't know if he still is but like people kept saying what is this?

[00:03:36] And it's like dude I don't, it's like the it's like all the people who are famous on YouTube

[00:03:43] for their music but like they can't get a record deal because they're not under a label or genre.

[00:03:52] It's just like what is this?

[00:03:54] I don't know it's freaking awesome, I don't know how to market it.

[00:03:57] So for you it's like no it's cotton candy that's what it is.

[00:04:03] Yeah we'll leave some cotton candy today you know.

[00:04:06] I should actually start making shirts and just like put cotton, willism cotton candy and just have

[00:04:13] like a realistic cotton candy but then it like looks like cotton candy but it's I don't know.

[00:04:19] I mean you could do Ivana, Ivana tattoos she'll take her actual tattoos take really good pictures

[00:04:28] of them and then put them like make prints of the tattoo as actual art pieces and like

[00:04:36] displays them as art as well she'll put them on on shirts and things like that and sell them so maybe

[00:04:42] you but she's really good.

[00:04:45] I'm not in there, I'm not on that level yet.

[00:04:49] I think I'm not and I love her I've sold a lot of her her style a little bit too.

[00:04:56] Oh it's dope.

[00:04:57] I don't think so that I've borrowed some of it.

[00:04:59] Let me tell you man her eyes like I almost could be lesbian by just looking at her because like

[00:05:10] I've actually done a seminar with her and I'm like oh my god your eyes I could fall in them for hours.

[00:05:17] You know a seminar with her?

[00:05:20] Yeah I worked with her in person.

[00:05:22] Amazing she's so sweet I do love how um she was

[00:05:27] she was with her client and her client was like she's like I have I have to run this line

[00:05:32] through this other tattoo and her client was like I'd really rather you not and she goes

[00:05:35] but I have to I have to and and she like said it so convincingly that the woman was like

[00:05:41] I really don't want you to do that and she's like it's got to be done.

[00:05:45] It was like it was like watching somebody be hypnotized.

[00:05:51] And it looked awesome like when she did it it 100 had to happen.

[00:05:56] Like and and her client was just like and she showed us like in that moment

[00:06:02] don't let your client limit the art.

[00:06:04] Like just get real with them just say what needs to be said to their face is you know

[00:06:13] push back because if it is going to limit the art it's going to limit what you look

[00:06:19] like ultimately and it did it look beautiful afterwards and it didn't limit the other tattoo

[00:06:24] it just incorporated it with with the new piece and it made the whole arm come together.

[00:06:30] But see what this woman wanted to do is she wanted to segregate each piece

[00:06:35] and it was like well when people look at it they're they're gonna see the whole arm at once

[00:06:40] you know like you you can you can kind of tell that they were done at different times

[00:06:45] but like as a person you kind of want people to receive you all at once and kind of just

[00:06:52] go oh my god you're just so beautiful like let me look you know let me let me look but if like

[00:06:59] they're they're just pulling out one piece it's kind of like the um I heard once at a hair salon

[00:07:05] convention um or hair convention uh you know something is perfect for a person when what you

[00:07:14] have to comment on is just the general beauty of the person as opposed to oh my god that dress

[00:07:23] looks awesome on you because what you're commenting on is the dress right not them you know but when

[00:07:30] when it fits them and when it's really kind of evocative of their style right then it's just

[00:07:37] like wow you're beautiful like whoa like what did you do like and then and that's that's why I say

[00:07:45] like your work looks like it it works with the client you know like it works to like kind of draw

[00:07:50] out of them who they are and how you can apply what you know to who they are and um sometimes we

[00:07:58] have to like you know it's like queer eye for the straight guy like you know like we're gonna

[00:08:02] have to come in we're gonna have to throw out a bunch of dumb shit that you want to keep

[00:08:06] but like you don't know why you want to keep it like and I'm glad you said that because I do people

[00:08:12] that all the way some people think I've lost some clients but it's fine because I tell people I'm

[00:08:18] like look I'm a professional tattoo and I've said this many times I tell you what you need to

[00:08:25] hear not what you want to hear to make a good lasting piece of art or a memory forever on you

[00:08:31] like I'm gonna do what I do this is because we do this every day it's not like you're coming

[00:08:37] at you're paying me good money yeah I'm gonna give you 200 of just me I mean if I gotta shut the door

[00:08:46] turn the lights down low put the music on you like and I do you can ask my client

[00:08:51] and you should provide cotton candy that's what I was actually I need to start doing that

[00:08:58] like before you get started say hey you guys like some cotton candy my god I'm little you that's

[00:09:05] perfect see look you came up with it let me write that down like that's perfect you need sugar would

[00:09:10] you like some complimentary cotton candy with your service you just well if I if I ever if I ever

[00:09:16] get sponsored by ank company I'll put like will but it's be like cotton candy will

[00:09:24] ism cotton candy edition of like just different colors yeah that would be that would be so cool

[00:09:31] well what I was gonna say is like you could take one of your your best friends that you

[00:09:36] do free shit on all the time ask them to do a piece of cotton candy take a really good photo of it

[00:09:41] make the t-shirt that you want to make they're already like married to your life and best friends

[00:09:48] right we're making a lot of things happen right now it's pretty cool yeah thank you

[00:09:52] I appreciate that yeah man like it's nice level stuff it's fun and you just survey you've obviously

[00:09:58] you're super passionate about what you love to do and you know um that's why I like doing all this too

[00:10:04] is like I'm a kind of person that really just likes to be a little piece of somebody else's story

[00:10:10] so I can be like I was there when they like I was there when they thought about that

[00:10:15] when that idea came up that's dope were you very helped them bring their bring their self out more

[00:10:22] instead of just like this I'm kind of still like in like in a box like I might take things on social

[00:10:29] media I get under people's skin but whatever but like my art I don't really think I'm as good

[00:10:36] as people think I am so I struggle with it every day and like even when I paint stuff for all

[00:10:42] things it took me forever for like my my family friends are like dude let's make some prints yeah

[00:10:50] like this really I'm like well or make some shirts but like you said get some cotton candy or do a

[00:10:57] tattoo of a peep like cotton candy yeah and take really good pictures so hey do it do it because

[00:11:09] that's um that's all you I love it it made me laugh and I you know like it's a happy image I'm sure

[00:11:18] that this childhood feeling that you have is very universal um and it's something that

[00:11:25] a child can participate in too you know and and those kind of things are nice within tattooing

[00:11:32] too because you they can't participate in a lot of it but they can wear a t-shirt of a tattoo

[00:11:37] you know something innocuous and beautiful like you know cotton candy that's fun you know that's

[00:11:44] really fun you could make a onesie out of it like oh my god yeah wow that would actually be cool like

[00:11:51] willism shirts of cotton candy this cotton candy dad just wow like it's man i'm being wall marchs

[00:11:58] and targets all over the place I'm telling you I'm telling you it's gonna be great I I love it

[00:12:03] you know and that's a big thing to put out there for anybody you know when you start out in this

[00:12:08] industry it's so much about just being good at tattooing and just feeling like you're you're okay

[00:12:14] and you're amongst peers but then you get to this point where you're doing it and you're like

[00:12:19] what the hell is next you know you kind of I think that's what you're feeling I don't think

[00:12:24] it's that you're in a box it's just like a plateau of like what now you know like and there's

[00:12:31] and it's harder I've said this before to younger people who are just really good looking and I'm

[00:12:37] like fuck you you know like you don't even know you're just you're so cute that you just walk around

[00:12:44] like an asshole and not even get out of your PJs and look amazing like shut up um I like tell

[00:12:50] them all the time like you are pissing on so much right now because nobody's gonna care about you

[00:12:58] the way they do right now and that's the same with apprentices too like that space

[00:13:04] is so concentrated things are like popping off like crazy it feels awful because you're not where

[00:13:09] you want to be but it's also the most like attention you're gonna get from your peers ever

[00:13:17] and then nobody gives a fuck anymore they're like dude get back to work shut up asshole

[00:13:23] like you know like they don't care and that's what happens so you you really do have to um

[00:13:34] you know dazzle from a different place when you get older and you have to like you know

[00:13:40] specified even more and play a little bit harder and show that that shit hasn't died in you

[00:13:47] I remember if we get the I forget the tattoo artist that was doing this during COVID but it was

[00:13:52] amazing he was just having like he just recorded all of these sandwich ideas that he had like

[00:14:00] really fun sandwiches and he's like I love sandwiches yeah yeah like they were all these

[00:14:07] creative ideas about how sandwich concoction and then he'd like show him like eating and at the

[00:14:13] end it was like but it was like who knew and it's like you with cotton candy it's like

[00:14:20] like I had no idea there was this passion for sandwich and I never knew that I would be that

[00:14:26] involved in watching another person make a sandwich and be like what the hell are and

[00:14:35] and like they were really creative ideas but it was like all COVID long he was like you know tattooing

[00:14:40] a little bit doing art and making sandwiches yeah I wish I could have called the artist but

[00:14:48] I do now because I actually see if I could find that yeah that's actually it was dope it was dope

[00:14:54] so now we have we have your next phase yeah I don't know what you were planning before this

[00:15:00] but all that's off the table now exactly no for real like well let's go back because like

[00:15:09] you were working at your second shot what what transpired there you know you had your next

[00:15:15] level with the batman right how did how did you progress from there like what happened next um

[00:15:22] like I said after I did that and I saw Josh Carlson stuff I started really researching

[00:15:29] and asking questions about color theory and just like watching like I didn't start painting

[00:15:37] anything until about 2018-2019 right on yeah as first time I started like painting realistic stuff

[00:15:47] and I started painting real but I had to learn the color like I learned all the basics of color

[00:15:55] theory so then um like you add this color this color complements this color this this

[00:16:03] and a lot of people and after a while if you look at a lot of my stuff some of it makes sense

[00:16:10] for the color but then some of the light sources don't like this guy is all over the place with

[00:16:15] color and the light sources are not the right way so I have to say uh uh Thomas Kincaid

[00:16:25] yes I was watching some on YouTube because I was like man I'm learning how to paint if I'm

[00:16:29] gonna be a better tattoo artist I gotta learn how to paint that's what everybody told me so I

[00:16:32] started watching him and he's the painter of lights yes so I was like okay so when he actually

[00:16:38] dimmed the lights he had light sources all over the place in every painting so I'm like

[00:16:44] so I thought in my head like okay so me tattooing you tell me to draw the ball or you tell me to

[00:16:51] tattoo this the light source has to be coming from the right side why does it only have to

[00:16:57] be there so I started breaking that mode where I would just put light sources in a far background

[00:17:03] I'll put it up under the arm here and then coming from the top of the hat or whatever there is that

[00:17:09] reflective light because there's Rembrandt lighting where you have the darkest side that has that very

[00:17:14] faint edge where it hits the background and then comes back you know so it reverberates off

[00:17:21] yes I've never I've never took art classes I've never that's awesome I was just like

[00:17:28] but like I tell people and like I say I don't know how religious people are which that's fine

[00:17:32] I don't judge them but everybody says man you got this great talent I said no I don't have a

[00:17:37] talent so yeah I said no God gave me a gift to do what I'm doing if you think I have a

[00:17:45] talent I'm trying to develop a talent that's all anything and I tell people every time people come

[00:17:52] to me or ask me to do a tattoo I said well yeah I can try if people like bros stop saying that

[00:17:57] you're scaring them off and that's gonna be on my freaking headstone she tried yeah because that's

[00:18:02] it's exactly the same I'm like no dude I just have balls enough to fail that's all I am

[00:18:09] yeah that I love that you should put that on your I have balls enough to fail

[00:18:16] right I have balls enough to fail and that would be wow that would be I think that would be in a

[00:18:26] museum so I might take a picture of that you'd be like even once she's gone she's still here with

[00:18:31] if anything if it made people laugh or consider something I would do it I won't plan on being

[00:18:38] underneath the tombstone it would just be a marker people on my show typically know that I want to

[00:18:45] be made into pencils I don't know if this is a regular thing but I saw a thing once where somebody

[00:18:50] made pencils out of a human body and it made like 240 pencils and I was like dude that's dope

[00:18:57] that's what I want to that's what I want to be I want to be made into pencils and I want like

[00:19:02] I want a secular version and a and a religious version whatever your preference is because like

[00:19:08] I believe if you're secular you're probably on your way to God you're seeking it um so whatever um

[00:19:15] but like either a use of moments of inspiration or to the glory of God that's it I don't want

[00:19:22] my name I don't want my birth death date I don't want any of that I just want to be

[00:19:27] a utilitarian object that can spawn more marky mark making from there on out and I want everybody

[00:19:34] in my funeral to get a party favor so so they get up they get a pencil and a little miniature like

[00:19:41] captured pencil sharpener so they can keep me if they want me but like

[00:19:48] but it's so funny too like you're like you're talking about the cotton candy thing

[00:19:52] but my favorite color is black oh yeah yeah my favorite color is black but if you see my like

[00:19:58] when I do the color stuff it's like I'm just all over the place with color but you know and the

[00:20:03] real mind fuck is that black is devoid of all color and light and white is actually all the

[00:20:08] colors which is like what's but yeah that's well yeah let's get back on top of it I'm just

[00:20:16] going all over the place no it's fun it's fun to rap about art shit you know like and you

[00:20:21] said it's your personality who knows what'll happen from here on out this is a very fun

[00:20:26] like thought space and yeah that's what I want people to know too is like if if somebody is

[00:20:32] intimidated by you which could be because you know you know how you are online oh yeah I feel

[00:20:39] like it is I don't know but they'd hear this and they'd be like oh dude he's fucking red

[00:20:44] I'm gonna talk to him so this is good I love this yeah so back on track so you started painting

[00:20:53] and in 2018 um yeah what what what popped off like what did you learn from painting

[00:21:02] that was really influential um I learned that you have to have patience

[00:21:08] mm that every every stroke you do is it's meaningful

[00:21:16] that's how I look at it even like even I took that idea from painting the tattoo and every stroke

[00:21:23] that I do towards the skin has to be meaningful and on point to make sure I make something

[00:21:30] beautiful or creepy or fantasy or whatever at the end this tattoo every stroke I take

[00:21:38] has to mean something you know um so yeah like I had to learn how I watched a lot of videos of like

[00:21:47] you can only use this color you can only use this technique of painting you got to buy this

[00:21:51] you got to buy that to do this so I went out spent boo-koo's of money to learn how to do this

[00:21:57] and just watching videos and then all sudden I started painting like realistic faces and

[00:22:03] everybody's like dude how long you been painting I said about two or three weeks now

[00:22:10] and they was like are you serious like yeah about two or three weeks I just started watching

[00:22:13] YouTube and they're like oh my god you have a talent you know I have a gift God gave me a gift

[00:22:19] and I'll and I'll say that like well actually did get interviewed for a tattoo magazine

[00:22:24] but I said dad that God gave me a gift and they wanted me to take that out

[00:22:29] so I was like well this interview's over with yeah I got to walk away because I'm like no I gotta

[00:22:35] I gotta give everything the glory to God my father in heaven because if it wasn't for him

[00:22:42] please come yeah I would not be able to do art the way I do it to some people it looks great

[00:22:49] some people it looks like crap but at the end of the day he gave me a gift to do art regardless

[00:22:56] and it sounds like the kind of travesty that you've had in your life and the kind of hits that

[00:23:01] you've taken to your life how could you get through them if you didn't have that attitude

[00:23:06] well no just like a belief that there's meaning to all of this and that it's something that's

[00:23:13] supposed to be you know raising you to a higher place like that you're you're you're you're marrying

[00:23:21] yourself to something bigger than you you know I think that that's you know if you were to break

[00:23:29] it down in a in a secular way that's all you have to say like if you feel that you believe

[00:23:34] in God like you can't have the atheist standpoint if that's it because

[00:23:42] right because that's that would be you know you follow that logic to its end and all you

[00:23:49] got is I don't really know and it's like yeah I don't really know either dick

[00:23:54] um I yeah I agree that but I still believe in like even though I might have different

[00:24:03] outlooks on certain things but I'm still not going into like even if I meet atheists

[00:24:10] I would still sit down and talk to the atheist oh yeah eat whatever we sit there for hours and

[00:24:18] eat and just cut up about life I don't care you're still a human being all this other stuff

[00:24:22] in the world that's going on maybe I don't agree with it totally but at the end of day if you say

[00:24:27] that you believe in your father god and you're actually a Christian yes stop stop with the

[00:24:34] judging so much yeah we're not paid to be a judge no I will tell you I'm not I don't care

[00:24:42] uh your beliefs I don't care of what you identify as to me at the end of day you are a human

[00:24:49] being like I am yeah equally a center there you go we're in we're in this little space together to

[00:24:57] make art and have a great time even though at the end of the day I might not agree with some of your

[00:25:03] stuff and you might not agree with mine but I will still treat you with respect when I meet you

[00:25:07] in person oh hell yeah well and that's the thing is that like the rhetoric that you find I mean

[00:25:13] it's even just within Christianity there's Christians saying it's not Christian to do this or that and

[00:25:20] it's like any time that you put a human being under a blanket term which is so odd because that is a thing

[00:25:27] that is the thing about this current generation that I don't understand it's like can we

[00:25:32] collect the labels I'm like dude my whole beginning was I don't want to be labeled

[00:25:37] you can't put a label on me and that's why is because I am I am a myriad of things I am a human

[00:25:46] being I have a lot of different nuances I'm certain they're different than yours very perfectly

[00:25:55] different we're meant to be that way like you said like that's that's kind of a belief in in God's

[00:26:03] creation too is that God I would think God is very multifaceted works in mysterious ways to bring us

[00:26:11] to our higher selves like oh you know like and like you said it's not it's not for me to

[00:26:21] in any individual person I could never come to that space with anything but love because

[00:26:27] I am so flawed and so if I were to judge you man I'd be I'd be really in for it because

[00:26:34] I've been there I've done it when I comment on things like you said it's usually just a comment

[00:26:41] within a mutual exchange of information and ideas where we're all kind of you know sharing and

[00:26:47] trying to test what we know but I don't I don't freaking know like I'm a tattoo artist in a small

[00:26:55] state in a small county and I like you know like it's the fuck am I like

[00:27:02] I was you know it's been it's been like that lately um I I've always said to people I just

[00:27:10] want to do cool stuff with cool people that's it and uh I'm a nerd you know yeah and it sounds

[00:27:17] like you are too like you just like I just look this way I just you know but I mean yeah I mean

[00:27:27] like I'm just a nerd too like I've never sprained never smoked never did hard drugs ever a day

[00:27:34] in my life and I'm 47 years old but it's like I'm kind of a boring guy same don't yeah I'm just

[00:27:42] I'm just kind of boring like do I have a persona on social media yeah but people at the end of the day

[00:27:49] to you tattoo artists out there not to the clients but this isn't a do all you have

[00:27:53] the tattoo artists out there I do respect and love everything that you guys try to accomplish

[00:27:59] if if me telling you some in inbox or DM whatever the special words are now it's

[00:28:06] not to try to belittle you or try to think I'm better than you I'm trying to help you

[00:28:11] not make the same mistakes I did when I first started tattoo that's the only reason I reach

[00:28:18] out to other artists do I like every artist yeah maybe not like like I'm like some of

[00:28:28] my pride went like be best friends but I would still respect them even when I see

[00:28:33] them in person I will still sit down and eat with them I will still help them if if they ever

[00:28:39] needed help with anything yes you know they wanted to get better and they asked me questions I will

[00:28:45] answer well and that's the measure of loving someone too and I don't think people are really

[00:28:49] used to that is that there's this this is idea about love or caring that it's always going

[00:28:55] to be like feeding your ego no like sometimes it's to slap that shit down and to let you know that

[00:29:03] you're walking down a dark path my friend and if you keep walking you're gonna get hurt and if

[00:29:10] you don't get hurt you're lucky but like I can tell you from my experience this is what happened

[00:29:16] I think that that's a very risky thing to do because you're risking people really not liking

[00:29:22] you which I think is a measure of love too because it's like beyond whatever favor I get from this

[00:29:29] I feel compelled to tell you that you're doing something that's going to lead to your own

[00:29:33] pain and suffering please please don't please don't continue to do it because it hurts me to

[00:29:39] watch you right you know like um it's really painful to watch and if it's painful for

[00:29:45] me to watch then and I and it's not even about the fact that you're messing up all of us mess

[00:29:50] up it's that you know you know I you have an opportunity and I do think that uh when we have

[00:29:59] our awakenings in our home aha moments if we're blessed enough to have them the amount of times

[00:30:05] that we've been convicted by somebody like you to change course and then just utterly like

[00:30:11] turn it down that's the pain we feel in that moment and it's really earth shattering if

[00:30:18] you've spent your time just negating so many people trying to tell you I know from personal

[00:30:23] experience because I was that person um just being like you don't know I know and I just

[00:30:32] you know kind of doing my thing when it hit me I was like I like spent a whole day crying and

[00:30:39] like the apology tour it was like a I was like oh my god what did I do I'm so sorry and like

[00:30:47] you know they were in the wings always loving me always being there for me always praying for

[00:30:53] me in the background and I saw that and so it let me know that like wow you know like that's

[00:30:59] that's what real love is it's not just cake feeding me whatever I want to hear right it's

[00:31:05] somebody saying the difficult thing to push me to be a what they know I can be

[00:31:10] and it should be about willing the good in someone else and I do think that we should all

[00:31:17] be those kind of cheerleaders with each other lately I've been trying to be I'm like you I try

[00:31:22] to do that too yeah I'm trying to think of a way to give unsolicited advice

[00:31:31] tactfully I don't think it exists but no it really it really doesn't it really does

[00:31:37] and it's like only thing I'm trying to do it in the day is maybe help another artist like even just

[00:31:44] you're planting seeds because that's what it is yeah I'm trying to you know and you know it'll

[00:31:52] either it's like the parable in the bible either it's too hard of soil and the sea can't even get

[00:31:58] in there some kind of bird takes it away and like it's just like lost you know into the ether

[00:32:05] of whatever or like it goes down it's on shallow ground and nothing ever really is able to grow from

[00:32:12] it or it's with that person who you know they might take a while to actually cultivate something but

[00:32:21] that seed is going to take root and then those roots are going to be strong and then yeah those

[00:32:26] people you'll probably hear back from and like you know 10 years five years and be like dude I'm

[00:32:31] sorry I was a dick I should have listened you know like maybe you know I have to think that there's one

[00:32:39] or two of those I know I've had it with this podcast like I started it with like just a want

[00:32:44] to podcast I really like the medium and I've since had people that are more than enough reason to

[00:32:52] keep doing it um that just have become friends they've become tattoo artists they've said wow

[00:32:58] your your podcast really helped you know push me forward keep me mentally in check or

[00:33:05] you know like you like if with Joshua like they can come to me and be like hey I have this situation

[00:33:12] going on what should I do and I'm like I don't really know but like think about these things

[00:33:17] you know most of them it's like don't burn your bridges because this is small it's small

[00:33:24] and check it's around fast so yeah keep it classy yeah

[00:33:30] you don't know who you're gonna run into at conventions oh you ain't lying uh yeah

[00:33:39] well you know I I know that advice because I haven't always been the best about it you know

[00:33:45] I'm I'm cool with being a fool for everybody else's you know knowledge that's fine I put blonde in

[00:33:55] there purposely to make sure that it matches a little bit more of what you're gonna get because

[00:33:59] I am just like what like it shit flies over my head constantly constantly it's a blessing

[00:34:08] because I don't ever know half the time when people are being that like mean to me I'm just

[00:34:12] you know it's like whatever man

[00:34:17] I could do that if I see this it's like whatever dude I had a girlfriend that gave me a button

[00:34:23] that said I smile because I have no idea what's going on I'm like yeah yeah that's it

[00:34:29] I like that that's yeah I like that wow like now every time I see somebody just out and about

[00:34:36] just smiling for no reason I'm like they don't know what's going on nope they have no idea

[00:34:40] what's going on but god bless them yeah they're happy and they're just doing live but

[00:34:46] don't have a clue of what's going on yeah I'm pretty determined in now that I'm cognizant of it to

[00:34:52] have more smile lines as I get older than frown you know like I want my face to just be a weathered

[00:34:59] mess of smiles that's that's my aim it's like if I can age that way just become a smile

[00:35:10] like now if you see my new profile picture is me smiling I know for years it's just been me looking

[00:35:17] mean I know and then when you meet me in person I smile and cut up or talk like this but yeah

[00:35:24] I'm not really good at like typing to somebody because I try to get to the point in a short way

[00:35:31] so it always comes off to me being an ass when you started using chat gbt too right

[00:35:40] or the technology oh god thank god for that honestly I'm glad for that because now it makes me sound like

[00:35:47] I am a professional because I miss spell words left and right I don't like I said I don't put commas

[00:35:54] where commas need to be or punctuation marks or this or that and now it's like

[00:36:01] or at the bottom it says be professional fix grammar or you can make something funny

[00:36:06] thank you for using AI so yeah awesome I've never played with it I like oh my god it's

[00:36:17] my goal I guess I don't know if it's the goal is to because I have noticed this just in doing a few

[00:36:28] little things and I captivated a guy a tattoo artist who's equally a nerd as both you and I

[00:36:37] and we were talking about public speaking and he was like yeah I'm really like kind of shy and I was

[00:36:41] like everybody is the people who are just naturally they're a bit crazy because yeah fact of the matter

[00:36:49] is is that when you have a million eyes on you as one singular human that means you're about to

[00:36:55] get eaten okay like in nature that's not cool like so anybody who feels comfortable in that space

[00:37:02] is either highly trained or crazy like yeah low end of the totem pole will die soon like and it's just

[00:37:11] a luxury of our society that has kept these people afloat and be like put them on a stage give them

[00:37:16] a dress make up they're fabulous yeah they got what it takes like and and then they shine but

[00:37:24] and god bless because that is a gift from god because and that's another thing I've told people

[00:37:29] with the god thing I'm like you know it's like nature because if it was up to nature you know sure

[00:37:35] as shit I wouldn't be here like there is no logical reason why I would have survived like

[00:37:42] not at all like so really you because I think I think that we're riding high on a lot of grace

[00:37:48] here yes we are like a lot of things I've been through and still still dealing with right now

[00:37:55] I always look at it like do I get down in the dumps yes sometimes but I have to think to myself

[00:38:01] and I think at all time like well god still has a plan there's a bigger plan in motion

[00:38:07] you know and I don't think that the stuff I deal with god don't let it let just the normal

[00:38:16] people deal with it he gives it to the people that are really strong

[00:38:20] to deal with certain things um yeah that's that's just the way I look at it you know other people

[00:38:27] might have different opinions that's totally fine you know I don't I don't judge on that that's totally

[00:38:33] fine well I mean you know god has enough grace for you to be pissed off at him so I know that so

[00:38:41] like go ahead be mad but you know just know that uh you know if you're you're mad at something

[00:38:49] you're mad at something so like it's it's convenient to be mad at god

[00:38:55] exactly you're usually mad at a lot of bad choices though or people yeah in your life that

[00:39:01] were supposed to love you in a certain way who didn't yeah not get poisoned and all that other

[00:39:08] no I know I know but no my my goal uh for this space is I would like to cultivate more of a speaking

[00:39:17] style that when I have a translation go down of my my speaking yeah it translates very coherently

[00:39:27] into grammatical sentences okay and that's a next level kind of thing because the way we

[00:39:35] speak colloquially to each other very different if you've ever like read a transcript of like

[00:39:43] a courtroom and how people actually speak it's like what the like because we do we say like an uh

[00:39:53] and run I'm very guilty of run on sentences oh my lord it's like and and and and and and and

[00:40:07] like it's just expanding I was like just shut up just shut up it's a woman thing too like we can't

[00:40:15] please you admit it please you're well and that's the thing is that like when

[00:40:20] when you're an artist like we are critique is very valuable because we want to get better so

[00:40:28] you got to hear it you got to embrace it you got to pay attention it's that wrestling it's the

[00:40:33] wrestling with you know our craft and with everything that we were aiming for it's never

[00:40:38] going to be enough I mean I hope it never is you know I hope it never is um you know I

[00:40:45] I I just want to leave the world I think uh

[00:40:53] having done something that people found valuable and that meant something to them

[00:41:00] that's important and I think with tattooing we definitely are um you know for sure well you

[00:41:10] know I I had to interrupt us yet again a little shout out to Paradise tattoo gathering I had to

[00:41:18] do it especially with this podcast because William is actually going to be tattooing uh at Paradise

[00:41:25] so come check us out if you are in the Massachusetts or any of the surrounding state areas

[00:41:32] it's going to be a fantastic show it always is uh lots popping off this year um what I know

[00:41:40] is they're just trying to keep scaling and the foundation of this show is probably one of the

[00:41:46] most integral that I've come across there's only I I think there's only been a couple others so

[00:41:52] if you are a tattoo artist looking to level up or if you are looking to be re-inspired

[00:42:00] or if you just want to network or if you just want to I don't know take in all of the the

[00:42:07] beautiful sights of Jiminy Peak, Massachusetts in October right before Halloween this show is for you

[00:42:14] so please come join us and uh now we can get back to our podcast what um how did you find

[00:42:27] yourselves how many how many shops did you have to go to before you got to Wilted Rose

[00:42:32] oh my god let me see one two well locally I worked in two tattoo shops now three okay um

[00:42:44] 2018 I started traveling like I worked at yeah traveling all over the place all over United

[00:42:52] States we're gonna do in guest spots basically from 2018 my bad 2018 until just recently that's

[00:43:02] only thing I've been doing I just been traveling all over the place nice doing guest spots and working

[00:43:07] there maybe a week or two then I go somewhere else the reason why because I wanted to share my art

[00:43:12] but the biggest reason is because I actually wanted to learn from the other artists that I went

[00:43:19] to do guest spots at because get a different look on how they approach the arc of tattooing

[00:43:27] how they approach it first and before they do it to the like they tattoo the

[00:43:31] where they do anything to the skin how maybe a different way they do it maybe a more efficient

[00:43:36] way of doing it um you know and basically I see that 98% of us would all do the same thing

[00:43:45] the good one the phrasing the real professional tattoo artists do the same exact things

[00:43:54] every single time the other ones I like to call them professional scratchers

[00:44:01] they don't in it in it like I said I don't try to judge people but me talking about

[00:44:08] certain things I think it's more of education what I post things about this machine ain't

[00:44:14] right right or this arm rest ain't right right or this ain't right or why do you people

[00:44:19] are clients whatever keep going paying less money to get this crappy piece of art or whatever

[00:44:28] it's on your arm and then you got to pay us double for like me or you and other artists

[00:44:34] to cover it up to make it look better when all you had to do is at the end of the day

[00:44:41] is stop thinking about the money here's the thing if you really want to get tattooed

[00:44:46] by an artist you really love put that put so much back every week even if it's $20 a week

[00:44:55] $5 a week you might have to save up for a year to finally get a piece from an artist that you

[00:45:00] really respect and you always adore just start doing that because if you can get out here

[00:45:05] and buy $1,500 phones $500 pair of Jordans your car payment is $700 for a sports card

[00:45:14] you really don't need but then when you come in to talk to one of us artists and we tell you the

[00:45:21] price and you freak out like oh my because this is it really an investment you're going to actually

[00:45:28] take this to your grave yeah and it's going to be there a lot longer even when you're

[00:45:37] when you go to the when you go to heaven when you're when your period is no longer with your

[00:45:42] your flesh that tattoo is going to be still there for a long time it's going to be a minute

[00:45:48] where it's gone but it's going to be there like we can change shoes every day styles are changed

[00:45:55] every day but tattoo artists we're doing art and it's there until we all are no longer here

[00:46:05] so just I just wish more people would look at it like an investment like you go you buy a house

[00:46:12] like oh my god i buy a house but you're still paying on this house 34 years

[00:46:15] that really you're just kind of barring with the bank with a bank help it doesn't care how

[00:46:22] how great you've been on your payments till then the minute you're late on one they're like

[00:46:26] nope whereas with your tattoo artist you can actually get a rapport and they're and after

[00:46:33] a while they might be like you know what dude you've gotten a whole leg sleeve for me

[00:46:39] i'll hook you up with something little like that you know like they'll you can actually build a

[00:46:43] relationship with your artist you know like it's more than an investment it's it's it's wealth

[00:46:50] it's real wealth because like most art when you buy it and you're buying something original

[00:46:55] and you're buying something from an artist you're investing especially if the artist is still alive

[00:47:01] to have a conversation with you're investing in real human wealth because that's like

[00:47:10] i don't know man it's so rare it's it's so rare that kind of thing

[00:47:16] no 100 and and to the point of like the scratchers yeah dude just fucking go get an

[00:47:24] apprenticeship like whatever amount of time you think is too much time you are gonna save in money

[00:47:32] and all of that shit by because you're gonna just adopt bad habits that you're gonna have to unlearn

[00:47:38] that you're gonna get dogged out from you're gonna buy the wrong equipment equipment that is going

[00:47:44] to make it's 10 times harder for you to do the kind of things that you want to do

[00:47:49] just go get an apprenticeship because that person i know i've interviewed a few people that they

[00:47:57] once the person has gone through all they ask them to do they buy them their first setup

[00:48:03] they've they invest like two three grand in their first setup and that's their graduation like

[00:48:11] party is that yeah so just you never know just apply yourself to it in a way that you know it's

[00:48:19] like shit or get off the pot dude like i've met so many people that are like yeah i don't know if

[00:48:25] i want to do it i'm like well then stop wow yeah stop don't dabble and this is not a dabbling

[00:48:32] thing okay no no it's not like yeah i had just do it yeah just do it you have to just do it yeah

[00:48:43] like if you love it enough to be playing around with it then just do it you know why not anybody who

[00:48:51] told you that you had to pursue these like very secure careers in order to make a living which

[00:49:00] is what a lot of them it is like they're in some career that they did a bunch of schooling for

[00:49:07] they probably get paid way too much money for what they actually do some government security job

[00:49:12] that offers all these benefits and it's like whoever told you you needed that to be happy lied to

[00:49:20] you right because this career if you just take a little bit of time and you have a lot of income

[00:49:28] to be able to invest in this you can be a tattoo artist making the same amount of money but doing

[00:49:35] exactly what you love to do every single day so just fucking do it just do it um and that's that

[00:49:45] that is you know on the other end of it you know the other thing is like why are you being a

[00:49:50] scratcher it's so silly um and i'm not a gatekeeper because my generation your generation were the

[00:49:58] ones who made the videos that you're watching on youtube yeah yeah exactly exactly i'm not a

[00:50:06] gatekeeper i'm gonna tell you when you're doing it wrong that's how i look at when you're doing

[00:50:15] it wrong i'm going to say stuff i try to do it low key like i try to message the people but then

[00:50:21] like i said like 99 of them they don't want to listen and they then they block me and i'm like well

[00:50:29] good luck or they just you know just block the love yeah i was going to try to like help you

[00:50:36] a little bit of something that i see that you're making a mistake that actually i used to do too

[00:50:42] so if i help you now and you're new at it you'll get ahead of you probably start getting ahead of the

[00:50:47] game i'm gonna play quicker but you would understand it a little faster a little bit better

[00:50:52] then like keep drawing it out drawing it out and stuff like that it just you know

[00:50:57] that's how i look at it you know i don't know if their motivation is different um

[00:51:03] it is i've seen i've done guest spots and i hate to say this but a lot of the apprentices i have seen

[00:51:12] they can't even draw they can't paint they can't they got the ipad and thank you for the ipad i really

[00:51:18] i still use them i love it yeah i love it but um that's the only thing they know how to use they

[00:51:25] can use it better than me but it's like they can't they want to do certain things and they put it

[00:51:31] on the skin and it doesn't look anything like they're doing because i think too you have to have at

[00:51:37] least some kind of artistic background that you even though if you trace like i've seen what was it

[00:51:45] like apprentices back in the day they would have to wall a flower yeah all day long to certain

[00:51:54] flower all day long and a lot of people will quit but the good ones nowadays that are like well known

[00:52:02] they stuck with that they went through some stuff that these people these apprentices will never go

[00:52:09] through and they're like man i want to be like um like you know pooch or i want to be like uh

[00:52:16] nico hortado i'm like yeah but you know how his apprenticeship probably was

[00:52:20] mm-hmm the reason he is good is because he took every step the reason you're so good

[00:52:27] the reason why every artists that are here up here that i still look up to that i like when i

[00:52:33] see in person i'm like oh my god hey can i watch you yeah because they went through the apprentices

[00:52:39] like i went through a little bit of it but not like they did yeah and they're way better now

[00:52:45] because of the tough love that they went through i'm glad he brought up nico because he like you he

[00:52:53] he tattooed before he started painting and he didn't paint ever until he tattooed for a while

[00:53:00] and then he just like comes out of nowhere with these freaking incredible oil paintings that

[00:53:05] you're like dude what the fuck yeah like you just woke up one day ago playing around just feel

[00:53:10] like that's an excellent still just gonna get some oils and just go hey you know i'm just gonna buy

[00:53:17] this and this and it's like what yeah like i use i actually use his uh revolution eat

[00:53:23] oh awesome actually use his revolution eat it's like i use his because a lot of it is a

[00:53:30] paintery type style the way he has every bottle set up um to get the dark tones or get this

[00:53:38] tone or you can actually blend with it to get another tone but also i mean i use other brands

[00:53:44] for like to make it brighter but also i know that if i add certain things to make this darker or i

[00:53:52] know how to get an under shadow i know how to get this brighter you know with just even a couple

[00:53:58] of you know in south there you know i'm saying that people i wish that they would learn i wish the

[00:54:06] prince would learn that where even though if you're not um you know if you're not doing a tattoo

[00:54:14] or you're not like making money yet sit down and draw paint color we have a print i gotta get

[00:54:20] big old shout out real quick i forgot to do it earlier i work at wilty rose which josh

[00:54:26] josh williams said he owns a shop and he's a he can actually paint and draw on everything

[00:54:30] really uh he's really good at realistic black and gray portraits and anything which he can do every

[00:54:36] style but that's what he like he's really good at uh justin uh he's been tattooing a little over a year

[00:54:44] now okay and he's the traditional but he draws up every day like he's always drawn some traditional

[00:54:52] then we got the apprentices that just the apprentice started tattooing i actually got one of his

[00:54:57] first tattoos oh my mom you know call me bug so every apprentice i run into i always get like a bug

[00:55:05] tattooed on my body somewhere from a print i love that and i'm like this you're first and they go

[00:55:11] yeah i'm like yeah go ahead like i say about 95 percent of my body is apprentices work oh that's

[00:55:17] great that's great william yeah the reason why is because when i first started and i'm not mad at

[00:55:25] but friends and family told me once you get good then holler at me they would let me practice on them

[00:55:34] oh they would they would not they said when you get now i have them knocking down my door calling

[00:55:40] me every day hey bro you're gonna give me the hookup i'm like i could have but it's a business now

[00:55:47] i don't have time yeah i don't have time i give like you said i give people to look up

[00:55:52] are the ones that actually support me in my career yes because like i have uh i have clients that drive

[00:56:00] like 10 hours from other states up here just to get tattooed from me and i give them a better deal

[00:56:06] not saying i don't give everybody a better deal because let me rephrase that i try to give people

[00:56:13] the best deal i can because a lot of times i say 90 percent of the time i ask people what their

[00:56:18] budget is because i've met a lot of people that have a fixed income um i have a lot of people that

[00:56:25] are single fathers single mothers they're married uh but the way stuff is nowadays it's you know they

[00:56:33] really want a tattoo so i'm like hey what's your what's your budget and they give me a budget

[00:56:38] and so i still try to give them the best tattoo possible no matter what the the money is at the

[00:56:46] some things yeah i'm going to charge you for some things because like i said it's a business and people

[00:56:53] and i wish more friends and family would learn that that they see me tattooing and a lot of them

[00:57:00] still think it's kind of a hobby which i'm like okay which i don't argue with them i just kind

[00:57:05] of laugh um but i have to like something i had to put my foot down but a lot of people don't

[00:57:12] like it like no this is what i charge for an hour this is what i charge for a day session

[00:57:17] this is what you get if you pay this much per hour they go well if i pay for two hours man

[00:57:23] you know you can go ahead and finish the whole thing like no right i don't want to point my life

[00:57:28] that i have to stop and i started doing that and am i booked out no um i'm never booked out i see

[00:57:38] a lot of people that booked out for months and months a month and some of them are really good

[00:57:43] some of them really suck but whatever i mean congratulations but like me i've never

[00:57:50] doesn't mean the last minute everything can change you know right yeah last yeah i've never been

[00:57:56] really booked out ever even though if i am like i worked in cana city and i was i was kind of book

[00:58:03] i'm gonna say i was booked out but if people look at it this way people would think i was

[00:58:07] booked out five months but i don't think i was because at the end of the day even though if i take

[00:58:13] a sunday off or a wednesday off um if people really want to get a tattoo from me i will still come in

[00:58:21] there and do a tattoo for i don't care if it's like if it's memorial piece i really definitely

[00:58:27] will tattoo i will take i will take the time to tattoo a memorial piece for somebody

[00:58:33] if it's for like you know your daughter passed away your mother anything even a dog yeah because

[00:58:40] the long time dogs and cats oh that's huge yeah it's huge so i love doing memorial pieces for people

[00:58:48] um because i don't know it's it's a healing process i think you're a good space for that too

[00:58:54] because you've had you've had to confront some pretty epic losses so i think that's probably

[00:58:59] really good for what you're used to encountering i always put i love doing them i'm very honored to

[00:59:06] do them i always put a year of grieving down for any major death um the negotiable is pets just

[00:59:13] because you know like i think that uh just getting something to remember your pet in that

[00:59:28] parent or a partner or like i really am like a child if i don't yes oh and a child like if you

[00:59:37] if i don't know you like it and that's the one caveat if i know you if i've worked with you

[00:59:43] before in other spaces and then you come to me we might be able to speed that up a little bit

[00:59:49] um i just don't want to keep people in grief you know like i don't i don't want to capture

[00:59:55] them because it like he's you've had a child murdered so like reflecting on it in that space

[01:00:02] when it's so fresh sometimes you know you you can make choices that are just a little bit

[01:00:10] erratic yeah but i i do um you know it's a case by case thing i just i put that out there on my

[01:00:18] website just so that people uh kind of know what to expect with that and know that if i refuse them

[01:00:25] it's not from a place of refusing their idea or negating their grief or anything like that it's

[01:00:31] just like no i like i really just want i care about you and i care about you like you said

[01:00:36] carrying this to your grave and yeah you know you can't take away the fact that this is a

[01:00:42] visual communication too so if you put it in a place that's loud and proud and like out there

[01:00:47] everybody's gonna see it too and so if it brings you back every time to that moment of death or grief

[01:00:54] yeah that could be sucky when you're in like you know the checkout line at walmart

[01:00:59] i need a lot yeah like i got a tattoo on my hand it says in loving memory of ashley which is my

[01:01:06] daughter that was murdered at 12 um honestly eric newbie actually did the tattoo before i even

[01:01:13] did a apprenticeship oh wow yeah so it means a lot to me that he did it for me um but now i just wish i

[01:01:21] never put it right here on my hand yeah like yeah like i wish i would have put it somewhere else

[01:01:27] like even closer to my heart or somewhere like i mean i still can see it but i just wish i never

[01:01:33] put it on my hand i just i don't know i just you know because the hands are you know

[01:01:39] the hands seal up a different way yeah well not only that but like uh you're confronted with them

[01:01:48] all the time and like i'm sure that what provoked you to do it was because that's such a life

[01:01:55] altering you know moment and probably the rage that you felt in all of that really was like no i

[01:02:03] want it there you know like i i need it there but if you let it sit for a little bit you might you

[01:02:10] might have flaked on you know what well even this even this month is her birthday month oh

[01:02:18] august 20th and every year on august 20th i picked somebody to do because she loved mickey

[01:02:24] mow she loved the disney character oh every year since i started tattooing i don't even care

[01:02:31] who i work with where i'm at in the world i don't care but every year on her birthday august 20th

[01:02:37] i give away a free disney tattoo to somebody oh that's so cool and then also in december her

[01:02:43] death date i always give away a free disney tattoo or if it ain't disney it's a memorial

[01:02:49] piece for somebody that lost somebody in their life that's wonderful you know what's a fun fact is

[01:02:55] that um the um rights to the og mickey mouse uh has been released like they it's no longer yeah

[01:03:06] like the old school drawing of like him on the ship that that phase of mickey mouse the the rights

[01:03:14] yes well just that that og mickey mouse look okay that's drawing style the the rights have

[01:03:23] expired so now you know disney is very locked in on like all that stuff but that version of mickey

[01:03:28] mouse is now free free enterprise so he might be able to do some something that is specific to her

[01:03:36] with that mickey mouse and like make your own thing and like you know maybe do a you know a

[01:03:41] sticker line or something like that that utilize that you use some cotton candy perfect perfect

[01:03:49] you know like anything like that you know i could it could just you know you could do different

[01:03:54] iterations each it each year too and you know let people participate in a different way

[01:03:59] temporary tattoos or something like that um but yeah like that that particular um drawing style

[01:04:08] of mickey mouse is now free free reign to use um so you can now i'm gonna have to pay you for

[01:04:15] all this advertisement but i'll start doing this and i'm like wow like it just took off i'm like wow well

[01:04:22] if it wasn't for what i want you to do though this is something i do want you to do i think it'd be

[01:04:28] hilarious i think it'd be really fun if you if you did a calendar okay of you experiencing cotton

[01:04:37] candy in a bunch of different ways and definitely one of them of you like sexy posing it but like

[01:04:42] just covered in cotton candy i want that so bad oh my god it's funny you say that because honestly

[01:04:52] i'm a big movie person i'm like hopeless romantic i'm not even gonna lie

[01:04:56] so every movie i watch a lot of like uh they call it the chick flicks but i love them though yeah

[01:05:05] um there's always some kind of scene somewhere in a great movie like that that some kid is eating

[01:05:12] cotton candy at a ferris yeah like they're you know like the local ferris wheels are coming through

[01:05:19] town or local you know and there's always showing the kids running up getting the cotton candy and

[01:05:24] so i don't know just bring me back to the time like we have a little place called lake winna

[01:05:29] besoka down here yes and they have cotton candy and i was a kid we used to go there i don't say all

[01:05:36] the time but when we when when our dad could afford it's what about bob yeah yeah so i would go

[01:05:45] there and get that cotton candy and then i actually got a job there at 14 years old and i would carry

[01:05:51] ice to each each person that needed ice and one day they needed me they had a cotton candy

[01:05:59] lemonade cotton candy stand oh they need somebody to feel it and do it so i was like oh i'll do it

[01:06:05] so yeah i was there all day long is on a fourth of july oh my god the line i ain't gonna lie i

[01:06:12] messed up a lot of cotton candy uh sugar and then somebody won't blue or red or green i would

[01:06:20] start mixing the colors together i got in trouble for it ain't a lie i was mixing the colors together

[01:06:25] they try to do colors at once and swirl it a different way yeah honestly just me and you

[01:06:32] talking about that now i see where i get the different colors of the cotton candy as i call

[01:06:38] it on my dad dude yes because a 14 year old kid yeah i messed up a lot of a lot of product i gave away

[01:06:45] a lot of stuff for free uh only reason i didn't get fired because uh i was making like three bucks an

[01:06:53] hour you know just a young kid you know former job and so they was like well he's a hard worker so

[01:07:00] they didn't get rid of me that's the only reason why that's the only one of all the cotton

[01:07:04] candies brown now it doesn't matter oh my god yeah it was like but then after i did that some people

[01:07:10] some of them miss barbra she ran all of that and she's like and she later she's like hey william

[01:07:17] yes ma'am she goes when you mix that green with that red swirl at the top of that she was honestly

[01:07:24] that is a really good idea people have been asking for that oh cool very cool yeah i can get paid

[01:07:29] forward or get big no i never did which is fine there's a lot of things i do like behind the

[01:07:35] scenes for a lot of different things that i don't put out on social media because i don't

[01:07:42] and i don't know i don't want to be that person because it's like you don't get the heaven on

[01:07:48] good works alone no so i try to do a lot of positive things but if you notice you probably

[01:07:56] have if you look at my social media or you you see a lot of our work or be saying certain

[01:08:02] things that need to be said but you don't see me posting like my house or the cars or this or this

[01:08:08] or the things i've done or charity i did or i don't do that because that's just not me because

[01:08:15] i do it because i want to yeah i don't do it because i want to me a lot of artists in the

[01:08:22] tattoo industry overdo a lot of that stuff and that's the ones i call rock stars yeah and they're

[01:08:28] not really even good at tattoo yeah so where they are and it's just like wow man if you'd look

[01:08:34] or more of what you put here yeah and put it into your art think about how much better you'd be

[01:08:41] i take all my yeah thank you because i take all my energy and put it into my art and i don't

[01:08:46] worry about all the materialistic thing because like i said but growing up my mom and dad we weren't

[01:08:52] rich we grew up basically like you call the hood or the ghetto um every now and then when

[01:08:59] he got cold outside we might get a sweater yeah you know that was awesome you know that was you

[01:09:06] know that was awesome uh but some boots maybe maybe some boots to keep us warm or get a jacket

[01:09:12] but the rest of it is like we all had hand-me-downs yeah we've got things we needed not what we

[01:09:18] wanted it's even like i raised my kids by myself and like my daughter today she's 28 i told her

[01:09:26] and she still believed like she like she gets things she needs not what she wants if she wants it she's

[01:09:33] like hold on but do i need this this and this first oh yes i do so i put that that's how i do

[01:09:38] that's great you'll never yeah i don't yeah tattoo and i don't get stuff i want i get stuff i

[01:09:44] yeah well and i think that that's what this profession really can be if i think if you do it

[01:09:49] i think if you do it really well because i don't you you do make those kind of connections josh

[01:09:57] with carlton is a perfect example of this because just like when you have that attitude

[01:10:04] of just abundance all the time and that's just how you approach people in life and it's just

[01:10:10] like i'm not i'm not going to try and hold anything back i'm not putting on a show for anybody i'm not

[01:10:16] you know like i'm not i'm just available and i want this space this what i do to be available

[01:10:25] to as many people as possible because it's so cool it's it's such a great healing space for

[01:10:32] both of us you know like the client and the artist because yeah you know that's a that's a connection

[01:10:37] that is very rare and they're blessings you know each of each of our clients are blessings the fact

[01:10:44] that they would give us that kind of permission to do what we do is so crazy yeah i agree you know

[01:10:53] and i i don't really want to withhold that um i do want to like you i i i have i've gotten to

[01:11:00] the point where i'm like dude i can't keep shooting myself in the foot i gotta be vowed

[01:11:05] like i do have to attach value to what i do because it is valuable but i don't want it to be so inaccessible

[01:11:14] that you know i become like a lily vitan purse or i don't know like oh god yeah

[01:11:21] you know and then also with the whole social media thing too i can't help but like in some

[01:11:31] of these situations where you know you see somebody like breaking down crying and they're

[01:11:35] sitting there and just really depressed and it's like you took the time to set up a camera and like

[01:11:42] put this on black like what the like this is the most disingenuous bullshit i've ever seen in my life

[01:11:51] like thank you oh my god i i'm a big how would i put it i'm gonna put like some of my business

[01:12:00] out there a little bit but one of my favorite things to do is tick tock live debate stuff oh

[01:12:08] my god i love to debate about different things or just even like you said like

[01:12:13] you took the time to do all this and did you get on there you set it up the lighting is good

[01:12:19] your hair sticks everything looks good and then you're like talking about this and this i'm like

[01:12:25] stop people that really go through stuff they're not like that people that help people that

[01:12:32] and they get they gotta brag or take pictures like oh i'm down here at the homeless

[01:12:36] giving out this box of pizza so let's take a picture and i'm like why why indeed yeah we don't

[01:12:47] like we don't like it when people are fake um and i hope that uh you're getting the sense from

[01:12:56] this podcast and diary entry that william is doing for us right now about how authentic he is and um

[01:13:06] i really look forward to meeting him in person so that we can expand more and more on you know

[01:13:15] this this very real talk real life connection it's been pretty magical but it's not over

[01:13:25] as you guys well know this is a three-part diary entry so i'm going to need you to come back next

[01:13:31] week to hear the conclusion over time with william very genuine dude very very fun talking to him

[01:13:41] in the few times that i have like i said i i'm just really looking forward to

[01:13:46] spending more time with him and getting in person sense but uh what i what i pray is is

[01:13:53] that this will open up much more doors for all of us to come together connect expand fly high on

[01:14:02] grace you know it's it's glorious uh with that diary listeners i wish you all a very powerful week

[01:14:11] and god bless we'll catch you next week thank you william thanks for listening you can find

[01:14:20] the apprenticeship diaries on twitter facebook and instagram our ig is the underscore apprenticeship

[01:14:25] underscore diaries if you would like to offer constructive criticism or an interview drop

[01:14:30] us an email at the apprenticeship diaries at gmail.com we look forward to hearing from our listeners