The Space He Left
InkCon 2026. There was a space on that convention floor nobody could fill.
Twelve booths. Skin Design. Manifest. Prodigy. Merger Ink Studio. All facing each other. All busy.
And every one of them represented him.
Big Sleeps wasn’t there to see it. But he was everywhere. His logo on the booths. His brother on the floor. His wife, Monica, on the stage, speaking for what he believes in.
We felt his absence all weekend.
And we felt him, too.
Where It Started
Three artists: me, Fernie Andrade, and Big Sleeps. Three different backgrounds. A lot of strong opinions. But from day one, Sleeps was all in on what this was about: bringing tattoo artists together. Stop fighting each other for scraps while people outside our industry decide our future. Unite the artists. Build something we own.
Together.
Since his stroke, Sleeps has been fighting. The whole industry has been praying for him. You can feel the space he left at his shop, at the shows, in every conversation about Merger.
Big Sleeps’ art at InkCon
It’s incredible how the community has shown up for him in his time of need. When the call went out for artists to donate pieces to his fundraiser, tattoo artists, painters, and friends from all over stepped up.
Alana, one of my apprentices, painted a piece to send to auction at the Sullen Art show this weekend. Every dollar goes toward supporting him and his family.
That’s what this culture looks like when it’s working. People taking what they’ve got, their art, and putting it toward someone who gave so much to it.
That’s why Big Sleeps Studio is now Merger Ink Studio. So everyone who walks through that door keeps showing up for him. So what he helped build keeps moving while he fights.
It hurts that he isn’t here to see it.
But this is what he wanted. So we’re carrying it forward.
Why We Showed Up
Let’s be real about where our industry is right now.
The economy is still recovering. Times have been brutal. We’ve seen a mass exodus of artists, shops closing down, clients thinking twice before they book. We’re coming to the end of a cycle that took a lot out of this industry.
When things get like this, most people pull back. We do the opposite.
This year, InkCon was the perfect representation of that.
A convention full of artists, all in one place, at a time when everyone’s wondering where this industry is headed.
I only had a few hours on the floor. Booked in Vegas on Friday, family visiting that weekend. So I made them count.
I didn’t walk in thinking like an artist there to tattoo and compete. That’s a different mindset.
When you don’t show up to tattoo, you’re not just looking at the work. You’re looking at everyone, taking it all in.
What’s the temperature in the room? How are people reacting to you, to each other, to what’s around them? Is there respect on the floor? Are these new faces, or the ones we’ve known for years?
Who’s still moving with purpose? Who’s paying attention? Who’s doing their own thing, building something beyond tattooing? Who sees the industry the way we do?
A show like this is about connection just as much as it is about the tattoos. You go in open-minded. You share ideas. You find the people who think like you.
And what we found? People are still here. Still showing up. Still hungry.
A lot of them are hungrier than ever.
The Ones I Looked Up To
Freddy Negrete and Corey Miller hosted the show, and they’re the reason it was as big as it was.
They’re icons in California. The face of black and grey. They’re who I looked up to coming up in this industry, and who I still look up to now.
Part of the reason I came was to show them respect. To show love to the ones who built the lane I’ve spent my whole life in.
Mike Avena was there, too. Another artist I have so much respect for.
And so many more. Goethe. Tommy Montoya. Abey Alvarez. Chuey Quintanar. Franco Vescovi.
These are the people who built what we have. Who were tattooing when it wasn’t cool, when it wasn’t safe, when nobody was getting rich off it.
To walk that floor and have so many artists—both emerging artists and ones who have been around for decades like me— come up to us? Shake our hands? Tell us they see what we’re building?
It’s so humbling. It reminds us what we do it for, how it’s greater than any one person.
These are the artists whose work I studied coming up. Now they’re the ones telling us to keep going.
So many of the icons on that floor love what Merger stands for. They’ve watched this industry change longer than anyone. They know what it means for artists to own it again. They know how important it is that we take back what’s ours.
What We’re Losing
Listening to Abey Alvarez talk about the state of the industry, he said some things that stuck with me.
A lot of what he used to care about in this industry is gone. It’s eroding.
He’s right.
So many people are getting into tattooing without caring about the culture behind it. They learn the machine, but not the history. Some young tattooers don’t even know the OGs’ names. The ones whose work made theirs possible.
It’s about more than knowing names. More than paying homage.
The culture is how you carry yourself. It’s earning your spot through a real apprenticeship instead of buying a shortcut. It’s loyalty to the people who put you on. It’s your word meaning something. It’s never stealing, not a design, not a client, not a credit. It’s treating the person in your chair like they’re trusting you with something permanent, because they are.
That’s what the OGs passed down. Not just technique. A code.
And when you don’t know where something came from, you don’t notice when it’s being taken.
That’s what’s happening right now. Big money is buying up the supply chain, the shops, the shows. If a whole generation doesn’t know the history, they won’t see what’s being lost. They’ll think this is how it’s always been.
It’s not. And it doesn’t have to stay this way.
That’s not a knock on young artists. It’s a gap. And somebody has to close it.
That’s what I want to do now more than anything. Educate. Find the artists who want to learn. The ones who really care.
The Young Ones Get It
That’s why hearing Cat and Reena speak hit me so hard.
“It’s really important in this industry to recognize the artists that came before you. The old-time artists, everybody who paved the way to get here.” – Cat Castro
Cat learned on coils when she first started out. She knows what it took to get here.
“It’s very admirable the way these guys have been giving back to the community and giving back to our artists: the old school artists, the new generation, and everyone involved. It’s a really beautiful thing to see.
I’ve been watching this industry for as long as I can remember—being brought up by my dad—and seeing the way the industry has progressed and changed and breathed life into so many people has been transformative to say the least. Thank you for all your support, and for joining us in this movement.” – Reena Pho
Cat, Reena, Kolors, Fernie Jr. So many young, emerging artists, all talking about the leaders who opened doors for them.
That’s proof the culture isn’t lost. It just needs people willing to carry it.
We’ve always taught our artists to respect the ones who came first. At InkCon, they were teaching it back to us.
Young voices, carrying the message with that much conviction. That’s how you know it’s going to last.
Passing the Mic
The panel didn’t have much of a plan going in.
It was supposed to be Fernie, Monica, and me. Out on the floor, I said we should bring Jigger up there, too. Then they kept calling people up. Cat. Reena. Jr. Kolors.
By the time we started, the stage was full of people backing the cause.
Seeing Monica up there, speaking for Sleeps? Seeing Sleeps’ brother standing with us? That’s a moment none of us will forget.
When the mic came to me, I kept it simple.
Merger is a unity of tattoo artists working as one. The reason behind it is independence: keeping this industry in the hands of artists, not capital groups. And giving back to the artists. Better deals. Better quality. More control over our own market.
“To see such amazing, successful artists like Sleeps, Robert, and Fernie, put their egos aside and come together to work on one collective project is amazing. These guys are so humble and I believe in them so much; I’ve been on board since the day they told me about Merger.
These guys have worked so hard on these projects and on the ink. It was really made for us. I know they were fed up with big corporations taking over the things that we buy—and as an artist—I felt it too.
These used to be mom and pop places we’d buy things from. It used to feel like everything was in the artists’ hands, and it started changing, so I really respect what these guys are doing, and that’s why I support it so much.” – Cat Castro
As one of the founders, it was surreal hearing that.
When we started Merger, it was three of us in a room. A lot of late nights. A lot of hard conversations. A lot of people telling us it wouldn’t work, that artists would never come together on anything.
Now here we were, on a stage full of artists from different shops and different generations, all saying the same thing. Not because we asked them to. Because they believe it.
And Sleeps should have been up there with us. In a way, he was. Every person on that stage was holding a piece of what he fought for.
You build something like this hoping it’ll outgrow you one day. That’s the whole point. Standing up there, I could see it starting to happen.
People kept asking how they could be part of it.
If you’re using the product or sharing what it stands for, you already are.
But we’re not out here trying to sell something. We’re trying to find the people who care. Artists who are protective of this industry and aware of what’s actually happening to it.
And it’s so much bigger than ink and machines. If you have an idea, an invention, anything tattoo-related, come talk to us. We want to hear it.
The Work Spoke for Itself
Every booth on that floor was busy. Reena and Nigel did a collab. Rebel and Fernie did a collab. Different shops, different styles, everyone working as one.
And then they went out and backed it up.
Cat won Best of the Day on Saturday. Nigel took Best Chest or Back. Misa won Best of Show. Scrappy and Pachuco brought home trophies, too.
Award-winning tattoos, done with Merger Ink.
I saw that drive in so many young faces.
Glo, one of my apprentices, went to InkCon as her first convention. She entered a back piece, and when it was over, she teared up. Not from pressure. From pure joy. From realizing she belonged on that floor.
That moment hit me harder than any trophy.
That’s the next generation. Hungry, humble, and still feeling it the way we all did the first time.
Sleeps would have loved to see it all happen the way it did.
The Voice That Tells You to Quit
Standing in that room, watching the young ones win, I was proud.
But I’d be lying if I said that’s the only thing I heard.
I deal with doubt all the time. I’m not immune to it.
There’s a voice that shows up when things get hard. And that weekend, surrounded by all that young talent, it had plenty to say.
You’re getting old. Focus on your family. It’s a young artist’s game.
Some days, it’s loud.
This year has been heavy. I lost my best friend Anthony. Big Sleeps is fighting for his life. I’ve watched people walk away, from the shop, from the industry, from me. Business has its seasons. Some of them hurt.
You’re still human through all of it. There will always be voices telling you to give up. Not just as an entrepreneur or as an artist. As a father. A provider. A friend.
It’s not easy. Anyone who says it is hasn’t been tested yet.
So what keeps you going?
For me, it’s a fire. Something inside that won’t go out, no matter how many times life tries to put it out.
And here’s what that voice gets wrong:
It tells me to focus on my family instead.
But this IS for my family.
Every trip. Every panel. Every late night. It’s so my daughters walk into an industry that still belongs to artists. So the people who built this have something to leave behind.
If I’m gonna fight and lose, I’m gonna fight for something great.
Homework’s Done
I was in and out of InkCon in a day and home with my family before the weekend was over.
But I left with what I came for.
I saw who’s still showing up when it’s hard. I saw the OGs still on the floor, still teaching. I saw the young ones take that respect and turn it into trophies. I saw what happens when artists stop competing against each other and start building together.
We’ve had bigger ideas in motion for a long time.
One of them is something I’ve wanted for years: a real voice for the real tattoo industry. More awareness. More of our stories, told the way they actually are, not the way they’re being sold right now. Watching how expos are changing is part of that.
InkCon was part of the homework.
What’s next? You’ll see.
Most shows, my hands are busy. This one, my mind was. Scouting. Planning the next move.
Sleeps, we’re holding it down. Keep fighting, brother.
And if you’re in a hard season right now, in tattooing, in business, in life, hear me on this:
That voice telling you to quit doesn’t get the final say. You do.
Get in the room. Do the work. Study. Push yourself. Make your move.
Let’s gooooo!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Merger Ink?
Merger Ink is an artist-owned tattoo ink company founded by Robert Pho, with co-founders Big Sleeps and Fernie Andrade. Its mission is to unite tattoo artists and keep the industry in artists’ hands, with better deals, better quality, and more control over the market.
What is Merger Ink Studio?
Merger Ink Studio is the California studio formerly known as Big Sleeps Studio. It carries Big Sleeps’ legacy forward as part of the Merger Ink movement.
Which Merger Ink artists won awards at InkCon 2026?
Cat Castro won Best of the Day on Saturday, Nigel won Best Chest or Back, and Misa won Best of Show. Scrappy and Pachuco also took home awards.
