Behind the Scenes at the Golden State Tattoo Expo
Another Golden State Tattoo Expo in the books. Another reminder of why I’m so proud of my SDT team, how they inspire me to keep pushing, keep making art, keep breaking boundaries.
If my team can do it, if they can pull an all-nighter (or two), if they’re that hungry—it makes me challenge myself. Go that much harder. I’m competitive at heart. I don’t care how old I am; it’s always me today against the man I was yesterday.
I owe that to myself. To my Skin Design family. To the industry.
But, it isn’t easy. My body’s been through a lot—35 years of tattooing have caught up to my hands, my back. Sometimes, it feels like my body’s giving up on me. There’s aches. Pains.
The lack of sleep, the constant traveling, the pressure of it all, it’s taken a toll on my immune system.
I felt it right when I walked in the doors to the expo—it was going to take a lot out of me. I knew I was on my way to being sick. I’ve noticed a pattern. Almost every time I travel, my body needs time to recover.
But I don’t always have the luxury of time.
Leading by Example
I had my team depending on me. McKenna, Amanda, Reena, Nigel, Linh, Lia. And I had my collabo with Christina.
I knew it was going to be a big one, a full back piece, all the way down to the top of his thighs. I had to go on working without sleeping. Going all day, all night. I knew I was in for it. We go hard. We grind.
“Honestly, Rob has that energy that makes you feel like anything is possible. When I follow his lead, when it came to Skin Design, I had to prove myself. I love a challenge. I was in hustle mode again.
When you’re at Rob’s age, you’re not working as hard. You’re getting ready for retirement. When I saw him working late nights, til 3 am, that lit a fire under [me]. He leads by example. He literally does what he preaches and it was so commendable and inspiring. It makes me not want to slack.
If he’s not slowing down, I can’t slow down. I’m 30 years younger, I have no excuses. If he’s still going, I’m still going. He’s just a beast. He’s next level.”
If I can’t lead by example, what right do I have to expect as much as I do from my team? From my apprentices?
When you’re an entrepreneur, when you have studios all across the U.S., that means you have mouths to feed. People to support. People who depend on your success. Your motivation.
So you ignore the beginnings of a sore throat, you pick up the iPad, and you get to designing. You focus all your energy into your work. You put your blinders on.
From Inspiration to Ink
I’m known for my design and composition. Still, Christina and I originally planned to collaborate. But we ended up missing the few times where we had scheduled times to brainstorm designs. It was very last minute—story of my life. She was very stressed. It all came down to the last second.
“I used to be so stressed out but I learned to let go this weekend. I planned so much in advance, yet nothing worked out according to it. So I just let Jesus (and Rob) take the wheel.
Working with someone who is incredibly busy, you just have to be on their schedule and it really teaches you to surrender and that you can’t control every aspect of life, which is a scary feeling for me. ”
She showed me this design where the whole back was a horse, Carlos Torres style. The moment she sent it to me, something clicked. I knew that was the one. I took that inspiration and made it my own, something special for our client.
I looked at the pictures of his back, did some sketching on Procreate, did some research, and came up with the design.
A flying horse—a pegasus—took up about half of his back. If you follow the movement of the piece, there are these dragons trying to bite him.
But, if you look behind the pegasus, you’ll see God looking down on him.
Just like in life, you’ll always face challenges. You’ll always have people trying to attack you, praying for your downfall. The more successful you are, the more you elevate yourself, the more enemies you’ll make. The more people you’ll have trying to bring you down.
But, if you look for the signs, you’ll see. God’s always watching your back.
I didn’t know the client well before making the design. He’d seen us at the expo the year before and booked his session then. He had to wait for a whole year.
He was so patient. And he had so much trust in us, in our work. He let us do anything we wanted.
When he finally saw the design, he loved it. It really spoke to him. I didn’t even know this when I created it: He was born in the year of the dragon, and his middle name, Long, means dragon, too. Another coincidence? I don’t think so.
“His tattoo suits him so well. I’m really glad you came up with that and that we executed it so perfectly.”
I have a way of connecting with clients. A gift. It helps me create art that really resonates with them—that speaks to them deeper than the surface level, beyond the design itself.
It helps keep me on track, reminds me of my purpose here on Earth: Connecting with clients, giving back to the tattoo community, and leaving a legacy through ink.
Dedication, Sacrifice, and Pushing Boundaries
Christina’s dedication really blew me away throughout the expo. As my student, I’ve watched her grow so much in just the past year alone.
She always pours herself into her work; last year, she did the same thing. She spent 9 hours tattooing on the first day of the expo, another 10 hours the next day, and worked on the client through the night and day Sunday—over 14 hours.
33 hours total.
But this year, she outdid herself. She did all that and more. She suggested we go all in again, all night. Start a trend. It was like she was challenging herself, too.
She beat her own record. She spent 40 hours tattooing our client in one weekend, taking less than an hour long nap on Sunday to keep her going.
Last year’s expo laid that foundation. Set that precedent. And now that she’s seen what she can do, she’s even more motivated.
As a mentor, you want your apprentices to take your knowledge, the skills you’ve passed down from your artform, and make it better. Use it to make themselves better.
Just like, as a father, you want better for your children than you had growing up.
But that means I have to push myself even harder—give them even more to work up to. I don’t make it easy for them. I reminded her of the 30 day challenge I did back in 2023, how no one’s topped that yet. She’s got big shoes to fill, and it’s going to take a lot of endurance to get there.
—Christina's trophy printed for 2025; everyone who won this year must have already won for next year in advance.
But she did it. And I couldn’t be more proud of her, placing 2nd. She brought so much heat. I couldn’t be more proud of every member of the SDT family who made it out to the expo.
“This weekend was so magical and it’s something I’ll never forget and treasure until the day I die.
It was just really awesome to spend the entire experience tattooing with you there and it’s a bucket list to be checked and wish come true.”
The experience brought our team so much closer.
It doesn’t matter where we placed in the competition; there will always be people who want to minimize your success or take away your spotlight. We’re all still winners in my book.
“I never let a statue tell me how nice I am.”
Every single one of my guys left me in awe of their work, their commitment. My whole crew stayed late, midnight, some even until 3 am, Friday and Saturday. T, our videographer, did an all nighter with us, too; every single person there showed up and made it happen.
They’ve got that SDT hustle mentality. And it shows.
And our client, sitting like a rock while we tattooed his whole back for days on end, 28 hours nonstop—I wish I had a trophy to give him.
I really thought he was going to quit at one point, and no one would blame him. But he caught a second wind and came back even stronger. He powered through.
How could I even consider taking a break myself when he’s such a champion under the needle?
So many people left the expo without the credit they deserve. But the people in the industry know what’s up. Throughout the whole weekend, so many people kept coming up to us, calling it the ‘Skin Design Expo.’
The Golden State Tattoo Expo: Almost a Decade of Impact
The Golden State Tattoo Expo has been happening since 2015.
—Way back in 2016, I ended up with 2nd place for best sleeve.
—In 2017, I won four first-place trophies in Black and Grey categories for the Monte Bodysuit —something I owe to the support of my SDT team.
—In 2022, Linh and I won 2nd place best sleeve on our collab. Christina placed 1st for Tattoo of the Day.
—In 2023, Christina and I both won best Black and Grey.
It’s not just about the awards, though. It’s more than that. It’s about the impact our art is having on the tattoo industry.
During the expo, some of the OGs in the community—Franco Vescovi, Jack Rudy, Freddy Negrete, Chuey—all came up to me to thank me for bringing back large tattoos.
Artists have been feeling the sting of the economy; people don’t want to spend big money on non-necessities. There’s been a trend of people gravitating towards micro-tattoos.
But, by normalizing accessible financing options, by meeting the needs of the industry, we’ve managed to keep that part of our community alive.
It’s so humbling, inspiring that shift in the industry. Hearing that from people I know and respect so deeply was an honor greater than any award.
It really reaffirmed my place, my goals. Made the expo even more worth it for me.
But even still, this year’s expo was so different from what we’ve seen in the past years. Without the involvement of Inked Magazine, I knew it would change—but the team was expecting it to go in a different direction.
Leaving a Legacy: Building an Empire For Future Generations
Expos used to be invite only. Only the biggest names in the industry could attend. I remember walking through the aisles and feeling emotional. I’d get chills—so many influential, iconic artists from the scene, artists you’d read about in magazines—all back-to-back, packed aisle to aisle. Everyone knew each other.
Golden State has always been held to such a high level. The best of the best. It used to be the only one, so it really counted. Everyone who was anyone was there.
Now, because of social media and these different expos going on across the globe, anyone can get in. Big supply brands buy the booths out, bringing their sponsored artists to represent their brand. Every aisle is full of brands, under the brands’ flags are the individual artists—showing that supply chains rule and run expos now.
This year, walking around, there was hardly anyone I know from the industry attending. It was a good turnout, but that community feel wasn’t as strong. Now, nobody knows anyone. It’s sad to see.
Things are changing. Maybe more artists are moving in a different direction with their career.
You can feel the impact of the slow economy; less people showed up than in previous years. I didn’t see many artists my age tattooing; they were mostly showing up, showing support. Other artists weren’t tattooing the full three days.
The camaraderie wasn’t the same. Not everyone was as uplifting as we’d seen before. We felt almost out of place.
Things felt off—a major award was given to someone who hadn’t even shown up to compete, something that would have disqualified him in previous years.
But for me, when I go to this expo, I still want to give my best work. I still have to show everyone what we’re about. Because I have to. I can’t afford to leave the state of this industry—the industry that’s given me and my family everything—up to chance. Because it’s about more than just me.
I still have so much to prove. So much to learn. So much to give back to my team. To this community. Slowing down isn’t an option. I have to make sure I leave this industry sustainable. I have to make sure my daughters have a legacy to build on as they grow as artists of their own.
Because that’s what it’s all about. That’s why I’ll push myself past the point of breaking, why I’ll keep raising the bar.
I couldn’t do it without my Skin Design family. I’m so proud of all of them:
My oldest student, Linh, at 33, still putting out beautiful work that clients fly in from all over the world to get from her.
Cat, one of our heaviest hitters, creates her own, original art that takes my breath away. Amanda, always bringing the fire, almost finished a whole back piece by herself at the expo.
Lia has been showing up every day as if she has something to prove. Throughout her apprenticeship under Linh, she has been constant in her dedication. She did a 3-day backpiece, too—a popular choice this year from the team.
Natalie showed up at the top of her game for her first expo, showcasing a 3-day, full stomach, color opaque piece.
Nigel, always learning, always developing his craft. And my baby girl, Reena, is constantly redefining boundaries at just 21. They completed a full back piece together on a loyal client on all three days of the expo.
—McKenna showcasing her full back piece on Reid and the work-in-progress collabo on Jordan we’re working on together.
My newest apprentice, McKenna, really took the SDT mindset to heart. She killed it. After barely more than a year of tattooing, working with no days off, pushing herself until 2-3 am everyday in the studio, she brought in a full back piece on her client Reid. On top of that, we’re working on a collabo piece together on Jordan.
All of the young, talented, hungry artists representing Skin Design. Brad and his mind-blowing, color realistic work. Kique and Yefrey, who showed up at their first Golden State and created incredible work on their clients all weekend long.
Their art speaks for itself, representing the relentless grind and hard work that builds on our brand and the SDT culture.
So many artists leave when the tides change in the industry. But these artists brought their game to the expo. They bring their best selves every single time.
Thank you for keeping me at the top of my game. Here’s to you guys, the future of our industry. Here’s to our clients who make it all possible.
Check out more pictures from the expo and schedule your next piece of ink: https://skindesigntattoos.com/tattoo-consultation/
