From Contest to Connection
So much has happened in the past few months, so much leading up to this experience.
May was a crazy time for SDT. The 2024 Empire State Tattoo Expo, SoHo’s grand opening party, and to kick it all off — the raffle contest. So much growth, so much to celebrate.
SoHo’s grand opening was such an incredible moment for the SDT family. To be not only accepted but fully welcomed by a community known for icing out anyone not local to the scene — and to have my own daughter join as a resident artist? The whole thing has been surreal.
I knew I had to give back. This industry has been so good to me. I had to find a way to show my gratitude to everyone who had supported me, who helped me have the opportunities I’ve been blessed with.
“Giving back is not just a responsibility, it’s a privilege. It’s about using your platform to make a difference.”
When I posted the raffle contest, I wanted it to be as easy to enter as possible. Equal opportunity. All it really required was a few quick clicks on Instagram, 4 short steps, to enter.
The entries started pouring in. Thousands of people joined. At the time, I had no idea who would win, what walk of life they’d come from, or if they’d even be a fan.
For all I knew, I’d wind up with someone who just saw the contest on their Explore page and entered for a chance at a free tattoo and a round-trip to Hawaii.
But, as usual, the universe had other plans. It has a way of bringing people together.
Beyond Expectations
When I announced the winner, I had no expectations. With everything going on, I barely had time to sleep, let alone try to come up with an idea of who would be seated in my chair just two short months later.
Since then, I’ve still been trying to find the time to catch my breath. I’ve been back and forth from Vegas to New York to Hawaii, signing the lease on our upcoming Nashville location, mentoring, and working on so many projects in the background.
So much at once is always something to be grateful for — but it can be a lot to manage. I have to take it all one day at a time.
But when the contest winner, Anthony, and his wife finally made it to Hawaii?
It’s like I could take a moment to center myself, another chance to remind myself why I love what I do: Connecting with clients and creating art.
We started talking, and it’s like everything clicked. Once again, the universe showed me that it knows what it’s doing.
It could have been anyone who won the contest. Entirely left to chance.
Instead, the winner ended up being an artist himself, someone who’d been tattooing for the last four years, who’d been looking up to me, using my art and the SDT culture as inspiration for his own work. Someone who shares my Cambodian ancestry, who relates to my spiritual beliefs as a Buddhist himself.
I didn’t even remember at the time, but back in 2021, back towards the beginning of his journey as a tattoo artist, he’d created and tagged me in a piece he’d made inspired by the Monte Bodysuit.
He said that when I liked that post (something I didn’t even remember at the time, my mind always focused on a dozen different projects), it meant the world to him.
He never thought he’d be sitting there, talking to me about life, art, spirituality — career goals. He brought it with him and gave it to me as a thank you.
I knew I wanted to do more for him. He showed me a few different options for his vision, and when I saw one of them, I felt instantly drawn to it. Connected.
He wanted dharmapalas — the “guardian of the teaching.” They’re protective deities believed to safeguard Buddha’s wisdom.
I wanted to make this an experience he’d remember, something that would leave an impact that went beyond the tattoo itself. I wanted to show him that this meant a lot to me, too.
I drafted two different options for him.
One was smaller, something that could be put on the ribs within the scope of our original plan. It would only take about eight hours to finish.
The second option was more intensive. From armpit to below the belt. I added elements of our Cambodian culture, filigree, my own spin to it. I knew that this piece, with the placement and size that it needed, would be a challenge.
Normally, that piece would be a minimum of two sessions. Depending on the client’s pain tolerance and schedule, it could have easily been a 2+ session piece.
But we didn’t have that option. His trip wouldn’t last forever; we didn’t have unlimited time. We both had to be all in.
When I asked him how he’d feel about the bigger piece, he was shocked. He wasn’t expecting me to offer him something so intricate when he was the winner of a free contest. He told me it would be an honor.
Tradition Meets Innovation
Since we were on such a tight deadline, I had to get creative. I used my bigger mags, mainly 27 and 39s, to help the process go by faster.
I also had to tap into my more old-school techniques. I brought out my coil machines, something that a lot of artists aren’t even familiar with anymore, considering them outdated.
But I see the value of using them alongside the more current, popular techniques. I used them in conjunction with the rotary machine — something Reena and my apprentice, McKenna, were in awe of while they watched, listened, and talked to us. It blew their minds.
It was so rewarding, teaching them how to blend the old with the new techniques — using my experience to teach them firsthand about the artform that I love, and to know that they’ll pass those lessons along to the next generation of artists.
It gives my work so much purpose. I know that, by teaching my apprentices, I’m helping keep these traditions alive.
The needle bars that you have to use with the coil machine are rare. A lot of suppliers don’t even carry them anymore. It was almost nostalgic getting to break them out, to remember their familiar feel in my hands.
With the coil machines, I was able to use two different types: The Mickey Sharpz hybrid for my 3 round liner and my Mike Pike for my 9 round liner.
I used both coil machines first to do all of my outlines and bloodlines, something I find more efficient, helping me to speed up the overall process.
Then, I shaded and packed using my 9, 15, 27, and 39 mags — all with my bishop rotary power wand machine.
The Power of Endurance, Connection, and Trusting the Process
The session ended up stretching from 2 pm that day until 5:30 am the next morning.
Getting it done in that timeframe was an accomplishment in itself — both for me as an artist and for him as a client.
It wasn’t easy. It was so excruciatingly painful, and he had to sit there, still as a rock, and let me drill away at the most sensitive parts of his body.
His wife told me that he got a lot of that strength from me, like we were sharing the determination to get this piece done.
It gave us a lot of time to talk.
He told me he’d been reading my blogs since before the contest, that he’d been looking to them for knowledge about the industry and motivation within his own life.
He never thought we’d even be in the same room together, let alone that we’d be talking, one-on-one, while I gave him a tattoo. It was all like a dream to him.
We really bonded — jumping from topic to topic about things he’d learned from my blog, our beliefs, and our experiences as artists. He’d considered joining the SDT family before, but he never thought he’d even have the opportunity to meet me.
And yet, there we were.
Anthony saw the way our team worked. Our culture, our commitment to lifting one another up, the way we laugh with each other, how we learn from one another. We were all just vibing the whole session.
We both realized that maybe it could turn into more than just a one-off contest win.
I don’t know what the universe has planned. But what I’ve learned firsthand is that the more work you put into people — the more you get back.
If nothing else, I have another meaningful connection to a client from that contest. More stories heard, different perspectives shared between the two of us.
And that’s why I keep doing this, why I’m so addicted to what I do — making art and sharing it with the people around me.
Thank you, Anthony, and thank you to everyone who took the time to enter this raffle.
I will always be looking for new ways to give back to this community, to grow as an artist and an individual, and to inspire positive change within the industry that’s given me everything.
