Robert Pho X Reesa Pho: Building the Skin Design Tattoos Legacy
This economy has unsettled the entire industry, leading to a tattoo recession.
Skin Design Tattoos is no exception. We’ve lost an unprecedented amount of artists in just the past few months, something that has shaken the SDT family to the core.
We have to come together in these times of uncertainty and change the narrative around our situation.
Every artist who moves away from SDT creates space for others — new opportunities for upcoming artists in the scene.
We’re meeting every demand of the industry, adapting to every shift. In the midst of all the instability, we’re still growing.
Skin Design Tattoos just signed the lease on our newest location — barely after settling in to SoHo.
Beyond that, I’m personally mentoring 6 apprentices in our SDT Hawaii studio. Despite everything working against us, SDT has so much momentum. We’re paving a path for artists to follow in an industry that is otherwise oversaturated and unforgiving.
Artists like my daughter, Reesa.
The Realization of a Legacy
It’s unreal – witnessing my legacy take shape right before my eyes.
I created this brand to be an heirloom to pass down for generations. I just never imagined I would be able to watch it all unfold while my children are still so young.
I’ve been so blessed in my life. Beyond the accomplishments, the notoriety, and any material gain, God has given me the ultimate gift: My family.
Growing up, I didn’t know a loving home life. It was marked by fear and violence. My parents did the best they could to provide for me, but I never felt protected. I was on my own.
That’s not the life I wanted for my children.
When God blessed me with my daughters, I knew that I would show them a life opposite to the one I endured. They would know genuine love and support. That gave me a second chance at a family, too.
For me, everything changed — everything mattered —the day my oldest daughter, Reena was born.
And then I had Reesa. It’s like the universe was sending a message of what’s to come with her angel number 888 – abundance, prosperity, and success.
When I held her, I knew that she was a gift for not only me and my wife, Cristina — she was for Reena, too. Even 5 years apart, they’ve been best friends since the day she was born.
And now that Reesa’s decided to walk in my footsteps and join the SDT family, she has not only me to guide her, but she has the support of her older sister.
As a father, I’ve always worried about my daughters and what career paths they would take in life, especially once they’ve gotten older. I’ve been restless with this thought.
I always knew I would push them to do this — because it’s all I’ve ever known. Until they found another career that would make them happier, I felt like it was my job to do so and hoped they would love it the way I do.
I’m so happy now that they have chosen this path and are enjoying it. It’s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. When I go one day, I know my soul will rest in peace knowing they’ll be okay.
Our Little Artist: Shaping the Skin Design Tattoos Legacy
For the past 15 years, Reena and I have watched Reesa grow.
Reesa’s world is an artist’s canvas. From the flowers outside of our Hawaii home to the chorus of frogs at night, she finds inspiration in everything around her.
- art by Reesa
Her hands are never idle. It’s like they're constantly hungry to create - to translate the art she sees in everything into something tangible.
Since she was small, her fingers still hardly able to hold a tool, she’s been expressing herself through any outlet available to her.
Knitting, painting, sketching, piano.
By the time she was five, she was playing by ear. The whole family saw that spark in her. All we ever wanted to do was stand beside her and provide her the means necessary to fuel her flame.
“For both of us, it was just natural that art was a part of everything we did. Reesa was always, always doing something art related. She’s already shown so much raw talent in every little thing she does.”
We hired a tutor to work with her, and by age seven, she was playing above a 12th grade level. World renowned composers would fly out from Italy just to play alongside her.
With her talent, Reesa could accomplish anything. I’m so honored that she’s chosen to inherit Skin Design Tattoos as an artist of her own.
Reesa’s Journey: Where it Started
The first time Reesa ever tattooed, she was just ten years old.
Maybe it was the same spark Cristina and I noticed that resonated with my client. During a session, he offered her a chance to get involved. I’d never seen her so focused, so fully committed to her work.
It was not the expression of a ten year old. It mirrored the determination of my own, a father with a business and a family to support with decades of experience behind him.
When she was done, she looked at me with awe and said, “Dad! I love that feeling!”
From the moment she held that tattoo machine, she knew. In the same way she was meant to be my daughter, she was meant to be an artist.
Trusting Reesa’s Path
Reesa’s two months shy of 16. She hasn’t graduated, gone to prom, fulfilled the typical high school experience.
We’ve decided to put her in homeschooling while she apprentices under me. I trust in her priorities. She’s motivated; I know that she can get her GED in the background while she chases her goals.
This has gotten a lot of heat from her school.
My wife and I have answered dozens of phone calls with concerned teachers and faculty. We’ve been called to countless meetings. They’re worried the risk is too great, that no 15 year old should be able to make such a major decision about their future.
Under normal circumstances, I’d agree.
But this is my daughter. I know her heart. I see the fire inside of her and I refuse to be the one to put it out.
She’s ready — and she’s fully aware of the sacrifices it will take to get her there.
“I get to spend these next few years before my official apprenticeship to surround myself with other artists. These next few years are a really good time for me to expand my knowledge, not just tattooing myself and learning skills, but learning through my dad, my sister, my coworkers, learning the fundamentals. This gives me a lot more time on my hands. In high school, I couldn’t come to the studio as much.”
We have the next two years to prove to the world that we’ve made the right choice for her. By the time she’s 18, she’ll have a portfolio filled with her creative work marking the stages of her journey as an artist.
Reesa’s known what she’s wanted out of life since that first time she tattooed. It’s her calling. She’s been my little shadow ever since. We’ve gone through so much fake skin we might as well start our own supplier at this point.
Recently, she was able to do her very first tattoo — start to finish. It went right above Reena's first tattoo and on the side of their mother’s calf.
Originally, I wanted to be the one to guide her through it, to help steer the direction of the needle in my daughter’s hands.
But Reena stepped in, eager to be the one to mentor her sister in that moment.
“It was a really surreal experience from the beginning to the end. Reesa and I, we’ve always been super, super close. I’ve always known she’d be incredible with this. Me guiding her was really emotional, too, to see the beginning of her journey.
I know she was nervous, but she did so well. From the first line she put down. Once she got comfortable, she just exceeded my expectations.
She’s a perfectionist like I am, my dad has high expectations. It was a very proud big sister moment for me, almost like a full circle thing from when I did the first one with my mom.”
It can be hard to take a step back. To let someone else guide your little girl.
But I know that the knowledge I instilled in Reena is solid. She’s so talented, creative, and such a strong artist. But more than that, she’s an incredible teacher.
“I feel like my entire foundation has been so solid because of my dad. I do hope I can live up to being as good of a teacher as he was to me — not just with the art, but with life lessons, building her up to have good character with a good heart (which she has).
This industry is not easy, and I just want her to be able to take away all of the good that I’ve been putting down. I try to teach her to be patient with herself. I want her to understand the discipline it takes to be in this industry, the dedication, time management, loyalty to the craft and understanding the history and her place in it.
I don’t want her to feel like she’s shadowed; I want her to be able to be her own person, make her own story, and make her own legacy — even if she’s carrying on what we’re building as well.”
For so many parents, watching their children grow up is their most challenging experience. But for me, it’s my most rewarding.
Not only do I have two prodigies ready to take Skin Design Tattoos and make it better, but I’ve been able to watch them as they uplift and inspire each other.
It’s so humbling.
We have so much work to do. But it makes me so proud — gives me purpose — to know that these are the artists who will carry the SDT name.
Reena will continue to push Reesa to her full potential, to help her reach their shared goal of working together, side by side as artists.
It brings me so much joy to think of the art we’ll create, together.
This is just the beginning for us. Skin Design Tattoos family keeps getting stronger.
