It’s 2008 and I’m sitting at the crossroads staring at 500 miles of bad road, in every direction. I’m currently between the layers. I’m in ‘the jam’. I’m Liminal. What I’ll become is not yet known to me and what I was is gone.
It’s said that ROBERT JOHNSON SOLD His soul to the devil at the crossroads. When I was faced with the same decision I decided that I’d keep my soul and make a life out of whatever I could without his help. But I did need some help. So, I looked to my influences for the answers. And I’m realising that ALL of my heroes and inspirations would have done the same. In fact, they did. When faced with the same choice, they all held steadfastly to their independent, ‘DIY or die’ beliefs.
The nature of their long term successes tells me that independent is best, doing it your way for the love of it will always feel better than selling your soul for a few magic beans. And they’re right – as always.
In 2008 the failures of private banks in the form of risky lending, complex financial instruments, lack of transparency, and excessive leverage played a central role in causing a global economic crisis. The interconnectedness of the global financial system and the failure of regulatory mechanisms further exacerbated the impact, leading to a widespread and severe downturn that affected economies around the world. Put simply, the world went to shit.
And that’s exactly the point that this ‘genius’ decided to throw it all away and roll the dice. Hoping that betting on himself and his art would lead to financial freedom and the life he wanted to lead.
What a knucklehead.
I had a thousand bad times So what’s another time to me?
You try to burn my house down But what’s another house to me?
‘Cause I can take anything that you give me
It’s gonna take a lot more to kill me, bitch
Life is a journey riddled with challenges, with bumps along the way that test our resilience and character. No one is exempt from facing adversities. Challenges are an inevitable part of the human experience. I was facing a huge challenge. Start a business during an unprecedented and unpredictable economic downturn using every last penny I had.
Start making and selling tattoo art to clients who have never seen this kind of thing before in a (surprisingly) conservative industry that hates change and actively silences alternative voices who challenge the accepted narratives. Narratives that grease the wheels of an industry that would make even Machiavelli blush.
It’s a good job that I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Or even that, that was going to be yet another challenge to overcome. But, even if I had, it wouldn’t have deterred me. You see, what truly shapes us is not the existence of challenges but our responses to them.
The way we navigate challenges reflects our inner strength and fortitude. Do we crumble under the weight of adversity, or do we rise with newfound determination? It is during these moments of hardship that our true essence is laid bare. By acknowledging the inevitability of challenges, we embrace the opportunity to shape our character and forge a resilient spirit that can withstand the ebb and flow of life’s complexities.
But along the way, if we’re lucky, we learn stuff. Seemingly unconnected at first but eventually even dummies like me understand that knowledge is not isolated, but rather accumulates over time. Step by step, each piece of information, every skill acquired, and all our experiences, whether small or significant, contribute to our overall understanding of the world.
This convergence, often unexpected, plays a pivotal role in shaping an our ability to make informed decisions, especially when the world starts throwing the big problems at us – the grown up stuff.
April 6, 2010 I opened a humble, single chair, studio in the back of a local barber shop and got to work. During the next few years I’d get a good idea of what the bottom layer of the tattoo layer cake looks like. A victim to the arrows of envy from rivals who hide behind false personas. Temptation & compromise offered in the same breath by the market traders masquerading as corporate money men. And let’s not forget the “offended artists,” – virtuous saints shilling loyalty and brotherhood as the rights and wrongs of being a real artist, all while clandestinely toiling in the underbelly of an industry that makes the promises of the average politician look saintly.
But despite the best efforts of a lot of the bottom feeding bad actors, with their flexibility loyalties and bankrupt moral codes, I would succeed. And it was my accumulated skills that would come in very handy. Which is a good thing because, to be honest with you at this point, it was just about all I had left.
I was born with blood shot eyes and a broken heart
I’ve got the experience but I’m not very smart
I was raised on a shoestring, I was thrown to the wolves
I cut my teeth on minor chords, I was trampled under hooves
By 35, the world hand thrown enough bad times at me to last a lifetime; a flooded house in a land locked county, homelessness and abject poverty were just some of it’s ‘greatest hits’. During the 12783 days I’d lived up to that point I learnt resilience and the kind of dogged determination that only the man with nothing left to lose can understand.
I’d also learnt that I don’t break easily and I was still standing. And standing there, one finger held aloft, screaming fuck you! I was alive and where there’s life there’s hope.
My Heroes taught me self reliance and the importance of authenticity. While the music business taught me to the importance of practice and attention to detail. Publishing and marketing taught me how to communicate ideas visually, how to (and not to) brand and sell products. And technology? Technology gave me all the tools I would need to take my accumulated skills, sidestep the conservative, boys club of the Tattoo industry, build a brand (and a life) for me and my family.
I realised that all the lessons I’d learnt walking down every dead end road on my journey up to that point would all benefit me as I built my business. I knew the importance of creating authentic art and why that art connects with people in ways that technically perfect but ultimately boring ‘jingles’ don’t. I knew that ‘having a style’ is not the same as using a gimmick over and over. I knew how to find an audience for my work and how to tell them, really tell them, the truth of what I was doing without the need for taglines or to ‘reintermediate viral relationships’. Most importantly, I didn’t give one single fuck about playing nice with the custodians of the scene. They would have to deal with this animal without compromise or I would simply roll right over the top of them. The time for following diversions had past, I was going to make my own road, the straightest line to the chequered flag. I didn’t have time to fuck around, it was time to get to work.
So that’s exactly what I did, but that’s a story for next time.
The life of any artist is a journey filled with opportunities and challenges, side roads, potholes and diversions. Remember that your authenticity is your fuel and your integrity is your steering wheel. Hold fast to them and embrace them. They are your most precious assets. Just don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.
Trust in your unique vision, stay true to your art. Find strength in the unwavering commitment to your values. Your journey may be complex, but your integrity is your ‘True North’. Use it to guide the decisions you make. You may find that the road is a little longer with less shortcuts and without the perfectly smooth tarmac that is a life of compromise but, the road less travelled is a far more authentic and rewarding one. The view is pretty at times, even when it’s raining, and the destination is always worth the extra time you spent on the road. Because – at the end of the road – you’ll be exactly where you need to be right now.
So get to work.