Michigan tattoo artist, Loaf, has been tattooing for over eight years. When you scroll through his social media pages, it’s obvious that his artistic abilities are anything but limited, spanning from highly detailed geometric pieces to American Traditional. Keep reading to learn more about Loaf and to check out some of his amazing work.
Tell us a bit about yourself – what/who inspired you to pursue your career as a tattoo artist?
My friend /co-worker Lorne Morris who used to tattoo me when we were younger helped me get into tattooing and I found some guys at a shop in Toledo willing to teach me and that’s that, now I’m here in Utica Michigan working at the shop I wanted to work at since I started tattooing.
How would you best describe your style?
I like to tattoo whatever people would like me to tattoo on them outside of realism really. I do a lot of geometric/sacred geometry-esque tattoos for the most part though, along with some American traditional stuff when I’m lucky.
How many tattoos do you have?
If you can count how many tattoos you have you don’t have enough.
Most interesting tattooing experience?
Tattooing an old hockey player named Petr Klima and listening to stories from back in the day playing hockey in Detroit, that guy is a beauty.
What is one of your pet peeves as a tattoo artist?
No black in tattoos.
Do you listen to music while you’re tattooing? Who are some of your favorite bands to listen to while you work?
The shop as a whole has music playing most of the time, I dabble between punk rock, hip-hop and occasionally classical but I’m not really picky.
If you could tattoo any person in the world, who would you choose?
Stoney – probably just to listen to some stories.
Besides tattooing, what are you passionate about?
My family and hockey. That’s it.
Tell us about your shop – what can a client expect when they walk through your doors?
It’s like walking into a tattoo shop. Looks like a tattoo shop, not a club or doctors office. Flash and paintings on every inch of every wall, come with a joke and you’ll probably get 20 in return.
Any advice for aspiring tattoo artists?
Get tattooed. Work hard. Good luck.
Big Top Tattoo – Utica, MI
