Part Seven of the Interview
Let's talk about the influence of Los Angeles on tattoo culture and artists separately. About tattoos on celebrities and tattoos depicting celebrities. And that's not all.
About the master and Los Angeles
[Journalist] Why did you choose Los Angeles as your home?
[Rinat] At some point, the question arose of where to go next, Europe or America. Due to European bureaucracy, the choice shifted towards the US. When I found a lawyer to help me with my O-1 visa, it turned out that he also owned studios in Los Angeles and New York. I'm from Siberia, and I was really tired of the snow and cold, so I chose sunny Los Angeles: there's no winter here, it's warm all the time, there's a nice vibe, beautiful people, and, yes, very high prices.
[Rinat] At some point, the question arose of where to go next, Europe or America. Due to European bureaucracy, the choice shifted towards the US. When I found a lawyer to help me with my O-1 visa, it turned out that he also owned studios in Los Angeles and New York. I'm from Siberia, and I was really tired of the snow and cold, so I chose sunny Los Angeles: there's no winter here, it's warm all the time, there's a nice vibe, beautiful people, and, yes, very high prices.
Professional environment and competition in LA
[Journalist] What can you say about the professional environment in Los Angeles? How challenging is it for a tattoo artist?
[Rinat] Los Angeles is a very “healthy” city in terms of competition. There are many tattoo artists here and the competition is very high. People often come here on talent visas and stay, so you have to compete with strong artists.
There is also internal competition among weaker artists, but overall, no one can afford to relax. If you want to stay afloat, you have to constantly give your best. You can't cut corners here, and that's a good thing because it keeps you on your toes.
[Journalist] How much does a day session in Los Angeles cost on average, and what are the highest prices you know of?
[Rinat] On the market, you can find options starting at around $1,000 per day and up. For top stylists, a day session can cost $3,000-5,000. It's a big market with high competition. Some people dump prices, while others, on the contrary, set higher prices.
[Rinat] Los Angeles is a very “healthy” city in terms of competition. There are many tattoo artists here and the competition is very high. People often come here on talent visas and stay, so you have to compete with strong artists.
There is also internal competition among weaker artists, but overall, no one can afford to relax. If you want to stay afloat, you have to constantly give your best. You can't cut corners here, and that's a good thing because it keeps you on your toes.
[Journalist] How much does a day session in Los Angeles cost on average, and what are the highest prices you know of?
[Rinat] On the market, you can find options starting at around $1,000 per day and up. For top stylists, a day session can cost $3,000-5,000. It's a big market with high competition. Some people dump prices, while others, on the contrary, set higher prices.
Clients from the creative community
and celebrities
[Journalist] Los Angeles is not only a city of tattoo artists, but also musicians and artists. Have you tattooed any famous people?
[Rinat] Yes, several. For example, Sarah, a drummer who plays very well. We did an old-school heart with drumsticks for her. She was fun to talk to, very lively and positive.
There were also adult models and musicians. In Miami, I tattooed the famous hip-hop artist Slimus at the All Stars Tattoo Convention under the auspices of Emilio Gonzalez. We had a great tattoo session, it was nice to meet and talk to him, he turned out to be a very pleasant person and a little bigger than I expected 🙂
[Journalist] Have you had positive experiences interacting with celebrities?
[Rinat] Yes. Often, many of them are not native Americans at all, they are people who have moved here. When they change countries and find themselves in LA among other celebrity immigrants, they kind of “dissolve” into the crowd and become easier to talk to. It brings them down to earth: it's much easier to talk to them than when they were at the height of their fame back home.
[Rinat] Yes, several. For example, Sarah, a drummer who plays very well. We did an old-school heart with drumsticks for her. She was fun to talk to, very lively and positive.
There were also adult models and musicians. In Miami, I tattooed the famous hip-hop artist Slimus at the All Stars Tattoo Convention under the auspices of Emilio Gonzalez. We had a great tattoo session, it was nice to meet and talk to him, he turned out to be a very pleasant person and a little bigger than I expected 🙂
[Journalist] Have you had positive experiences interacting with celebrities?
[Rinat] Yes. Often, many of them are not native Americans at all, they are people who have moved here. When they change countries and find themselves in LA among other celebrity immigrants, they kind of “dissolve” into the crowd and become easier to talk to. It brings them down to earth: it's much easier to talk to them than when they were at the height of their fame back home.
Who would the artist like to tattoo?
[Journalist] Which celebrities in the US or Los Angeles would you like to tattoo?
[Rinat] I would love to tattoo Marilyn Manson. We would decide on the design together, but I envision something organic, dark, with a satanic theme: symbols, goats, pentacles, things he is drawn to.
[Journalist] Would you like to do a cover-up for him?
[Rinat] I won't say that I see poor-quality tattoos on him, but if he regrets any of his tattoos and wants to cover them up, I'd be happy to help. Every tattoo has a story. It may not be very beautiful, but it's meaningful.
[Rinat] I would love to tattoo Marilyn Manson. We would decide on the design together, but I envision something organic, dark, with a satanic theme: symbols, goats, pentacles, things he is drawn to.
[Journalist] Would you like to do a cover-up for him?
[Rinat] I won't say that I see poor-quality tattoos on him, but if he regrets any of his tattoos and wants to cover them up, I'd be happy to help. Every tattoo has a story. It may not be very beautiful, but it's meaningful.
Celebrities on the skin of the master himself
[Journalist] Do you have any tattoos of celebrities on your body?
[Rinat] Yes. Salma Hayek, a composition where I am supposedly tattooing my name on her chest. It's an old piece, from 2008, and it's still there.
Portraits of Keith Flint and James Hetfield on my forearm.
[Journalist] Why is it so important for people to get tattoos of celebrities? Do they tattoo specific people or impressions associated with them?
[Rinat] It's different for everyone. Speaking for myself, when I got Hetfield tattooed, it wasn't just a “portrait of a musician,” but a mark of an entire period of my life, a time when I first heard and fell in love with Metallica.
The same goes for Keith Flint and Prodigy: it's about an era when their music was the soundtrack to certain years, parties, and states of mind. So it's not just people on my skin, but whole layers of life that I associate with them.
[Journalist] So, an image of a celebrity often signifies a period in a person's life?
[Rinat] Yes, it's a visual mark of a vivid period when that artist or character strongly resonated with the person.
[Rinat] Yes. Salma Hayek, a composition where I am supposedly tattooing my name on her chest. It's an old piece, from 2008, and it's still there.
Portraits of Keith Flint and James Hetfield on my forearm.
[Journalist] Why is it so important for people to get tattoos of celebrities? Do they tattoo specific people or impressions associated with them?
[Rinat] It's different for everyone. Speaking for myself, when I got Hetfield tattooed, it wasn't just a “portrait of a musician,” but a mark of an entire period of my life, a time when I first heard and fell in love with Metallica.
The same goes for Keith Flint and Prodigy: it's about an era when their music was the soundtrack to certain years, parties, and states of mind. So it's not just people on my skin, but whole layers of life that I associate with them.
[Journalist] So, an image of a celebrity often signifies a period in a person's life?
[Rinat] Yes, it's a visual mark of a vivid period when that artist or character strongly resonated with the person.
Popularity of characters, movies, and maniacs
[Journalist] Which celebrity or character did you tattoo most often?
[Rinat] There's no clear “top” list. I did Hetfield a couple of times, Flint once.
[Journalist] What's the most unusual celebrity you've been asked to tattoo? Or, for example, maniacs, serial killers, anything like that?
[Rinat] “Classic” horror characters like Jason are popular; they're already classics. People like to get movie maniacs tattooed, but, let's say, I've never been asked to do Charles Manson.
[Journalist] What if you were asked?
[Rinat] Why not? The main thing is that it should be part of the composition, not a direct cult of violence with the message “look how handsome he is, how many people he has hurt.” It all depends on the context in which the character is portrayed. If it is an artistic interpretation that is appropriate within the composition, from a professional point of view, it can be an interesting job.
[Journalist] Do you observe a trend where a blockbuster movie comes out and people want characters from it?
[Rinat] Absolutely. You can see it in movies, cartoons, and anime. As soon as a new colorful character appears, people start to associate themselves with him, look for similar traits, and want to capture that image on themselves. If the character is visually strong and fits well into the tattoo composition, it's a perfectly logical request.
[Rinat] There's no clear “top” list. I did Hetfield a couple of times, Flint once.
[Journalist] What's the most unusual celebrity you've been asked to tattoo? Or, for example, maniacs, serial killers, anything like that?
[Rinat] “Classic” horror characters like Jason are popular; they're already classics. People like to get movie maniacs tattooed, but, let's say, I've never been asked to do Charles Manson.
[Journalist] What if you were asked?
[Rinat] Why not? The main thing is that it should be part of the composition, not a direct cult of violence with the message “look how handsome he is, how many people he has hurt.” It all depends on the context in which the character is portrayed. If it is an artistic interpretation that is appropriate within the composition, from a professional point of view, it can be an interesting job.
[Journalist] Do you observe a trend where a blockbuster movie comes out and people want characters from it?
[Rinat] Absolutely. You can see it in movies, cartoons, and anime. As soon as a new colorful character appears, people start to associate themselves with him, look for similar traits, and want to capture that image on themselves. If the character is visually strong and fits well into the tattoo composition, it's a perfectly logical request.
[Journalist] Was there a movie that made you want to get a new character tattooed?
[Rinat] One of my “eternal” characters is Alien. I've always liked this character, and I already have him on my arm. I adore this “little beast.” But everything has its limits, I don't want to completely fill my body with different variations of Alien, one is enough, but it's my favorite. By the way, I was lucky enough to visit the Giger Museum, and I wrote about it in my blog. He is a great artist.
[Rinat] One of my “eternal” characters is Alien. I've always liked this character, and I already have him on my arm. I adore this “little beast.” But everything has its limits, I don't want to completely fill my body with different variations of Alien, one is enough, but it's my favorite. By the way, I was lucky enough to visit the Giger Museum, and I wrote about it in my blog. He is a great artist.
Personal plans for tattoos
[Journalist] What's your next tattoo plan?
[Rinat] Not a new one, but rather finishing up an old one:
Filling in the “holes,” the unfilled fragments on my other arm.
Covering up the unfinished areas on my leg.
Right now, if I'm going to continue, it makes more sense to finish the projects I've started rather than start new ones. I've accumulated a lot of unfinished work.
[Rinat] Not a new one, but rather finishing up an old one:
Filling in the “holes,” the unfilled fragments on my other arm.
Covering up the unfinished areas on my leg.
Right now, if I'm going to continue, it makes more sense to finish the projects I've started rather than start new ones. I've accumulated a lot of unfinished work.
How to know that you have found “your” master
[Journalist] If someone wants a tattoo but doesn't know who to get it done by at the early stages, how can they tell that they've found “their” artist? What should they look for?
[Rinat] I think it's the first emotion. When someone looks at work on Instagram or in a portfolio and gets that feeling of, " Yes, this is it, I want a tattoo from this person," that's the signal.
If you feel an inner “this is mine” when looking at the work, it's best to listen to that feeling.
[Journalist] Let's hope that readers experience this feeling as soon as possible when they visit your gallery.
[Rinat] Sounds great.
[Rinat] I think it's the first emotion. When someone looks at work on Instagram or in a portfolio and gets that feeling of, " Yes, this is it, I want a tattoo from this person," that's the signal.
If you feel an inner “this is mine” when looking at the work, it's best to listen to that feeling.
[Journalist] Let's hope that readers experience this feeling as soon as possible when they visit your gallery.
[Rinat] Sounds great.
Check out celebrity tattoos in this section.