Interview by Emily Hessney Lynch. 

Published May 10, 2018.

Where are you originally from?

I’m from Rochester--I grew up in the North Winton Village area off Blossom Road, near where ARTISANWorks is now. I attended schools 28 and 31, and then we moved to Irondequoit when I was in high school.

I’ve briefly lived not-in-Rochester--I spent a year and a half living on an Indian reservation in Canada. My family is Mohawk; the reservation was called Tyendinaga, and it was right across the lake from here. I came back to Rochester because I love it here.

What is your favorite part of living in Rochester?

The geography. I love how varied it is. The Genesee River, the lake, the bay. I actually do like the weather here! A lot of my relatives have moved to the Carolinas, but I just can’t do it. I hate the heat.

Do you have any favorite/secret spots around the city? 

Every Sunday at sunrise, a girlfriend and I go to a different park to take photos. On January 1st this year, we went to Linear Park, and it was just breathtaking. I spend a lot of time traipsing around both the city and the woods.

What is your personal coping mechanism for cold/gray weather? 

I don’t mind it. I spend lots of time outside, regardless of weather, so I guess my coping mechanism is layers. Weather doesn’t deter me--pretty much every day, I go outside for some extended period of time.

What is your favorite Rochester memory? 

Swimming in the bay when I was younger; exploring the parks; going to Roseland and Seabreeze. When I was at School 31, we took art classes at the MAG, so I have wonderful childhood memories there.

What makes Rochester unique? 

We have a lot of things that big cities have, but closer together. Cities this size don’t have farmers markets and galleries like we do!

People in Rochester (and Buffalo, I find, too), have pride--a “this is my town” feeling. Other cities, like New York and Boston, are full of people who aren’t from there but have just ended up there. They don’t have the same strong feelings of pride that we do. I find it beautiful that people are making the choice to stay here because they love it here.

What do you think could be improved? 

I’d like to see it be easier to do something with abandoned homes--perhaps have people live in them while they’re boarded up. Nobody can do anything with them until all the legal stuff is resolved. All these zombie houses--I see them when I’m out running. I see them when I’m coming through the city, too, all empty and boarded up. It’s too bad our communities can’t do more about it.

What can people do to start making Rochester a better place?

Shop local. We’re losing mom and pop places to Amazon. Get out and meet your neighbors and support local businesses!

If Rochester was an animal, what would it be?

It would be a raccoon. Raccoons are industrious, clever, and underrated. They’re capable of a lot more than you think! And, they’re very adaptable--you’ll find them in the woods, the city, or the suburbs. And they would enjoy the hell out of a garbage plate.

How did you get started as a tattoo artist?

I’ve always been an artistic human. For a long time, I wanted to do illustration. I did some freelance work, and found that I disliked the disconnect between myself and the client--there was typically an art director acting as an intermediary. I also disliked putting so much effort into the cover of a magazine or newspaper only for it to be thrown away a month later. The impermanence was just so disheartening. Tattooing is the opposite. You’re permanently altering a person, and I really love it. I now do both medical and decorative tattooing, and I think of it as a way to help people feel more comfortable in their own skin.

How did you wind up running White Tiger Tattoo?

I had been tattooing for about a year and a half and had been working at White Tiger for about eight months when the owner started to talk about wanting to sell the shop or close it down. Realizing I’d be out of a job, I worked out a deal to take the place over from him. I’ve now owned the shop for over 25 years! When I took the shop over, I realized I already knew how to do things like paying the bills and ordering supplies, so the main thing I had to learn was how to manage people. I’ve found that very challenging but also rewarding. I’ve loved seeing people being able to support themselves through their artwork.

Of all your own tattoos, do you have any personal favorites?

My tattoos are like stickers on an old steamer trunk. They’re reminders of places I’ve been and people I was. They’re part of the growth process. I don’t have any individual favorites, it’s the whole collection that’s meaningful to me.

Of all the tattoos you've done, do you have any favorites?

I never used to admit something was my favorite...but I’m finally saying it about a piece I’ve been working on for awhile now! I’ve been very in sync with a client, creating a tattoo for him that expresses a lot about his family. It’s like what I would want a tattoo to look like, in an artistic style I’m comfortable with.

Tell me about the medical tattoo work you do.

I’ve been doing medical tattoo work since the early 90s. It’s really awesome; I’ve met incredible women along the way. I work with the nipple-areola complex (NAC, in medical terms) to help mastectomy patients feel more comfortable in their own skin. I’ve also branched out to work with trans people or people with scarring on other areas of their body-- just trying to help as many people as possible.

I hear fantastic stories of life; these people are in this crucible, a pivotal moment in their lives. Before and after having cancer is one of those times when you add another sticker to your steamer trunk. I get to see where these people are going next, who they are going to be now in this new phase of life.

It all started with a woman who had this done in California and it had faded, so she wanted it redone. She talked me into it. It went from “I’ve only done this once before,” to “I’ve only done this twice before,” to “I’ve written a book about this and now train others how to do it.”

What are some of your favorite memories from your time as a tattoo artist and tattoo shop owner in Rochester?

Lots of wonderful people have come through my life because of it. It’s a very weird industry; you carry pieces of people with you, their stories. When you leave a tattoo, you’re leaving a piece of yourself, and you take a piece of them with you.

What advice would you give to creatives who are just getting started in Rochester?

The biggest stumbling block for me was figuring out what I wanted my art to look like. Focus on figuring out what your path is more than what people want. Be cognizant of what you want. Know thyself.