We recently connected with Luka Ciotta and have shared our conversation below.

Luka , appreciate you joining us today. Have you ever had an amazing boss? What did you learn from them? Maybe you can share a story that illustrates the kind of boss they were or maybe you can share your thoughts on what you think made them an awesome person to work for?

For me, this person is Manny Hernandez. I had been getting tattooed by Manny for over a decade and never expected that I’d be working at his shop one day. I have worked in several shops and all of them have had their benefits, but working with Manny and his crew taught me more than I had learned anywhere else in a very short time. Manny is committed to running a quality shop and it shows in the work that comes out of Hand of Faith. He wasn’t afraid to tell me what I was doing wrong and offer me ways to correct and improve on my tattooing. That’s a true friend.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

For those who don’t know me, I am a tattooer from Phoenix AZ. I currently live and work in a shop in Raleigh NC called Old Ghosts. I was offered an apprenticeship by Bubba Irwin of Old Town Ink in 2020. I worked through my apprenticeship and have since worked with a handful of really talented artists. Hand of Faith was the most recent shop I worked for before I left Phoenix and I have to say, it was the most influential shop for my career so far. I’m not often comfortable talking about accomplishments, but I will say I’m proud of the growth in my tattooing I was able to create in a short period of time. I focused mainly on traditional style tattooing with elements of Japanese, illustrative, and whatever else would walk through the door.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I’ll be honest, social media has proven to be a really good tool for me in growing my business. For me, I found that making stupid/relatable videos paired with images of my work and the work I would like to do has been a good method for me to build my clientele. Ultimately, I just present myself as I am. That way when you walk into the shop and get tattooed by me for the first time, you feel like you know me a bit. I try to keep it genuine, and while no one is ever 100% the same as how they present on social media, I try to keep it as close to the real me as possible.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think for me, it was built by working in reputable shops with established artists and by striving to make quality tattoos and offer a great experience for the person getting tattooed. Obviously not everyone who walks in the door is going to vibe with you, and that’s just fine, but offering a quality product with a good experience is the best way to build a solid reputation in my experience.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @ihateslimbo

Image Credits
Kiva Meulenbeek, first photo