We were lucky to catch up with Sandra Lin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sandra thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk I took was walking away from a very comfortable career I had in the medical field to pursue being a tattoo artist. I made the decision to jump and risk it all. I knew I wanted this, I believed in myself harder and stronger than anyone else needed to. I knew that if I jumped, I would work harder than anyone around me, and I would make sure I didn’t fail.
So I did. I had the incredible support of my now wife. But I knew that I had to take that risk if I wanted to change my life and live my dreams.
The bigger the dream the harder the grind. I sacrificed and worked my ass off. Everyday and every night.

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?

I am a tattoo artist and own a tattoo shop in Lakewood CO. I have been an artist for over 20 years, I’ve been tattooing for over 7. I have owned Disruptive Ink Tattoos for 5 years with my wife.
We have built this amazing shop and culture of artists. We are queer owned and completely inclusive! I have 6 female artists and a Trans Reiki Master Teacher. We have cultivated a space where creativity and acceptance are the most important thing. We have 3 apprentices that have the opportunity to learn how to do what we do in a safe and inspiring environment.

We have also created a fully accessible space for the Deaf and hard of hearing community. We have an on-site interpreter and give full access from beginning to finish!

It’s important to me to create a space and amazing experience to any client I work with. I want them to come in and feel comfortable and beautiful and empowered. If you have a part of your body you hate, for whatever reason, let’s throw some beautiful art on there and make you love it!
Tattoos are the only thing you can’t take with you when your time is done here on this earth. So I take what I do very seriously. Every piece, every tattoo, every single client is the most important to me at the time I work with them.
I put a little piece of my heart and soul into every tattoo I do. It’s a huge honor to put your art on someone skin.
This is the greatest job there is. I get to do this every day. It’s hard not to love my life

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part is how many lives I get to touch. How many people I get to connect with. The stories they share, the trauma they share and release because we work through that together while doing their tattoo.
The fact that through my hard work, I am now in a position where I can give back. I can donate money and time to organizations and people and my community.

Have you ever had to pivot?

It’s honestly multiple times that I had to realize that the people you surround yourself with, can make or break you reaching your goals. When I first opened my shop, I had my goals and my reasons why I wanted to have my own shop. Why it was so important to have a shop that was different than others.
But I also needed artists, so I was looking at their work, which was great. But I wasn’t paying close enough attention to them as people. Did their goals and ethics align with mine and the shops.
So it took some pivoting a couple times to get rid of the people that didn’t align with my ultimate goal. I had to learn to be strong enough to coach who needed to be coached, and let go of who needed to go. Then taking that extra time to really bring in the right people.
Surrounding yourself with the right people is so important. Learning to be strong enough to see the difference and make the moves you need to make sure you are on your path and your track!

Contact Info:

• Website: Disruptiveinktattoos.com
• Instagram: _sandralintattoos
• Facebook: Sandralintattoos
• TikTok: @sandralintattoos