We recently connected with Amelia Troup and have shared our conversation below.

Amelia , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

I grew up in a very small town, like 800 people small town. In a rural area where anything outside of the status quo is shunned, so assimilating, to some degree, was necessary. I was labeled the weirdo, the freak, the one not many wanted to associate with, even when I did try to fit in. I knew at a young age that tattooing is what I wanted to pursue as a full time career. 13 to be exact. I also knew that if I were to stay in school until 18, the likelihood is that I would drop out, as so many of my peers did. So at the tender young age of 13 I started taking online classes to get out faster. As silly as it sounds, being a spunky blonde girl in a small rural town, did not warrant me the expectations of actually being able to skip a grade or even graduate. I would take classes over the summers and would stay up late to get my work done, until my junior year where I was promoted to a senior and finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Then I started to really make my plan to get out. I was in art class my senior year and mentioned to my teacher that I wanted to go to art college and tattoo for a living, she laughed. I wasn’t having that. So I started building my portfolio and calling tattoo shops within a 2 hour drive and asking if anyone would take me on as an apprentice. I was 16 and fully prepared to do a 2 year apprenticeship, but I was turned down, again and again. No room, too young, etc. I found one shop that told me to come back at 17, but by 17 I was moving out into my first apartment into a whole new city and starting college, art college. I started in media arts and animation which I quickly learned was not the path I wanted to pursue. So I moved 4 hours away and transferred to another school, one that offered Illustration. Around that same time I started reaching back out to shops and that’s when I found Dragon Lily Tattoo, they took me in and it’s where I’ve learned how to tattoo and built my career. They didn’t care I was a younger woman, they saw the drive and desire to learn and that was enough. I had been treated as a “dumb blonde” for the majority of my life, accelerated classes didn’t change opinions, skipping a grade didn’t change opinions, getting accepted into college didn’t change opinions. My whole life had felt like an uphill battle, to be honest some days it still does, but as the industry opens up more and more to all walks of life, I have found somewhere I am accepted: Tattooing.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I grew up in a tiny farming town on an organic farm, but my older brothers lived in “the big city” gave me a glimpse of another type of life, the tattoo industry. When I was 13 my oldest Brother got hit by a car and hospitalized. He was a tattoo artist and my idol; He was the coolest person I knew and nothing like the people I grew up around in our tiny town. At that moment I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to tattoo, just like my brother. But he succumbed to his injuries a bit over a year later when I was 14. And then instead of dreaming about tattooing with him side by side, I kept it in my heart that I wouldn’t let his legacy die with him. I left home at 17 and started in art college, eventually I found a shop that took me on as apprentice: Dragon Lily Tattoo. I learned all kinds of styles and art forms through both college and my apprenticeship and I love being able to offer my clients a wide range design. I don’t like to be boxed in to one style, though I admire those who specialize intensely.
My favorite subjects are always fauna and flora, I love pet portraits and flowers. As an animal lover, pets always have a special place in my heart and are always some of my favorite tattoos to do, regardless of style.
Bright color, blackwork, whip shading, I love it all! I always say, “I’m just happy to tattoo”, because as long as I’m tattooing, I’m happy. I defiently have an illustrative style in flash designs due to my formal training but also due to my training, I’m able to create art in all sorts of styles. I love being able to help people through my art, whether that be a cover up of a bad tattoo, a memorial piece for a loved one, or just something pretty that makes them smile to look at. They call it ‘Tattoo Therapy’ for a reason and I’m more than willing to help my clients feel better though art!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 2016 I graduated college and was able to finally put everything into tattooing, as the previous 4 years I had split my time between the shop and my Illustration degree, working day in and day out to get my homework submitted on time and my clients designs finished. Just a few months later my Father was diagnosed with Brain Cancer and less than a year after I graduated, he passed away. I was 22 and I had already lost my big brother and now my Father. At the time I was living 3 hours from home and knew I needed to be closer. My family farms, and my father did everything on the farm. Fixing the tractor, making beds, knowing when to plant and transplant and harvest. I moved 80 miles from the shop I worked at to literally split the drive from the Farm to the Shop. My bosses had it in their heads that I would probably get exhausted from the drive within an year, but 6 years later and I’m doing more in the tattoo world now than ever before! I lost my brother at a young age, and if it taught me one thing, it’s that when the ones we love are gone, their memories and legacy remain, and for me the best way to honor them is to keep going, to never give up, and to always try to be better. Florida Farming season is upon us, which means I’ll be pulling long weekends to do my part to keep the farm going. From social media, to ordering, to farmer’s markets, I help where I can when I can. Between the tattoo shop and the farm, I stay busy, but when you do what you love, it doesn’t feel like work.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me the most rewarding thing about being a tattoo artist is when you can tell that tattoo you just did, helped to heal another person. Tattoos can be very emotional for a range of reasons. They can help someone keep in remembrance a loved one, helping to fill that void that had been created when that person or pet passed away. They can be used to cover ugly memories, scars from self harm or even surgeries to remove cancerous tissue. They can be used to help someone one their sobriety journey, tattoos over track marks to help people remember staying sober is better than the life they used to live. They can be used to beautify parts of ones body that clients may be self conscious about, stretch marks etc. I absolutely love being able to help people feel better, and tattoos can help in all sorts of ways, sometimes more than you would think. When my clients tear up from joy, I do to, because I’m truly happy to see them happy.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @supertrouperart
• Other: [email protected] email

Image Credits
Amelia Troup