Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gary Hunter . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Gary , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
When I first started, I wanted to just have a business in addition to my corporate career. I am a convicted felon and never thought id be head hunted for a job. Especially… Amazon! I beat out several hundred people from all over the country to become the Facilities Coordinator at a new Amazon location. I soon found myself escalating within the company but was always unhappy. I felt like my superiors were idiots with a pice of paper which is what placed them in upper management. I decided to invest my savings and take out a loan for the remaining amount necessary to open a Tattoo and Piercing Salon. I soon found out noone had the key ingredients to make MY vision a reality and had to flip a coin to choose my dream corporate career or my passion of business ownership. Obviously, it was a no Brainer! Without knowing ANYTHING about tattoos or piercings, I jumped full speed in making my dream a reality. I hired someone to teach me how to become a piercing artist. Unfortunately, he was only able to show me 4 piercings before I had to fire him for smoking Crack in my restroom. Heartbroken, I started watching every piercing video on YouTube and became a self taught piercing artist. Now mind you, I have learned from some of the best piercing artists in the world while living in Miami and Miami Beach. I’ve trained over 2 dozen piercing artists from multiple states. I have a passion for this industry. I believe the path I took was the only path I could take. There were obstacles at every corner but, my God allowed me not to be stopped and the ability to stear clear of any typical vices associated with this industry.
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?
It all started when I was working for Amazon in a mid management position and was extremely unhappy. I was tired of trying to explain why things weren’t working properly to upper management. I decided to take my savings as well as an additional $10k loan to open a business. I had no clue what type of business, I just knew I had to do something different. I was in Burger King in Lexington, SC and saw a man with a beautiful shiny new tattoo on his forearm. I struck up a conversation and ended up getting the artists information. The artist and I met and discussed our potential future together. I decided to ope a Tattoo and Piercing Salon with zero knowledge of either. I was unaware that before you could open a Tattoo or Piercing Salon in South Carolina, you must be a licensed artist so, I had to become a tattoo apprentice and eventually became a licensed tattoo artist. I knew there was no way I could do this for any amount of time because I was so uncomfortable tattooing anyone. I didn’t think I would have to be involved other than being the owner. I was extremely gullible and didn’t realize the artist was going through some personal issues with drug addiction and only lasted a few additional weeks after training me to become a tattoo artist. During this time he also showed me how to perform 4 piercings. The Nostril, navel, tongue and earlobe. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anyone to run MY business or tattoo or pierce so, I had to make a choice. My career or my dream. It’s pretty obvious which one won lol. I decided if my business was going to succeed or fail, I had to be involved. I parted ways with Amazon. I learned how to pierce every piercing by watching how to videos on YouTube. After learning how other people did piercings differently, I knew I needed to become more knowledgeable in my new profession and decided to learn as much as possible about the art of body modification. I wanted to know about the different metals used. I wanted to know about the different gauges used. I also wanted to know how and why people react differently to piercings. I wanted to know why certain people would bleed like they were sliced open and others had no blood loss. After many months of learning, I felt confident enough to teach someone else so i could grow my business. I would’ve never guessed I’d miss piercing after training my replacement. I decided to continue piercing and soon, piercing became like breathing to me. I started to visualize each piercing and tray set before I’d perform each procedure. I was too in love with my new found passion. Fast forward several years and multiple locations with a former best friend and business partner, I decided to open Piercings Only LLC. It started in a 150 sq. ft. suite with a single sink and enough room to turn around. I had aspirations of being successful but, had no idea this little idea would become such a hit. I searched for years for the right location in Charlotte and every time I’d find a potential location, it was gone as soon as it was listed. A year lafter opening, God provided me with exactly what I asked for. The exact amount of space and perfect location in Charlotte, NC. Now, I’m going to grow this wonderful location into another multiple location entity. I’ve been told, by many clients, that they’ll never let anyone touch them. I’ve convinced them the people I train will be extensions of me and they’re cool with that.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, my biggest joy is seeing my clients reaction to their new body modification and how they react the first moment they see themselves in the mirror.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I’m driven by the fact that North Carolina doesn’t have regulations on piercings or piercing salons. I feel so sad when new clients come in and explain one of many different horror stories about something a professional piercing artist did in another salon in North Carolina. So, I choose to not overcharge for basic surgical stainless steel body jewelry. I also offer many upgrade options from silver to titanium and gold. I’ve been licensed in multiple states and that is the main reason I focused on Charlotte, NC.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.piercingsonly.com
- Instagram: @garyd.hunter
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GaryDHunter?mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Twitter: @GaryDHunter1