We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelli Zeien. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelli below.

Kelli, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

As someone in a non-standard type of career, you can’t always be picky. Risks, and losing that gamble from time to time, can often be a part, large or small, in continuing such a career choice.

As a tattooer and former body piercer, I’ve made the leap of faith in moving hundreds or thousands of miles for a “promised” better professional opportunity. Living in so many highly varied locations taught me a lot about my industry and life in general. That being said, it didn’t always work out in my favor.

There was one specific series of events that almost every situation was stacked against me or actively tried to tear my life apart. Luckily, I already had a number of years experience in my field and was flexible enough to wait it out and continue searching for my next learning opportunity.

It was the second time I moved to Las Vegas. An acquaintance of mine, who had a much larger pull in the industry, had been mentioning he was keeping me in mind any time his employer (a high-end, luxury establishment with multiple locations on the strip, inside the well known casinos) was in need of trained employees. I had just left a shop in NY state that had devolved into an unsatisfactory situation, so I was between jobs, which also meant I was rather broke.

I used what little money I had, and probably wheeled and dealed some of my small personal inventory of jewelry and my skills with it, and bought a one-way plane ticket to Vegas for the second time in my life. I somehow managed to talk my way into staying at a hostel just down Las Vegas Boulevard from the Mirage, where the shop was located.

At least in the US, hostels usually only accommodate foreign travelers and college students. I don’t remember exactly what I said to convince the manager of the establishment into letting me stay. All I can recall about that situation was that he was a bit of a slimy (white male) individual, but he also had an assistant; a young Australian woman, about my age, who I got along with fantastically. It was completely platonic, and I don’t think we even spent much time together. Pretty sure that her presence in the second meeting with the manager, in my attempt to gain room and board there, was what ultimately got me in, though.

That was one of the few instances that unfolded in my favor. I worked at that shop for about eight months. Made a decent chunk of change in exchange for working grueling hours with awful management. Had myself a small room in a wonderfully decked-out house just south of the strip. A Chinese knock-off of one of the nice Japanese designed sport bikes. And I made at least a couple life-long friends who, in subsequent years, would help teach me valuable lessons and skills.

So, after living in the hostel for about the first month, I spent a grand total of about seven months living decently. I was then fired for completely ignorant reasons. That’s an entirely other story, but let’s just say that another employee, in a higher position than I, didn’t like the cut of my jib. Probably because I was a smart-ass, mid-twenty something who thought they knew everything about this skill set. In my defense, I most definitely knew leaps and bounds more than this individual. Ultimately, that didn’t matter, though.

There was no two week notice or anything like that. I was simply told not to come in for my next shift, or any other ones thereafter. Luckily, I was smart enough to have saved enough to ride out the rest of my lease, and then crashed with an extremely kind friend for a few months before buying a bus ticket to LA and going on a hitchhiking trip through California, which is an eloquent way of saying that I made myself homeless as to not continue riding on my friend’s coat tails.

In other words, the risk that I took, in this instance, eventually ended with me losing about as hard as I could.

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

My name is Kelli Zeien and I’ve worked with and modified my clients’ bodies for around 13 years now. I spent the first ten as a body piercer, and am now going into my third year as a tattooer. That being said, I no longer offer my services as a body piercer to the general public.

As a tattooer in this day and age, I offer a professional ear, as well as my art services. What I mean by that is, I’m not here to judge my clients. Whether you use every misnomer about my industry that exists, generally don’t understand how the process works, or any other reason many ego-fueled tattooers would scoff at for being brought into their studio; none of that matters. Getting tattooed is a personal experience, and everyones’ knowledge of the craft varies. I’m the professional. I don’t expect anyone to know every minute detail of my profession. That’s, literally, my job.

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My only goal in life is to be happy and try to help others achieve the same, even if only briefly. With how often my much more short-term aspirations change, that’s the most accurate description I can come up with. Try to make my life as enjoyable as possible and, at the very least, do no harm to the world around me.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I spout all of this “peace and love” type ramblings, but that doesn’t mean you can come into my workplace and disrespect me, my craft, or my community. As always, I’ll listen without judgement. I’ll help create the art you’re envisioning, or something even better, to the best of my ability. Unfortunately, not everyone can suspend their judgement, and a lot of individuals are scared, or even disgusted, with others who aren’t like them, and we see a lot of that. If you can’t keep an open mind during our interaction and disregard my attempts to help you, you absolutely will be asked to leave.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Instagram.com/kid_qik
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kidqik989
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/zeienke