We recently connected with Mariska Ross and have shared our conversation below.

Mariska, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career.

The education system in the US teaches our children that they must go to college to “make good money”.

Once you graduate high school, it is expected that you rack up tens of thousands, or more, in debt (but it’s ok because you will “make good money”).

Then you are expected to work 40 years in a job you hate for the benefits+ you’re “making good money”.

You are also taught that you must buy a nice house & get more indebted, to show you “make good money”.

Eventually, you are to *hopefully* receive a pension so that you can *hopefully* retire & enjoy if you don’t die too young.

Then you die.

The education system teaches you to be a good little submissive worker, to take the path of least resistance, which I believe, is a life of misery. I wish the education system taught our children to follow their dreams, whatever they may be.

When I was 23, I went from working a business job making $75k a year+ health insurance, retirement, etc. -to finally taking the leap to pursue my lifelong dream of being a tattoo artist.

The business job that I was working, was more money that I ever thought I’d make as a college drop out. All I had to do, was work 41 more years, & then I could finally retire. I had made it, I made it to where the school system said I should be. The problem was, this job sucked the soul out of me. I was handling after hours business calls 24/7. I got 2 weeks off a year (no weekends, always answering calls with customers yelling at me). I was incredibly suicidal, & would have existential crises quite frequently. I couldn’t believe that this was all there was to life. I’d often think to myself, “why am I so unhappy if I’m where I had always been taught was good”? I was making more money than everyone I knew my age, but I hated my life so much.

Through the years that I worked in business, there was always a little part of me that whispered “become a tattoo artist”. I’ve always LOVED drawing, painting, etc. Becoming a tattoo artist was, to me, the most viable option to practicing art & making it profitable.

After 5 years working in an industry that almost killed me, I finally found the courage for change. I finally fought through the voices making every excuse & reason why I shouldn’t pursue art as a career. Every day since I began to take action following my dream, has been the best day ever.

I try to encourage everyone I meet to follow their dreams. It’s worth the pay cut in the beginning, working multiple jobs when you need to pay bills, etc. It is my hope to encourage people to have the strength to follow their dreams, after years of the education system’s indoctrination to follow the “safe path”.

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 began drawing at the age of 15, I’m 24 now. My obsession for art began innocently enough, & kind of came out of no where. When I was 15, I met a girl named Becca who doodled really pretty flowers. I was jealous because I could not. So, I set out to learn to doodle really pretty flowers. Once I learned to do that, I needed more. I began to explore abstract thoughts & put those on paper. For a few years my art was mainly abstract ideas I came up with, that I craved to turn into an image either by drawing or painting.

When I was 18, I began trying to become a tattoo apprentice. I was living in Washington at the time, & had created a portfolio of all my works to take to shops & show them. I went to several shops, that all rejected me. No stress, I was still determined. Then, my car got broke into. My backpack with all of my art supplies, & a case with my portfolio of works were stolen out of my car. I was too broke to buy more supplies, & pretty defeated after countless hours of my work was gone just like that. I gave up on art for about a year after that. When I eventually picked it up again at 19, I had a totally different outlook. I had decided that a “true artist” was one who could draw a beautiful portrait. So I set out to draw beautiful portraits. For several years I drew & painted as a hobby, nothing serious, wasn’t trying to pursue it as a career.

Eventually, in late 2022/early 2023 I decided I couldn’t possibly take any more of my job- & needed a change. I assembled all of my notebooks, & went to several tattoo shops, emailed them, DM’d them, etc. I got into a shop, completed my apprenticeship, & now I’m blessed to be a full time artist.

I think what separates me from other artists is I’m young, & have been practicing different media of art for almost a decade now. I may be new to the tattoo industry, but I am incredibly passionate, obsessed, & have a constant drive to be better than I was yesterday. I LOVE talking about people’s tattoo ideas, & bringing them to life. I am proud that I have been able to turn my obsession with art into a career that provides income. I try to make every tattoo I do my best, so that I can keep the momentum going & never stop tattooing & creating art.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I started building my tattoo clientele by offering free services, before I had a skill worth charging for. I told everyone I knew, & everyone I met-that I was doing free tattoos in the beginning of my apprenticeship. Offering your services for free gets a lot of attention. Eventually I got good enough to charge for “tips only”, pay what the customer felt was fair. This too, gained traction, people love a fair deal. Eventually, my mentor decided I was ready to charge for my tattoos, & begin transitioning into an artist. So, I began charging my customers. Over time, of meeting people in public & giving them my card, a friend of a friend, chatting with the cashier at the store, Instagram, people will discover you. If you do good, honest, & fair work, clients will come & be loyal.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I have a pretty good time staying in touch with clients, as I try to build a relationship with my clients. If a client texts me, I try to respond that day Most of my clients, I see as friends more than customers. If we weren’t friends before I started tattooing them, we certainly have a deeper level of friendship after the sessions. I love hearing about people’s unique journeys, stories, etc. I genuinely listen & try to offer good advice when my clients seek it, or just need someone to talk to. I think it is very important to be your authentic, respectful self with your clients, & loyalty will follow.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @riskbusinesstattoo https://www.instagram.com/riskbusinesstattoo/