We were lucky to catch up with Michael Gordon recently and have shared our conversation below.
Michael , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
Being a tattoo artist was never something I thought about or thought I could do. However life has a way of pushing us in the needed directions. I’ve always been an artistic person and have drawn for a long time but it was my bad choices in life that actually led me to where I am today…some call it a silver lining story but I was convicted on non violent federal drug trafficking charges. While serving my sentence I refined my drawing skills and was pushed by a friend to try tattooing. At first glance I couldn’t believe I could do it but I ultimately tried and just never stopped while I understand tattooing in prison isn’t exactly the same there are a lot similarities and it gave me 8 plus years of dealing with different skin types. I did a profound amount of studying on the skin and it’s layers to better understand my canvas and what it could and could not take. After my release I went and worked at a shop to help me around the learning curve and for what it’s worth I gained some knowledge there but it wasn’t a healthy environment which almost caused me to give up and pursue a different path in life. Maybe everyone was right??? Maybe tattooing is an unhealthy lifestyle choice?? At least that’s what I was being told by so many around me….how it was bad….however inside I knew I wanted to be an artist so I began to look around and found so many artist that have created a craft and changed the narrative and so I opened Studio Black inside The Phenix Salon Spa in Fort Worth Texas. I gravitated towards a higher end feel and a better more personal experience. I’ve come to realize almost any lifestyle choice can be unhealthy. It’s all predicted on who u are as a person. I often look back and think about a specific day…the one where I was certain I was done….I was gonna quit and I have a few to thank for pushing me forward. I now have been in business 2 years…Studio Black is now an LLC and we have big plans for expanding moving forward.
Michael , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Like so many of us in life our broken roads often lead us to where we currently stand in life. Im a firm believer that it’s up to us to define our outcomes….I have failed many times in life and gave up too…this time around I’ve just pushed through…I’m always striving to evolve as an artist and even more importantly as a person. I started Studio Black with not much more than a dream…not much money for sure. Just enough…and I have grown from there. I do my best to take my time with my clients to capture the vision they see for their art….my studio is an appt only venue. I’ve tried to create a calm inviting environment. It’s not ur typical loud music people all over place venue. Most all of my tattoos are created from ideas. We design draw and fit the image to a persons body not try to fit the persons body to an image….I believe this style of connecting with my clients is what sets me apart from some walk in shops. It’s just a different experience. You can go to my website for booking and to see my portfolio. www.studioblack.ink I’m also in the process of building a clothing line….Studio Black Apparel….hoping to have products coming out by the end of the year. Which will be found on all my social media platforms.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social media has been a big part of the success I’ve had. For me Instagram is my biggest audience with 8 thousand plus followers which is a decent start but it was built on creating good pics and hashtags. Have people tag u and share ur work. Try to create a clean page that’s easy to navigate. Facebook also played a good role but it’s more people I know so it’s my core supporters so I try to keep that up to date as well. Just be urself and be genuine.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I had to unlearn….Not everyone has ur best interest at heart and when they see u doing well or learning some can become insecure. I once had someone I was supposed to be learning from that was giving the wrong information. He was telling me to do things that were wrong and that were setting me back as an artist. The information was about technical application when it comes to tattooing. I soon realized he was doing this to hold me back. After leaving and advancing alot of what he told me was wrong. On the other side of that I’ve had many help me along and so don’t lose trust in people just do ur own research when given advice then proceed with what works for u the best.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.studioblack.ink
- Instagram: flashg777
- Facebook: Studio Black
Image Credits
Kambriegh Hale – Client.