We recently connected with Ric Castellon and have shared our conversation below.

Ric, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Has Covid resulted in any major changes to your business model?

Artist found out that renting an office/private studio has beneficial since they get to keep 100% of the pay an only lease a small space for 600-1000 a month. That’s pretty easy to reach, and then the rest is yours. Some artist still feel that the shops walk ins is what keeps their money up to float.

Ric, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hello, my name is Ric Castellon. Im born and raise in a small town call Highland Park in the Northeast part of Los Angeles. I’ve been blessed to call this my business stomping grounds too for the last 15 years. I’ve been tattooing now for about 16 years. I’ve been an artist since I was maybe 6. I pushed myself into the streets at a young age for the love of graffiti. I spent 15 years adding to the history. My interest for body art came by through depression of corporate America ant line. Once I hit rock bottom of what I now know as, the continuation of cycles knowing what needs to change. That alone made me get up and go find an apprenticship at a tattoo shop. And that’s exactly what I did, started scouting out different shops to work at around my house which I could access right after my 9-5 personal banker position. Right after I opened my tattoo studio.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Back in 2008, I borrowed 2k from a good friend (which I had to pay back in 3 months and did) plus I borrowed through my 401k plan from my employer Chase 8k and that’s how I used every cent to gamble on this brand new business venture.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The continuation of building personal relationships for these sacred moments and help co-create with my clients to map out what an experience should feel, look and smell like.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.RicRoksTattoos.com
• Instagram: @ricroks_Tattoos
• Facebook: @ricrokstattoos
• Twitter: @ricrokstattoos
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/ricroks-tattoos-los-angeles