We recently connected with Samantha Bown and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Samantha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share a story with us from back when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or maybe it’s a just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)? Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style.

I know a lot of people in the tattoo industry talk about their internship as this horrible experience, dealing with the very negative things that are in the tattoo industry. I didn’t necessarily have the greatest time during my apprenticeship but the friendships that i made along the way definitely make up for it. the girls that i apprenticed with became more like sisters to me than coworkers or friends. we all still keep in touch and have been each others biggest support since the beginning. i learned a lot about not just tattooing but about myself during my apprenticeship. it really made me want to be a better version of myself because i realized that i didn’t want to be like the large majority of tattoo artists. i wanted to be able to stay true to myself whether or not that made me fit in the industry or not.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi, I’m Samm. I’m a tattoo artist in Logan, Utah where i’m originally from! Being a tattoo artist was definitely not what i thought i would be when i was younger. I originally wanted to be a dancer and own a dance studio of my own one day. However, the universe had other plans for me and when I turned 17, I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do with my life. I started taking art classes at school and started to really enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would so I kept with it. After I graduated high school, I ended up getting out of a very toxic abusive relationship where I had lost all sense of self. I genuinely felt like I no longer had a purpose in life. It wasn’t until my uncle mentioned that I should get into tattooing since my art was really cool and I loved it and because it was something that I was already somewhat interested in.

Looking for an apprenticeship was pretty tricky. Unfortunately the tattoo industry is full of not so great people, so trying to find someone to apprentice under who wasn’t a complete scum bag was pretty tough. However, I was able to find a place! Growing up in the dance world I learned so much about discipline, dedication, and hard work. I feel like those transfer over really well to what I had to go through during my apprenticeship and afterwards and I am so grateful that I already had those skills in my back pocket.

Something that I am most proud of about my tattoo career is making my clients feel comfortable in their own skin. I have witnessed so many people struggle with body image issues and for me to be able to help someone be happier with their body makes my whole world. I’m also really proud of myself for growing as much as I have been. I love to challenge myself and learn new things and I’m proud that I’ve been able to keep an open mind for new opportunities that have been and will be presented to me.

Something that I want my potential clients to know is that when you leave my chair, you leave a friend. I really pride myself in my relationships with my clientele. I hope everyone that finds themselves in my chair feels like they’re being welcomed with open arms. I’m here to listen and to make your vision come to life, not to judge and criticize.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Since I wanted to be my own boss ever since I was 3, I took a ton of business classes in high school, im pretty sure I took all of them that I could. I learned a lot in those classes that have helped me a lot building my platform on social media and growing my clientele. Since I live in a smaller town, word of mouth is huge for me. My first clients were close family and friends and they would constantly show support for me, whether that being getting a tattoo from me or just sharing my stuff on their socials. I did a lot of research on how to grow my social media presence and the key thing that I took away from it was consistency and networking. Posting everyday was a huge game changer for me. I can tell when I don’t post for a day or two even now. Networking is also a really big thing that will help. Commenting, liking and following people that inspire you or even that you just think is really cool will help your business grow so much!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I really genuinely feel like it’s me just staying true to who I am. Tattooing is something that I love doing and it’s not about the money to me. I know the relationships that I have built with my clientele have really helped build my reputation. Like I said previously, word of mouth is huge!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sammbown.glossgenius.com
• Instagram: dead_girl_tattoos

Image Credits

sharon rose vandygriff christenson