We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Todd Larson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Todd below.
Alright, Todd thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.
It took a lot of inner work to see through the illusion that ambition alone leads to fulfillment. So many artistic professionals burn themselves out chasing goals that were never truly theirs, caught in that endless loop of achieve → feel empty → achieve again, hoping it’ll be different.
What I hope to describe now is presence, gratitude, and intention in each moment of tattooing. I hope to take life and art as it unfolds in front of me. This isn’t giving up. It feels more like waking up. I hope to choose a path rooted in meaning, not metrics. This feels rare. Especially in a world that glorifies hustle, status, and visibility.
As an artist I’m still learning. Still growing. But now it’s in service of wholeness, not just achievement. That makes every mark I make—whether it’s ink on skin, a word spoken, or a moment with my family—carry more weight. And more joy.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
During grad school I was asked to apprentice by a tattoo shop owner nearby my college. I hesitantly took the position. In just a few months, I ran into Guy Aitchison at a local coffee shop. I introduced myself and talked for a while. We departed. A few months later, I was texting a client to reschedule her tattoo appointment and I mistyped her number. I got a response saying, “You’ve got the wrong number. This is Guy.” I didn’t think there was an inkling of a chance that I could have accidentally picked out 10 random digits that belonged to the stranger/celebrity I just met. So I brushed it off.
A few months after this, I graduated and took a job at Morthland College. I was visiting Stockholm, when I got a text from the number I had mistyped saying: “We’d like to invite you to a Hyperspace painting party at my studio…” I replied, “Is this GUY Aitchison?” He said yes and gave me the invitation. I returned home, painted with other artists on Guy’s property and turned in my resignation to the college. I decided this synchronicity was my sign to focus all my attention on tattooing
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I’m a firm believer that anything “good” will have a magnet on it which attracts people. I’d encourage artists to laser focused on their style and become an expert in their niche. Bruce Lee said a master is not an individual that has practiced ten thousand kicks, but one who’s practiced one kick ten thousand times. Share your best work online and ignore trends that lead to fleeting popularity. Focus on becoming a powerful artist and the rest will follow.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
During my apprenticeship, a smudge in a stencil fooled me into tattooing 6 toes on a baby footprint design! I spent the next 5 days in bed. Having nowhere else to go, I faced the brutal local Facebook tattoo hate groups and resumed learning. The ass chewing my boss gave me was the greatest lesson I ever learned and I completely honor my mistakes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.toddshowdown.com
- Instagram: @toddshowdown
Image Credits
Self