Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Vic Savage. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Vic , appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I’d say quitting a 9-5 to become self employed is a pretty big risk. Going from making a steady paycheck to not knowing if you’re going to have zero clients or twenty that week. Not having a 401k or health insurance. No payed vacation or sick days. These are all the things you give up when you take the plunge to become a tattooer. I wouldn’t change a thing tho honestly but I would love some affordable health insurance.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Vic Savage and I’m a tattoo artist at Chronic Tattoo in Lakewood Oh, a small suburb or Cleveland. I specialize in traditional, black and grey and love doing Japanese styled tattoos as well. If you’d like to see more of my work check out Vicsavage on Instagram.
My work is bright bold and made with love and care.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

I always believed that word of mouth has been the best and most effective way of new clients. Seeing a tattoo in person, having that person share a story about their tattoo or maybe the interaction we had together. That’s something social media will never be able to replace. Don’t get me wrong I appreciate all the google reviews and the follows and whatnot but having a genuine interaction will always be top.

How’d you meet your business partner?

So funny story, I met Tony Derigo around 2005 he had already made a name for himself and did a tattoo on my girlfriend at the time. I thought the tattoo was amazing and I couldn’t believe how well it was done, how colorful and was in love with it.
So I had put together a portfolio and got enough courage to walk into the shop and ask Tony for an apprentiship. He wasn’t impressed and told me to kick rocks. I found someone else to teach me and about 7 years later he asked me to work for him. Been working for Tony ever since.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vicsavagetattoos.bigcartel.com/
• Instagram: Vicsavage