98 TOTAL TATTOO MAGAZINE
Who has tattooed you?
Prior to becoming a tattooist, I mostly
tattooed myself. I started getting decent
work from other artists a bit later. My full
chest and neck is by Xed LeHead, who is
my absolute hero. His relentless
dedication and unbeaten spirit have
really inspired me. My backpiece is by
Filip Leu, who is hands-down the Jimi
Hendrix of tattooing. From watching Filip
work, I learned a lot of incredible
technical tricks. His work taught me that
simple is the opposite of easy – and how
simple and bold composition is the basis
of everything. The guy is unsurpassable.
End of story. I also have a sleeve from
Piotrek Taton, and work from Victor
Portugal too, as well as Gino Angelov
among others. Although they're not
biomech artists per se, I've picked up a
lot from them in terms of composition and
ways of achieving different effects.
Who else are you influenced by?
One artist who never ceases to amaze
me is Markus Lenhard His work is taking
biomech to heights that the rest of us
mere mortals can only dream of. He's a
true visionary. Guy Aitchison and Aaron
Cain also.
What about non-tattoo influences?
With the type of work that I do, it's
usually just a case of observing whatever
is around you. That's enough to inspire.
My work is fairly abstract, relying on
light and shadow, textures and so on, so
I can look at a cauliflower or a rock or
the root of a tree and have enough
inspiration for ten pieces. It's all about
the way you see things.
'With biomech, as with
Japanese, the limitations of
the style can be liberating’
98 TOTAL TATTOO MAGAZINE