and growing. I’m super thankful to be able to tattoo, and I really feel blessed. What’s your waiting list like? It’s about eight months to a year. Currently, I have a new apprentice, Alex Varkatzas, who is the lead singer of Atreyu. He’s the 2nd apprentice I’ve ever had. He’s one of the hardest working guys, I’ve known, too. Last week he played a festival of 50-100K fans and he came back here right after to bust his ass in learning how to tattoo in a traditional apprenticeship. He did his first tattoo on me. What are your thoughts on cannabis? I was a pretty hardcore advocate of the legalization of marijuana when I was younger. Both of my kids know I use it. Instead of breaking down my body with pharmaceuticals, I have found that cannabis is the one thing that has regulated my thinking, and helped balance my stress levels. It’s like a wet blanket that goes over the fire that’s constantly burning going in my mind. It really helps me to relax and calm down and it’s something that I don’t feel is as dangerous as having a couple of
beers after your workday. I even told my son that if he wants to use it when he’s older I don’t have a problem with it. I just don’t see it as negative like so many other people do. That stigma that was put on it from the ‘40’s-50’s stuck all the way through the ‘80’s. I come from a family of cannabis users. I was raised with it not being a bad thing. My children don’t look at it like that, even though my son said he’ll probably never use it and that’s fine, too. I just let them know I don’t think there’s anything negative about it. Of course like anything, there’s always something bad if you abuse it, but used responsibly, its beneficial. It has helped me tremendously. Any shout outs you’d like to send to anybody in your field? Yes! I want to thank all of my sponsors: Sullen, Eternal Ink, INK-EEZE, TATSoul, Black Flys, Sullen TV, Bishop Rotary, Opus Gloves, Painful Pleasures, Stencil Stuff, Waterloo, Redemption Tattoo After Care, and Quick Caps. WEB SI TE:
richpinedatattoos.com
issue 06 july/august 2015
59