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[Music]
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it allowed me to travel to grow and to
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learn and to communicate with people how
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many people have to go to work every day
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and talk to new characters new people
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make friends and bonds and things like
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that you know it's it's rare and I get
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to do this for a living I feel blessed
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the reason why we did this convention
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was because for the longest times Long
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Beach was the home was the mecca of
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tattooing where international artists
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came together and they supported each
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other and that felt like it was starting
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to lack a little bit and so I wanted to
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bring it together one more time
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my godmother has tattoos from the neck
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down and I always wanted to be like her
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and she was a makeup artist for Mac and
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I thought she was so cool I've been
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tattooing a bit over three years
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I should have always talked to my
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clients if somebody's spending so much
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money and time with me like I kind of
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want to get to know who they are because
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that's one of the things I love most
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about tattooing is the variety of people
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are gonna meet I've been tattooing for
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15 years I work really hard to give
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somebody special design I charge a lot
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so I have to give them the very best
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usually when I'm choosing an artist
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that's because I like their art style
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personally and then from there I kind of
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decide like what subject matter might be
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suitable or sometimes I just like to let
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them go for it but a lot of times
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they'll give like a fake from like oh I
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want a rabbit but you do your thing with
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a rabbit if you're gonna call yourself a
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professional tattooer
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there's something to be said about
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somebody that can tackle anything that
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walks through the door there's no reason
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why you should turn someone away just
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cuz you don't have the ability it's not
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it's not acceptable if you're gonna call
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yourself a professional every single
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next piece I do is my favorite we would
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deploy for about 18 months and I spent
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most of the time drawing and the guy
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next to me was a tattoo artist so he
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asked me if I wanted to learn how to do
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tattoos and I said yes once I did my
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first tattoo I never stopped ever since
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when I started 20 years ago we didn't
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have the Internet I mean it existed but
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it wasn't used like it is now every
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every shop had the same set of certain
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books that you would see certain
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lettering books certain tattoo books you
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know and there was only a handful of
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resources available tattoo magazines
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were the main way that we were
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communicating and to be famous as a
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tattooer back then meant that other
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tattooers knew who you were you know
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that was it the general public didn't
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know any tattooer is that rude they were
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not part of pop culture with the
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internet and reality shows I mean it's
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it's no longer underground it's very
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much out in the light
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I think body adornment in itself is an
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ancient thing anything that people want
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to put on the exterior of their bodies
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to personify an emotion a mood or
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something of that sort
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could be sentimental it could be just
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silly it could be anything but people
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love it
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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just because of the way Lila does not
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mean that we're not professional working
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individuals you can be a schoolteacher
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you can be a very working professional
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person and still be covered in tattoos
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it takes a certain type of person to be
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tattooed to be secure in your own skin
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if you ever find yourself in an airport
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and you don't know where you're going to
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find the first person with a tattoo I
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guarantee you're there another better
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attitude than anybody else I just want
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to say thank you to everyone that
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supported this event from day one we
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appreciate it and we want to continue on
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this event year after year we want to
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grow with everyone that's the beauty of
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tattooing and that's the beauty of just
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being people
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[Music]
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The 3rd annual LA Tattoo Convention was a feast for the eyes, bringing together some of Southern California's most talented tattoo artists and enthusiasts. Held in Long Beach, a city with tattooing deep in its roots, this unique event was a celebration of all forms of body art and observed the important history behind this ancient practice.
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