So, we just caught up with one of Toronto's tattoo artist's, Nate of Adrenaline tattoos. It was a bit nerve wracking, being it my first interview and all, but it turned out he's probably one of the coolest guys you'd ever meet. Here's the latest scoop on his journey to becoming the talented tattooist he is today!
Acid City: Hey! So how long have you been tattooing?
Nate: I've been tattooing for about 7 and a half years.
Acid City: What got you interested in the business?
Nate: When I was a little kid, I saw a guy walking past my school with a spider web tattoo on his elbow, and I was like "HOLY, LOOKIT THAT! THAT'S THE COOLEST THING IN THE WORLD!". And then, when I was fifteen I got my first tattoo, and it just went down hill from there.
Acid City: What's your favourite part of your job?
Nate: Favourite part of my job? Putting something on someone that makes them super happy. Like if you got a client who comes in, and has something in mind, and you can make something perfect for them, and they're like the happiest they've ever been when they leave. Yeah, that's the best part.
Acid City: Any particular artists that have made a huge impact on you?
Nate: Yes, none that you'd probably know of, but this guy named Adam Burton is one of my favourite artists in the world. He tattoos at O'reilly's Tattoo, in Santa Cruz. Sean Conner, at a place called Ink Machine in Edmonton, Sean Dale, not too sure where he's working anymore, and just friends of mine, like guys who I've worked with in the past and trade knowledge with, y'know?
Acid City: What's your favourite style of work?
Nate: Neo traditional.
Acid City: How many tattoo's do you have?
Nate: Uh, a lot *laughs*
Acid City: Favourite one?
Nate: This one on my my thigh, right here *hits thigh* D'you guys need to see it?
Acid City: Haa! No, it's okay. *laughs* What is it of?
Nate: It is a hand holding a tattoo machine with one of the fingers cut off, and a tattoo machine's tattooing that finger, with some traditional roses and vines, and stuff around it.
Acid City: What's the significance behind it?
Nate: Honestly, my friend and I, back in Vancouver, decided we were gonna tattoo each other, and we were just sort of like, you tattoo what you'd think I should have. So I didn't have a clue what I was getting until I went to the shop. And that was it.
Acid City: Is there any places that you wouldn't tattoo?
Nate: Genitals. I do not go near the genitals.
Acid City: *Laughs* Has anyone ever asked you to?
Nate: Oh yeah, people come in all the time. I just won't do it. And I'm pretty fortunate, 'cause I'm the head artist in the shop, so I turn stuff down all the time. Like people come in like "I want this on my finger!", and I'm like, "No."
Acid City: In ten, twenty years, do you think you're still going to be tattooing?
Nate: Yeah. If I'm not tattooing, I'm gonna be running the shop.
Acid City: What kind of training did you have to get?
Nate: You go through an apprenticeship, and you just get somebody to teach you what they know and back when I learned, which was a long time ago, and I got taught by some awful artists, and some good ones, and you just sort of go from there. Like I had quit tattooing for about three and a half years, and I wasn't happy with what I was doing, I was just like "I can't fucking do this,". 'Til I got some other guys to show me more than I already know. So I quit, went to culinary school, became a chef, found some other guys that were really good friends of mine, and they got me back into it, and here I am now.
Acid City: So does that mean you were interested in art in highschool too?
Nate: If I had went to highschool, yeah.
Acid City: No way!
Nate: Yeah, drugs and skateboarding were way cooler in highschool. But I did have to go back to get my GED, when I went to culinary school. But I think I got up to grade 10, maybe.
Acid City: That just shows you that you don't need an education to get where you want to be.
Nate: You don't, but it's pretty rare. You could find a lot of people down Queen St, and Younge St, who didn't graduate highschool, who are terrible tattooists, who will never be good, and will never care about sterile and cleanliness. So, it's rare that you find people who have at least other training.
Acid City: Would you consider this an art form?
Nate: Yeah, 100%. It's on the skin, not on paper. They've all got their place, it's just something I love to do. Like if you put a tattoo on somebody properly, it can excentuate the shape of their body. And that's gonna make it look way better.
Acid City: So, any advice for first-timers on tattoos?
Nate: Look through portfolios, look that the line mark is clean. Don't judge like "I don't like that, I don't like that, I don't like that," You're not looking at the artwork to see if you like the design, you're looking at them to see if the shading's smooth, you you're looking at the nice clean line mark. That's what you should be looking at when you're looking at a portfolio. And you want to get along with you tattoo artist. You don't want someone who's just gonna be like "What do you want? Sit down." Which happens a lot. *Laughs* I can be like that too. I get tired, and I get grouchy. You get a client who's not really that cool, or really demanding, like things that aren't possible. You get frustrated. It's like any job, anybody can get irritable.
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239 Queen St West
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