piggofdoom said
I have some homies that are big into tattoos that might be going, and I was just wondering for personal knowledge. But for all of you Sage-alo’s who have the knowledge of many years at the gathering: are there actually any decent artists there? What are the prices like? Anywhere I can see some of the work that has been done?

I got a milenko on my shoulder a few years back…but we knew the ninjas who were doing it so he did mine for 20 bucks…The last year I went the people I knew were gone…but there were differnt ones in the dark forest that had more official looking trailers…but they said the minimum was 50.  I wouldn’t advise getting ink there though its easy for it to get dirty and infected if you forget to take care of it.  @piggofdoom do you have any ink?

Then trust me you do NOT wanna get your first one there…you seem to overthink (no offense) and would spend too much time focusing on taking care of it and it would take away from your first gathering experience…I waited until my 5th before I got one and it was my 4th Tattoo.  

Do one experience at a time…its better that way.

To me its similar to bringing a dog to the event:  If you are going to do it be prepared to take care of it…which is the most difficult with your first tattoo and your first gathering.  Now adays I have it down to a science, but I still remember obsessing over keeping my first one clean and dry…but letting it scab correctly and all that mess…and ive got similar tendencies to a lesser extreme of pigg.  I always try to roll with a backup for my backup or I begin to get stressed and anxious.  

When I got mine I waited until the last night during the main stage and then didn’t get soaked during ICP.  Then after their set i went back to my site, covered the bitch with a paper towel with a bit of A&D ointment the ninja who inked me hooked me up with (again why its better if its not some random ninja youve never met doing your shit) and some medical tape.  Normally Ida let it breathe a bit longer, but an open wound at the gathering did not seem too appealing.  I lost some ink but nothing that wasn’t touch upable by our in house Tattoo guy here in VA.  If anyone is fixing to try this I hope it helps you keep yourself from getting infected, but the main point is don’t do it until you’ve got the gathering down to a science or  ia strong possibility youll regret it.

I do not have any ink. I WANT to, but I have never saved the money for it.

do NOT get your first tattoo at a festival, you will regret it

Do your research, find a good artist who knows what they are doing and remember

good tattoos are not cheap, but cheap tattoos are not good

Why would you want a gathering tattoo? Dude, just spray paint your face and call it a day. At least go to someplace that reputable and that you can sue if it gets infected. You’ll never be able to find the people from the gathering, and you have no real way of knowing how clean their shit is. They might have the best of intentions, but since you’re gonna have this forever, splurge a little bit on yourself. Nothing looks worse than a tattoo that looks like it was done in prison when it wasn’t done in prison.