Here I sit in a real professional tattoo shop. Finaly the dream is comming true. I first stepped foot into a real tattoo shop in Houston, 22 years ago. I was 15 years old, and in highschool still. “Boots” at Fine Line Tattoos took one look at my art I was doing back then and asked me to be his apprentace. So for 2 years I hung out in the shop, kept it clean and professional looking, made stencils, made needles, and everything else…except learn to apply the ink to the skin. In 1991 I joined the U.S.N. to go fight in the Gulf War, and thus put a hold on my apprentaceship. I stayed in the Navy for 5.5 Years, and learned to weld and welding inspection, do shipboard plumming, and firefighting. after I got out, I hopped around from So Cal. to Houston, to Ft. Lauderdale, and back to So. Cal. looking for a place to settle. I eventually got a job as an Industrial X-ray Tech, x-raying welds in the Ca oil fields. I then became a Certified Welding Inspector, and began doing structural welding inspections on schools and bridges. After doing that for 10 years I landed a job as an Engineering Technician for Shasta County, untill I got hurt on the Job… My construction inspection carrear was over and I had to find something new to do. So I bought a Tattooing kit and started practicing on myself and wife. The work I did was ok, but I was not sattisfied with the quality, and I knew I needed to have a teacher inorder to be the best I could be. I went to every shop in town looking for an apprenticeship, but no one would take me on. Finaly I found not only a shop to teach me, but is and actual school fo tattooing. So, here I sit in a real tattoo shop… I finaly made it!