3-day Tattoo Expo opens today in Fort Myers

By CJ HADDAD cjhaddad@breezenewspapers com

Looking for some new ink or wanting to prospect the area’s best artists?

This weekend, the inaugural Florida Gulf Coast Tattoo Expo takes place at the Caloosa Sound Convention Center from Friday through Sunday, celebrating the tattoo lifestyle and featuring more than 200 local, national, and internationally recognized artists, entertainers, and nearly 100 vendors

Proceeds from the event benefit “The James Jr Fund,” a non-profit that provides financial assistance to families of children fighting cancer

“It’s great to see the tattoo community come together at one event to support The James Jr Fund,” said event organizer Lisa Quinter “We’ve seen first-hand the difference our help makes in these families’ lives and we’re just proud to be part of that effort ”

Joey Tattoo, former host of TV’s “Tattoo Rescue,” will serve as emcee for the weekend, as attendees have the chance to get tattooed by renowned artists including “Ink Master” Season 10 finalist Roly T-Rex; Nick DeMars from Season 1 of “Ink Masters: Angels,” and many other prominent figures in the ink world Artists will compete daily for recognition among their peers, judged by tattoo legends Yallzee, Chris “Casper” Pitre, and Alwin Perez The main stage features entertainment by “Dr Finnegan’s Circus” a self-proclaimed “shock show,” comedian Justin Silva will provide the laughs, as well as a host of live music throughout the weekend

Artists will be tattooing on-site by walkup or appointment Industry-specific vendors will offer jewelry, fashion, oddities, local goods and more

One featured artist over the weekend will be Cape Coral’s Andrew Bouchard, owner of Totally Rad Tattoo Studio on Lafayette Street

Bouchard, who has nearly 20 years of experience at his craft starting in Miami, said this is the first tattoo expo in the Southwest Florida area in quite some time

“It’s a great opportunity for local artists to show that we’re here,” Bouchard said. “There are a lot of out-of-state tattooers, and they thrive off of conventions But the problem is every time somebody goes to a convention nobody realizes that there’s actually local studios that are just as good as the traveling artists, so they’re kind of over- looked It’s nice to have a convention that’s local so people here can see there’s a shop maybe down the street from them they never knew was there ”

Bouchard will be tattooing attendees via walk-up at the expo, and even has a gumball machine where fate can decide your ink

“I like to give people that opportunity to be spontaneous and want to get tattooed,” he said

Bouchard, 38, having started in the industry at a young age, said his “style” is whatever his canvas is looking for

“I started tattooing in Miami, and at that time, we were a street shop, meaning any- thing that walks in the door, you do,” Bouchard said “You don’t really have a style At the time, we were just starving artists just trying to make a living We kind of just had to do everything. And from then on, I kind of carried that style into my adulthood and into my career now

“We have tattoo work that we like to do, but we don’t really have a style Our style is whatever the person wants ”

Bouchard has seen public reception to the ink world change drastically over time, from something sort of taboo to something many want

“I started young and sponged into the industry where tattooing was frowned upon and really wasn’t as main-stream as it is now.

“You can tell it’s blossomed when you see a lot of law enforcement, you see judges, lawyers, people in the medical field you start to see individuals that work in ‘professional’ fields, showing off more tattoos more comfortably People you never thought would have a tattoo your grandma they’re starting to show off tattoo work It’s more acceptable ”

Totally Rad Tattoo opened in 2020 after the shop Bouchard was working in closed His vision was always to open his own shop, and he made that happen.

General admission tickets to the expo are $20 on Friday and Sunday, $25 on Saturday, and $40 for a weekend pass Children 12 and under are free

The Caloosa Sound Convention Center is at 1375 Monroe St in Fort Myers

For more information, including featured artists, visit www floridagctattooexpo com

Totally Rad Tattoo Studio is at 1323 Lafayette St Suite A in Cape Coral