TATTO SOCIETY MENS
RICKI HALL
CONTEMPARY ICONS
NEW FACES
TODAYS STARS
ISSUE 38
TATTOO SOCIETY HOT OFF THE PRESS!
Toy Shades release there new “Slick Rick” collection
TABLE OF CONTENTS
!.RICKI HALL INTERVIEW: “What is the definition of style?”
2.TATTOO TALK:
We talk to and see some of the work from GERRY BECKERMAN.
3.CARE ADVICE: Find out the best care tips and tricks for your fresh ink! 4.OLI SYKES INTERVIEW: Find out what Oli and other members of BMTH
MAN OF THE HOUR: RICKI HALL ”What’s your definition of style to a man?” Definition of style is elegance and slight panaz. I always stick with effortlessly awesome. You don’t want to look like you try to hard but also you don’t want to look like you don’t give a fuck! If there is one ”Dapper” guy then it must be Ricki Hall,…Is that something you agree with when you like into the mirror? Haha, no, not at all, if someone thought that about themselves they need a good swift kick in the dick. I just see beard and brown eyes, nothing special. What has the beard mean or did for you? I got fed up of all the girly looking boys and wondered what happened to the proper men, not many people my age had beards, Ive just turned 26 so to grow a beard of this bad assness is worth a trophy on its own. Planning on keeping the beard a lifetime? Maybe not a lifetime. I really love Tom Hardys look in the film Bronson so after this look ill pack on the muscle, shave the beard and head. How would you describe your style? 1950’s new York work wear with a nod towards 1930’s English gentleman and a sprinkle of the 1980’s skin head era What was your first motivation to get a tattoo? It’s a bit taboo so I automatically wanted one. I was only 17 though. Now it’s fucking art.
Do you think that the stereotypical image of the effeminate, emaciated male-model is becoming outdated? Of course, there are so many more interesting and peculiar looking models around now. I love that! The fact that tattoos and beards are massive right now is brilliant, although my look isn’t as original anymore, but that can only be a good thing if people are adapting to it. You’re not the conventional model. Why and how did you get into it? I got scouted whilst I was having a weekend with my friend in London. I was walking out of Topman, as just got myself a plain white tee (default attire), and I got approached as I was walking out. I got sent to Nevs, my model agency, and the rest is history. Talk us through your style secrets… Dr Martens, Fred Perry and my good friend John Lancaster-JLSA icons — he is my designer and tailor. In the summer, I just wear skinny jeans — mostly Nudie, Cheap Monday or Monkee Genes — and a white vest or tee, with some brogues. I dress so down in summer but as soon as it turns autumn/winter I slip the suits and overcoats on. If you had to choose modelling or motor biking, what would it be? Swine! What a question. I don’t think I can answer that, sorry!
Tattoo trends are bigger than ever. Talks us through how you go about choosing your tattoo. Can you recommend any products you used when getting them done and places you go to. What messages do they have if any? Yeah, tattoos are massive in the model industry right now, my mate Ash Stymest and also singer/model Josh Beech pretty much started the whole tattooed model look. However I was the one with the beard and its served me well. I was with Ash and Jimmy Q (another tattooed model and close friend) at the converse party at the circle tattoo in soho. It got pretty naughty pretty quickly, a fun affair, give models a free bar and its game over! In regards to tattoo care I just use a good nappy rash cream to rub on them, I’ve always used that and it’s done me just fine! As for how I choose my designs….I can be daydreaming on the tube and come up with a fun design etc and give it to my tattooist and he will incorporate into my ever growing collection. I mostly go to Zibi Dombek who is my main tattoo artist. He knows exactly what I’m into and always comes up with ideas that I’ve given him so it fits in with what I already have, he is a great friend too! Most of them don’t really mean anything, I have a lot of girlfriends names covered up, never get your partners name tattooed on you, it’s a tattoo curse (in my opinion) I have a dinosaur and a coffin covering up a couple of ex’s names.
GERRY BECKERMAN TATTOO TALK Gerry, how long have you been tattooing? I’ve been tattooing professionally for 22 years. What got you interested in the business? I put a few homemade tattoos on myself and some friends when I was young, but got my first professional tattoo the day after I got married. It was a heart with my wife’s name in it. I had heard it hurt real bad and so was all pumped up for it, but after he got started I thought ‘this isn’t bad at all’. After that, it was every time I could afford a tattoo I was there. By the way, let me say I got my first 5 tattoos from Peter TAT-2 Poulos. Anyway it seemed like he really enjoyed what he was doing and I was fascinated by the whole thing... the environment, smell, artwork....everything! The first opportunity I had to apprentice, I jumped at it. How long did you apprentice? About a year; then I worked at that shop for another year before opening my own studio. So, do you enjoy the job after all these years? I love it even more now than when I first started. The business has evolved so much in the last 10 years, with the infusion of new talent, that every day is still a challenge and an adventure.
What would you say is your favorite part of the job? This may sound funny, but it’s the people. I get such a wide variety of people...Some of them are more interesting than others but all have a story...the path that led them to... getting a tattoo. Those stories are interesting to me. But, I also have to say that executing the design the customer wants is a part I enjoy also because it’s a challenge.
OLI SYKES INTERVIEW Sometimes in interviews, I toss in strange questions that I’d usually only ask people I know really well. Like, have you ever been in rehab? Or, have you ever gotten a hummer
in a bus depot? Have you ever killed a man? Broken a man’s leg? I asked Oli Sykes, leader of British metalcore act Bring Me The Horizon, if he has had any recurring nightmares. I never expected his reply. “I always have dreams about the end of the world,” Sykes reveals to Gun Shy Assassin, which isn’t shocking. It’s what he said next that caught me off guard. “Actually, I’ve always had bad dreams. I have a thing called sleep paralysis.” I know a thing or two about sleep paralysis. I did extensive reading on the topic after becoming obsessed with Dredg’s El Cielo, which was a concept record that dealt with the subject of sleep paralysis. Inside the liner notes, the band put in letters from fans of theirs who’ve experienced sleep paralysis. “Sometimes, I wake up but my body can’t move whatsoever, and you tend to hallucinate and you’ll be dreaming lucidly while you’re awake but it’s always like this really scary shit happens to you, and it feels real. It’s scary and that’s kind of weird.” That sucks. Imagine being on tour, in your bunk on the bus, and you’re awake, can’t move, and you’e experiencing your nightmare. Fucking crazy. Oli tells me he likes to meditate, which helps lessen the occurrence of sleep paralysis attacks. Right now, the band’s on tour and loving the U.S. response to their live gigs and their newly release third album, the lengthily-titled There Is a Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let’s Keep It a Secret. I asked Oli why the fuck he went and named the album something so fucking long. “The title, I had it in my head for a long time before we started the album,” he says. “I guess it just explains everything that this album’s about. Black and white, good and bad. The album title says everything about the album.” OK. Oli says the band will not be writing new material for sometime, and plan to be quite busy this summer. Last summer, they were on Warped Tour. Could that mean they’ll be on Mayhem this summer in 2011? “I’m not sure what we’re doing. I know we’re coming back before the summer too, to tour. As far as summer touring, we’re not sure yet.” They’ll be hitting the road next month in the U.K. for an arena run with Bullet For My Valentine. Being a journalist, I had to ask Oli about allegations he faced back in 2007 that he peed on a chick when she wouldn’t fuck him. I wanted Oli to set the record straight. What went down, clown? “It was basically bullshit,” Sykes tells me. “It was when we were relatively young and more naive, I guess. We used to fucking rage every night and stuff, and I guess someone who didn’t like the band and didn’t like anyone in the band just saw a way of getting at me…it all got sorted out in the end. It was a good lesson learned. It was an eye opener. It showed us that you have to be careful who you let into your little circle.” True dat, homey — true dat.
TATTOO CARE ADVICE Now, you have your fresh new tattoo, and you want to take good care of it! From this point on, your artist is not responsible for any infection or problems you may have with your tattoo if you don’t take proper care of it. It is very important that you follow these guidelines. A really beautiful tattoo can turn into a disaster if the proper aftercare is not taken. Leave That Bandage Alone! Your artist took the care to cover up your new tattoo for a very good reason - to keep air-born bacteria from invading your wound. Yes, as pretty as your new tattoo is, it is still a wound. Open flesh is a breeding ground for bacteria and infection. Leave the bandage on for a minimum of two hours. Excitement of having a new tattoo will make you want to remove the bandage so you can show your friends, but your friends will just have to wait until later. The only exception to this rule is if your artist covered your tattoo with saran wrap or some kind of plastic. This is extremely detrimental to a tattoo, so it should be removed immediately. You’re better off not having any covering than to be suffocating your new tattoo with plastic wrap.
Wash and Treat After you remove the bandage, you will want to wash your tattoo. Use lukewarm water and mild, liquid antibacterial or antimicrobial soap (Satin and Provon are my highest recommendations. Dial tends to be too harsh - generic brand antibacterial soaps are actually better) to gently wash away any ointment, blood and/ or plasma and to completely clean the area. Do not use a washcloth or anything abrasive. Your hand is your best tool in this case. (If your tattoo feels slimy and slippery, you have probably been oozing plasma. Try to gently remove as much of this as possible - when the plasma dries on the skin surface, it creates scabs.) Then pat (do not rub) the area firmly with a CLEAN towel or paper towel to get it completely dry. Follow with a very light application of your choice of ointment. A&D vitamin enriched ointment would be my first choice, but if you don’t have any, Bacitracin or a similar antibacterial ointment is acceptable.