Today we’d like to introduce you to Scotty.
Hi Scotty, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I had never wanted to do any one thing my entire life so I came up with a plan early on. Every 10 years take on a new job. Seemed like a fun idea. Lol. I had worked in everything from fast-food, labor jobs and county research. Then one day as that job was slowly getting taken over by the internet in 2000, at 25 years old I found myself searching for that “something special”. You know, that thing in life that totally changed you amd redefined your purpose for the rest of your life? That reinvention? I wanted something that couldn’t be taken from me. Something that would always need me so I could do it forever and not be cast asside again by technology. That’s where tattooing came in. I got lucky and found a guy who was just starting in a new shop. He wasn’t the best guy to come up under, nor was the shop, but if I could get my foot in the door I was going to do it. I didn’t have much to offer him, but I had a motorcycle I could sell and turn into cash. $3,000 later I was a tattoo and piercing apprentice. I’ve always fortunately been a quick learner and good with my hands and I knew my hospitable bedside manner would truly help me shine. Especially when starting out. I had always been into art, but never thought I would be able to make a living off of it. It was the perfect time to give it a shot and I loved it. Everything about it. I knew I cared about people and I wasn’t going to hurt them any more than necessary. Just enough to give them what they wanted and make it last a lifetime. I couldn’t help but think how amazing it’d be for a tiny part of me to get to vicariously travel the world with people everwhere they go in life through my art. Obviously I wouldn’t be the best starting out, but my concern for the customer and constant drive to improve would be my fuel to hopefully succeed. Well, it worked and ten years later I found myself wondering what to do next. In order to stick to my original plan it was time for a change, but I loved tattooing so much I didn’t want to leave it. I decided it wasn’t time to leave it, but to build from it and opened my own studio. Double Deuce Tattoo and Art Gallery. Where we would love creating tattoos and doing piercings for Cary NC. Selling local artist’s artwork on consignment without a commission. It was a great way to give back to the local art community and find our place in it at the same time. We were the premier studio in Cary. We would be the only one at the time. August 2009. We were in a recession and many of my friends thought I was crazy for taking a chance at that time. As many of them were loosing their jobs in careers they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars going to college for, I couldn’t help but think it’s actually the perfect time to do this. I had absolutely nothing to loose, but a little money and time. After all good times or bad there was always someone wanting a tattoo. One year at a time I would build it a little more. Artists would come and go, but the mission stayed the same. Create great art and find the right people for the job who wanted to have a fun stress-free work environment, in hopes it will help inspire them to explore their own artistic creativity to further achieve their own personal goals as well as thrive to continue to serve the customers that trust in us and make it all possible each day. A few years after opening I met the love of my life. A long time customer and friend who lit up my life and sparked an eternal flame for her in my heart. As love would have it soon we would have a beautiful baby girl. For the next few years, now as a team we would work harder than ever. Finding myself up late at night after work I grew restless and wanted to add something new to this wonderful endeavor so I added a new chapter. @_monsterelectric_ on Instagram. I started making tattoo equipment and selling it all around the world. Vintage looking steampunk style custom taylored tattoo power supplies to be more precise. I specialized in building units that turned the tattoo machine on and off by waving the machine over a motion sensor in the power supply. This eliminated the old-school foot switch where a lot of power could be lost and glitches became more often than none. Also improving the artist’s posture and being very compact for easy travel. This opened doors to tattoo artists allover the globe who never would have even otherwise spoken to me. It was amazing and such an unexpected, fulfilling achievement for me. I still build equipment from time to time, but am more focused on my studio and family. It’s been 15 years since we opened our doors and I’m honored to say we’re the longest standing tattoo and piercing studio to ever be in Cary NC. We simply can’t stop. After being an artist in the triangle area for 25 years and personally about to turn 50 years old, like many, I had made a few bad choices early in life, but tattooing was definitely not one of them and I would always treat it and the opportunity respectfully. Since the covid pandemic hit in 2020 we’ve been a masks required studio for your safety and ours and have remained successfully busy.
Our caring doesn’t start with tattooing. It starts with actually caring. While so many professional tattoo artists preaching safety in the past it was and has been sad to me to see so many contagious, life altering and deadly viruses seem so unimportant. While so many of us had complained so much over the years of the lack of actual concern from our health department over many individual aspects and regulations of the tattooing process as well as preeched to the public about getting tattoos from safe and sterile environments it seems almost all tattoo artists have thrown caution to the wind pertaining to Covid, RSV, norovirus, monkeypox, etc. I honestly find it shameful and hypocritical to say the least. As an industry I fell like we missed a huge opportunity to shine light on such viruses with care and concern. Though we work closely with countless customers each day for several hours we haven’t contributed to the spread of nor contracted any viruses of any kind in the studio since our heightened awareness. I personally have not been sick at all in over 5 years due to masking at work and in public spaces. We also have a HEPA filter air purifier to keep the air a little extra pleasant inside because why wouldn’t you? More studios need to wake up and get on board with this behavior. We also offer free covid tests to the public as long as we can keep them in stock thanks to my wife. Being human isn’t a choice for any of us, but acting like it is. Hopefully with the ongoing support of our amazing customers and my wonderfully talented and friendly bunch of artists and friends we’ll be here for another 15 years excited each day to be a tiny part of something so much bigger than any of us. We couldn’t have done without any of them and I appreciate all of them dearly. All this having been said, needless to say my original 10 year job swap plan isn’t looking so great. Lol. Tattooing has definitely changed the coarse of the rest of my life and will hopefully continue to be my forever “something special”. Take care and we hope to do business with you!🤗❤️
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I do all styles of tattoos. In a world where tattooing has gone from traditional tattoo styling to tattooing styles that look like all other mediums of art, photographs, color, black and grey, coverups, etc its important to stay as on top as possible to me. I’ve always been a “yes” guy. If you want it, I can do it. I could never understand only doing one style when not everyone likes one style. I get it for the artist that doesn’t really want to grow or evolve from one style to the next if it successfully works for them, but I’m here to provide a service to everyone. The more flexibly I have on designs for the customer, the more customers I get to meet, tattoo, make happy and grow my business hopefully.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I love hikes and nature. A chance to just be with my family and in wilderness in any way is such a joy and an almost overwhelming escape for me. I love snowboarding, skateboarding, BMX and always working with my hands.
Pricing:
- As for pricing all I can say is don’t ever go looking for the cheapest tattoo. We have managed to keep our pricing in a good place. Some shops charge to little and do less than part work. Some shops charge too much and do less than par work. DO YOUR RESEARCH ON THE ARTIST WHO YOU ARE WANTING A TATTOO FROM
- We’re a service industry, Prices will and should go up with inflation
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.doubledeucetattoo.com
- Instagram: @doubedeucetattoo
- Facebook: Double Deuce Tattoo and Art Gallery
