Becoming the Best Tattoo Artist in the World

I’ve been tattooing for over a decade now, and it’s still kind of wild to think about how it all started. I actually finished my apprenticeship before I even graduated high school. Back then I was going to the Springfield-Clark Career Technology Center, and every day after class I’d hop on my bike and ride clear across town to the shop. It didn’t matter if it was freezing or pouring rain—I wasn’t going to miss a single minute.

A lot of my friends and clients have probably heard some of those old stories. Like the Halloween when my mentor made me and another apprentice wear dresses and scrub the entire shop floor with toothbrushes. It was ridiculous, and honestly, hilarious looking back. Those early days were wild and unstructured, and I ended up learning just as much about what not to do as what to do.

It wasn’t until I got into Aisle 9 that everything really shifted. I had always taken tattooing seriously, but at Aisle 9 Tattoo I was suddenly surrounded by people who took it just as seriously—and who wanted to be the best they possibly could be. There was this constant friendly competition between all of us. We’d push each other, challenge each other, and celebrate each other’s wins. It made me sharper, faster, and more focused than I’d ever been before.

Somewhere during those years is when Tim came into the picture. Tim Saul started out as my photographer and content guy, helping me capture and share the work I was doing. He quickly became way more than that—these days he’s my right-hand man and the shop admin at Thousand Oaks Tattoos. He’s taken on just about anything I’ve thrown at him, from helping organize seminars to actually helping build and operate the shop. Having someone like Tim in my corner has made a massive difference, and I’m grateful for it every single day.

Now I get to spend my time working alongside an incredible team at Thousand Oaks, creating big, ambitious projects with clients who trust me to make something that’ll live on their skin forever. That trust means everything to me. I’ve tattooed so many people over the years, and every single one of them chose to sit down, roll up their sleeve, and say, “I trust you.” That still blows my mind. It’s something I’ll never take for granted.

Somewhere along the way, I set a huge goal for myself: to become the best tattooer in the world. There’s no real way to measure that—there’s no scoreboard or trophy—but that’s kind of what makes it fun. It keeps me pushing myself, trying new things, and showing up every day like it’s my first day again.

I still study new techniques, experiment with styles, and look for ways to make every tattoo better than the last. And every time someone puts their trust in me to tell their story on their skin, it pushes me to keep getting better.

Maybe no one can ever actually become “the best,” and that’s okay. Because chasing that idea has made me better than I was yesterday. That’s what matters to me—to keep improving, to keep earning that trust, and to keep giving people something they’re proud to carry for the rest of their lives.

And if I get to do all that while laughing with my clients, making art with friends, and building something special with a team I believe in… honestly, I already feel like I’ve won.

— Chris Powell (Edited by Tim Saul)