LA shop artist Alina Arias (Instagram: @spex.tattoos) didn’t know just how far her dream of becoming a tattoo artist would take her when she started her journey. Get inspired by Alina’s determination, commitment, and ability to meet the challenges head on. While her journey took her from Hawaii to Brooklyn and ultimately Los Angeles. After a frustrating start, and hearing “no” from every tattoo shop she visited. It seemed like she would have to give up on ever learning to tattoo. Then she found Ink Different Tattoo School, and everything changed! learn how to get rid of job anxiety and retrain as a tattoo artist, in the following interview.
“When I began my journey for an apprenticeship, I started out on Oahu, Hawaii. I went around to a few shops there that either weren’t interested at the moment or just weren’t looking for apprentices.” As she continues her story, the frustrating memory passes. And she smiles as she says, “And I googled tattoo schools, and I came across Ink Different. Who were only based on the east coast,” Alina says.
“So, I flew out to New York and did a workshop and pretty much was convinced that this is what I needed to be doing.”
“I planned on moving to Brooklyn at the time so I would be moving from Hawaii to Brooklyn. But then they opened up a west coast location in LA. I was able to come out here for that. And that was a lot easier transition because I am from California. It was a bit of a journey.”
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Whether being told “no” at every turn. Working in a shop without being taught anything, or facing a toxic environment, finding a good tattoo apprenticeship can be tough. Every tattoo artist has a story about a challenge they had to overcome to follow their dreams. Alina is no exception, and her positive attitude shows as she says, “As far as becoming a tattoo artist, you know, dealing with the hardships. It wasn’t so bad because it was something I just really wanted to do and really wanted to be good at. So, it was really motivating.”
“If I did something wrong the first time, it just motivated me to do it better the next time. To master it the next time so that I could move on and progress and climb that ladder to where I wanted to be.”
If you’re eager to learn to tattoo in a professional, supportive environment where you can retrain to get skills that allow you to have a lucrative job, check out our tattoo apprenticeships. We’ll help you create a schedule that works for you. We will mentor you every step of the way! Your apprenticeship starts online in a live virtual classroom, where you work one-on-one with your trainer in the early phases of your apprenticeship. Once you pass the requirements of the work from home virtual classroom training.
You’re ready to complete your apprenticeship in one of our physical studios. A major part of the curriculum is learning how to keep yourself and your clients safe, we hope to help you get rid of job anxiety and retrain as a tattoo artist. So you can be confident you’ll have the skills to work in a post-COVID world. Start a chat with one of our advisors to get started.