Transcript for Hustle & Heat Episode 25
00:00:04
What’s up, guys? And welcome back to another episode of Hustle and Heat podcast. I’m George, your host, and welcome to episode 25.
Episode 25, we’d like to introduce a special guest. This man tattoos for a living. He’s an artist. He’s a great guy. He’s funny to talk to.
Without further ado, I’d like to welcome Quan from 20 Fifth Ink.
Quan, welcome to the podcast.
Hey, thanks for having me, George.
Thank you for coming on, man. Tell us what you do and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Oh man, where do I even begin?
My name is Quan. I’m the owner of 20 Fifth Ink Tattoo Shop here in North Port, Florida. We’re located at 12715 South Tamiami Trail.
I’m also the co-owner of Impressive Image Beauty Salon, also located in North Port.
A little bit about me — I’m a tattoo artist. I’ve been tattooing for 16 years now. I’m self-taught, so I never had a traditional apprenticeship where you go sit in a shop and learn from somebody.
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00:01:06
I kind of just stumbled into the tattoo industry when I was 18 years old. That was actually my first job. I never worked anywhere before.
Funny enough, we moved to North Port when I was 16, and one day I went into the North Port Pawn Shop looking for music for my car. There was a tattoo machine sitting in a glass case.
I had never even seen one before, especially for sale. This was before Amazon and all that stuff, so back then you had to get tattoo machines from professional wholesalers and dealers.
I asked the guy if I could buy it, and he said if I gave him 70 bucks, it was mine.
So I came back with the money, bought the machine, and started practicing on friends and family.
My mom was one of my biggest supporters. She was actually the first person I tattooed.
Then I tattooed my aunt after that, and it just kept going. My community supported me and basically let me mess up their skin for a year or so while I learned.
That’s how you get better — trial and error.
Fast forward to 2019, I opened up my tattoo shop in July of 2019, and we’ve been here for seven years now.
Wow.
Yeah.
You’ve been around a year longer than I have.
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00:03:08
Yeah, I remember when you first opened. Me and all our crew used to come by and get lunch all the time.
We didn’t really see you much in the beginning though.
I was here every day.
Maybe we just didn’t know it was you. We were just like, “There’s a new barbecue place open.”
Probably because I had surgery and had to take a month off right after opening.
Other than that, I was here every day.
Dude, we came here all the time. You guys brought a totally different flavor to the city.
I get it. It was definitely lacking.
What is it about tattooing that you really enjoy?
Man, that’s a good question.
I guess what I enjoy most now is the freedom. Being able to showcase your artistic expression on people.
Being able to see yourself get better with every tattoo.
Meeting people. Giving them what they ask for and more.
When I first started though? Honestly, it was just the money.
It was good money for where I was at in life as a young college kid.
That’s understandable.
But now it’s more about the community and being able to create something meaningful.
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00:04:56
I know you’re really involved in the community too. A lot of people know you.
We try to be. It’s hard balancing family life, multiple businesses, and being there for your staff too.
How many people do you have working at the shop?
As far as tattoo artists, there’s nine of us total including me.
At the salon, probably around eight or ten girls. My wife mainly runs that side, so I don’t really see them much.
You just go get your nails done?
Yeah, pretty much.
Must be nice.
Toes too.
I mean, toes got nails.
Exactly.
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00:05:48
So what’s it like leading that many people?
That’s a good question.
The best part is getting to see people grow because our shop is very close-knit.
I hire family-oriented people. People from humble beginnings. People who maybe never got a chance in the tattoo industry like I did.
I believe in giving people opportunities.
I like taking somebody out of their current environment, putting them in a professional space, and seeing if they flourish.
The downside is trying to micromanage adults.
Everybody’s different.
As you know as a business owner, you want the people around you to do great, so you try to guide them.
I’ve learned I have to know the person before I can manage them.
Exactly.
I can talk to one employee one way and another employee a totally different way.
Some people respond well to tough love and others completely shut down.
And the hard part is sometimes employees see that as favoritism when really it’s not.
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00:08:49
Especially because artists are free-spirited people.
Tattooing is art. Cooking is art too.
The hardest part is critiquing artists because people don’t always understand the difference between criticism and constructive criticism.
Growing up learning how to tattoo, did you have anyone who criticized you?
Not really.
Social media wasn’t big back then, but I did have my cousin Jamar who was always there encouraging me.
He’d always tell me I was getting faster or better.
My mom was also one of my biggest supporters.
As far as criticism though, nobody around me really knew enough about tattooing to critique me because I was the only one doing it.
Everybody was learning together.
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00:11:25
You got tattoos?
I do, but they’re all in professional places where they’re easy to cover.
I worked for the government for a while, so I knew I had to keep them hidden.
The only tattoos that show on me are my legs.
Same here. I’ve got my leg, chest, and arms done.
Every artist has a specific type of art they’re better at. What’s your niche?
I’d say urban style art.
What’s urban style?
It’s not the traditional stuff you usually see around here.
Where I grew up, people wanted tattoos that meant something to them.
Graffiti style, flames, lettering, memorial tattoos, names — things with meaning.
My line work is bolder and crispier, and I specialize in tattooing melanated skin.
That’s something you really have to master because darker skin tones limit the colors and shades you can use.
A lot of artists don’t understand how to properly work with darker complexions.
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00:15:08
How many days a week do you tattoo?
Right now about five days a week.
I take Wednesdays as a personal day and Sundays are family days with my daughter and wife.
What do you do on your personal day?
Depends on the weather. Sometimes fishing, sometimes video games all day.
What game?
Fortnite mostly.
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00:15:59
What’s the future look like for you?
Honestly, just continuing to grow.
Opening more locations, more businesses, building things that last.
I want to leave something behind for my daughter, future kids, grandkids — all that.
Would you ever do another business outside tattooing?
Definitely.
The biggest thing is finding or molding somebody trustworthy enough to run operations while I expand.
I don’t want to just hire somebody random. I want it to be someone from inside who understands the business already.
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00:18:16
It takes a special type of person to run things like that.
It really does.
A lot of people don’t understand what business owners deal with daily.
People think it’s just flipping the open sign.
Meanwhile the open sign isn’t even flipped half the time.
That’s a huge pet peeve.
The little things matter because they add up.
What inspired you to expand Dubz the way you did?
Honestly, I always wanted a bar.
I feel like a bar is a modern-day campfire.
People gather around it, talk, communicate, and connect.
That’s why the bar is in the middle.
At the old Dubz, we were tiny and constantly packed. I’d see people open the door, see how busy we were, and leave immediately.
Eventually I realized I needed to grow before I lost customers.
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00:21:17
We actually went through something similar.
I originally wanted a tiny 600-square-foot spot near K Rico.
I had the deposit ready and everything.
Then they gave the unit to somebody else.
I was crushed.
But my wife ended up finding the place we’re in now, and it was 1,500 square feet.
At the time that terrified me because I had never worked in a space that big.
One of my mentors told me something I’ll never forget:
“Get something you can grow into.”
And that’s exactly what happened.
That 1,500 square feet turned into over 4,000 square feet.
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00:24:11
I feel like growth comes from making yourself uncomfortable.
Every time I got comfortable, I’d force myself to do something uncomfortable.
Networking. Public speaking. Expanding.
That’s how you grow.
Exactly.
The grind is crazy though.
I used to stay at the shop all night sometimes.
Now my daughter’s older. She’s seven now.
When she FaceTimes me asking where I’m at, it changes things.
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00:25:44
When you first opened, did you hire artists right away?
Honestly, I was there almost a year by myself.
I already had my following from tattooing nearly a decade before opening the shop.
People already knew who I was.
Opening the shop was basically just changing the address they came to.
My wife kept telling me I needed to hire people.
I didn’t want to at first because I had this mindset of, “I did this on my own.”
I had a lot of artists reaching out wanting to work with me, but I wanted loyal people.
I wanted people who came from humble beginnings and just needed an opportunity.
Same thing with cooks.
If I see somebody who worked at every restaurant in town, I’m skeptical.
Exactly.
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00:28:16
Well, man, it was really good getting to know you.
I appreciate you having me on, man. I appreciate the opportunity to promote my businesses.
We’ve always had a good relationship between our businesses, and I wish you guys the best moving forward.
I’m sure we’ll do more together in the future.
I gotta get tattooed now.
Next video is gonna be me getting tattooed by this guy.
I’m always here for the tattoos.
You’ve got my direct line.
If you guys haven’t been to 20 Fifth Ink, I’d highly recommend checking them out.
Go check out Quan’s Instagram and his artwork.
Thank you again for coming on, brother.
