Once used as a means to identify oneself as part of a tribe, clan, religion or people, tattoos are now as mainstream as they have ever been. Tattoos are no longer used strictly to identify someone – it’s become a form of expression and individuality, an art form actually – one people of all ages now take part in. Breast cancer awareness tattoos, portraits of loved ones that have passed, hobbies and people’s life passions are routinely inked onto people’s skin on any given day in any given city across the world – although we imagine there are quite a few people that stumble out of any bar in South Beach and get the persons name they just met tattooed on them – but they don’t count as art in our book. With over 15,000 documented tattoo shops in the United States and many times more tattoo artists, it’s safe to say that tats are here to stay.
TattooLaPalooza pays tribute to the art of tattooing by having contests, live entertainment, seminars and of course, lost of live tattooing and body piercing. The event takes place at the Hyatt Regency located in downtown Miami from Friday, June 14th to Sunday, June 16th. With over 100 confirmed tattoo artists going to be in attendance, there will be no shortage of talent, ideas, creativity and of course, ink. And if you muster up the courage to get your first (or 100th) tat, there will be plenty of vendors like H2Ocean, Eternal Ink and Black Eye Natural Aftercare that will get you everything you need to ensure your new ink lasts a lifetime.
Special guest Chris Nunez from TLC’s hit reality show “Miami Ink” (tattoo shop is now called Love Hate Tattoo Studio) will be in attendance and Syfy’s hit extreme makeup competition series Face Off will have a live demo featuring Miami born twins Derek & Eric Garcia who were contestants in Season 3. Last but not least Spike TV’s own Big Gus from their hit show Tattoo Nightmares will also be in attendance. And of course we’re sure he’s going to be answering the question “What’s the worst tattoo you’ve ever seen” ten thousand times – because let’s face it…we want to know! Nothing quite as funny as seeing someones tattoo turn out absolutely terrible and get to have a guilt free laugh about their misery. But maybe that’s just us.
For up to date information and to purchase tickets [CLICK HERE] to be taken to the TattooLaPalooza website or [CLICK HERE] for their Facebook page.