mrkd
MRKD is a tattoo-related podcast that explores the passions and interests of tattoo artists beyond their machines. Host Paul Talbot engages in professional yet personal conversations with marked men and women of tattooing, discussing how their outside pursuits inspire, balance, and improve their creative processes and careers. The show aims to inspire, educate, and entertain listeners with insights into the tattoo community.
Episodes
Nipples, Needles, and New Beginnings. Tanya Buxton on How Tiny Rooms Build Big Careers
A loose, honest conversation between longtime friends Paul and Tanya Buxton — tracing her path from apprenticeship chatter on social media to specialised medical tattooing, private studio space, and the first pink, one-woman version of Paradise during lockdown.It’s about growth, adaptation, saying yes when the world was closing down, and turning a back-room studio into the start of something bigge
Made in the Jewellery Quarter. Jamie Lee Knott Takes us Inside a Brick by Brick Resurection
A grounded conversation about space, craft, and stubborn creativity. Paul sits down with Jamie Lee Knott to unpack the story behind Chapters, a once derelict, Grade II listed building in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, slowly brought back to life with help, graft, and a refusal to quit.From tearing a studio down to the bone, to living with unfinished work, to turning a historic building into a hom
Art in Motion. Jason Butcher discusses Making Art Without Apology.
A deep dive into making for the sake of making. Paul chats with Jason Butcher, exploring how authenticity defines art, why labels fail, and why feeling “real” matters more than liking it.Expect stories about unexpected interruptions, childhood memories resurfacing, and how the act of creation itself can be its own reward. This isn’t about perfection or approval — it’s about honesty in making, and
Fifteen Years of Nerd Talk. Gabe Ripley - The Geek Who Got Tattooed
Paul talks with Gabe Ripley about bad tattoos, good tattooers, the long road between the two and how a computer-programming geek end up in tattooing in the first place?.From a $60 dove on the ankle in the early ’90s, to discovering that not all tattooers are equal, to realising that coding could be traded for skin when cash was short.This episode digs into class, skills, value, and the quiet overl
Don’t Turn Artists into Printers. Sam Barber on Using Hands Over Screens and The Analog Pull.
A wide-ranging conversation with Sam Barber about why making things with your hands still matters. From diving head-first into oil painting, to deliberately choosing analog processes over digital convenience, to a shared love-hate relationship with social media as a business necessity.We talk about creativity as research, obsession, and storytelling — why the design process is the real joy of tatt
Tropical Ink. Iuri Waitzberg on his Hard Left Turn From Biology to Tattooing.
Paul sits down with Iuri Waitzberg to unpack a journey that begins in biology and ends in tattooing. Iuri talks about falling out of love with academia, falling headfirst into tattoo culture, and teaching himself the basics the only way most people do — badly, experimentally, and without permission.They also get into tattoo culture in Brazil — how it’s shifted over time, how it’s viewed socially,
Learning to Walk. Joshua Black on Burning his Old Life Down from a Hospital Bed.
Joshua Black is a tattooist from Baltimore, now working out of Gypsy Skull Tattoo in Hanover, Pennsylvania — a shop run by Brian Fuentes.His decision to finally start his journey into tattooing came at a time when he wasn’t even certain he’d be able to walk that path. Literally. Stuck in a hospital bed during the early days of the pandemic, alone, battling scoliosis, and watching the world fall ap
Tattooing vs The Algorithm: Dave Little on Social Media & Staying True.
In this episode of MRKD, Paul and Dave dive into the mess social media has made of the tattoo world. With influencers, viral trends, and attention-grabbing gimmicks taking center stage, authentic tattooing is being treated more like a performance than craft.They break down the tension between staying true to your work and playing the game for likes, asking whether it’s still possible to make real
Do the Work, Make It Awesome: Liam Hunter on Growth, Craft & Mindset
In this episode of MRKD, Paul and Liam Hunter go deep into the realities of being a tattoo artist. From physical health and yoga to mastering techniques and color theory, they cover the grind that keeps tattoos looking real and artists staying sane.They tackle imposter syndrome, online criticism, and sponsorships, exploring how authenticity, humility, and ongoing learning define success in the ind
Double Shift: Joe Swanson on the Badge, the Needle, and Tactical Resilience
"You can't outwork the stress of that kind of job."In this engaging conversation, Joe Swanson, a former California Highway Patrol officer and tattoo artist, shares his unique experiences and insights on the intersection of law enforcement and tattooing. He discusses the challenges of stress and mental health in law enforcement, the evolving perceptions of tattoos in the profession, and the importa
Staying Open: Notes for the Next Generation of Tattooists
Tattooing doesn’t stand still, even when we do. A long-term view on staying curious, avoiding dogma, and building a career that lasts.I talk about tattoos a lot. I’ve written about them in my Total Tattoo column for over a decade now. A lot has changed in that time. I’ve talked about tattooing into cameras, over bar tables at conventions, in late‑night hotel rooms, and on podcasts that probably sh
No Shortcuts: Rich Harris on Preparation, Pressure and the Unsexy Truth Behind Good Tattooing
Rich Harris isn’t selling shortcuts. He’s building a system.We start with an unexpected blueprint: sports biographies. Not the highlight reels, the grind. The training blocks. The boredom. The sacrifice. Rich reads athletes the way tattooers should study tattooing: as a long game of discipline, preparation, and showing up when no one’s clapping.That spills straight into how he works. Craft over ch
Tattooing in the age of AI
A blunt look at what happens when machines stop being “a future thing” and start rearranging the present.AI is here. And in the short term, it’s going to shake the world—because a lot of people are about to try getting rich by replacing humans wherever they can. Jobs will disappear. Efficiency will spike. The already wealthy will likely do what they always do: get wealthier.But the bigger story is
The End of Tattooing
A reality check for anyone doom-scrolling their way into believing the craft is finished.Everywhere you look, someone’s yelling “it’s over.” Blogs, podcasts, Instagram celebrities, TikTok prophets—same recycled headline: the end of tattooing. And I can’t help thinking… I’ve heard this song before. Every era swears it’s the last one. Bans came and went. Moral panics came and went. New tech arrived,
Make Art, Not Content
A warning shot for anyone who’s starting to feel like tattooing is becoming a perfectly lit factory.On the surface, the craft has never looked better. Open Instagram and within seconds you’re hit with flawless blends, razor lines, and photos that look like product ads. Everything is crisp. Everything is polished. Everything is performing.It looks like evolution. Like tattooing has levelled up into
Gatekeeping Isn’t Always Bad
It's a word every outsider loves to hate. But, I'd argue that, in an unregulated craft, some gates are the only thing keeping standards from collapsing.Tattooing doesn’t belong to any single artist. None of us “own” it. But that doesn’t make it a free-for-all either. Tattooing is a culture and a skilled trade, and right now the working artists are its custodians. That comes with a responsibility:
