5/5
Where to begin My last tattoo I had gotten done was almost 11 years ago so going into get another one was very nerve wracking. I really wanted a portrait piece and I spent days, weeks, months looking for artists that could really portray a face. I had so much fears because I’ve seen how creepy or muddy portrait tattoos can look so I was very picky about selecting an artist.
I currently live in the Bay Area and I wasn’t planning on traveling to get this piece done, but Johan’s IG page popped up on my feed. Looking at the detailed work from his profile really sealed the deal. I messaged him and in minutes he responded. From the start, he was super professional. He asked what my design idea was and I sent him some inspiration photos. He told me the price, which I thought was definitely worth every cent for the quality of work he was showing on his page. I sent him the deposit, and I let him know I was coming down to LA in about a month and a half. Mind you, I was nervous… I just sent money to some guy on IG, its definitely the most priciest tattoo I’ve ever paid for, and its a month and a half out…
Fast forward to the day before, my nerves were off the chain… I received a message from Johan reminding me of our appointment. I mean… I’ve had appointments with independent business owners who rescheduled with me the an hour before my appointment, so to have Johan reach out to ME and remind me of OUR appointment was extremely reassuring.
I fly in to LA and our flight landed an hour before my appointment and we had to get shuttled to a rental store and with LA traffice I knew I would be 30 mins late to my appointment. I let Johan know and he was so chill and he just thanked me for letting him know.
I get to the shop, we discuss the logistics and final design and he gets to work… I mean, he kept the design I was seeing in my head with his signature style.. the details of his work… phenomenal. We sat there for 6 hours straight. When I went to get tatted here I had in mind to sit through the whole session with no breaks, thinking it was going to take 3-4 hours and only agree to breaks if the artist needed it, because I was only in town for a few days and I wanted this done before I left. At one point when we’ve been there for awhile, I kinda felt bad because Johan just powered through, and two other artists kept giving breaks to their clients and I was like omg does he need a break? Lol.. regardless of how long we’ve been sitting there, the detail and care Johan put in this piece… like WOW! Needless to say.. the best experience I’ve had, the shop looks so dope, and even the other staff and artists were chill and friendly. Definitely come here and get your piece with Johan.