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It was also during this time that he began to get heavily tattooed, mostly by local people, including the world-renowned Kore Flatmo, who was working at Permanent Productions at the time. It was also during this time that Williams began to seriously consider becoming a tattoo artist. “While I was getting tattooed, I would always fantasize about being a tattoo artist,” Williams says. Around the age of 25, Williams began apprenticing under a local artist, although it never really went anywhere. However, having developed a relationship with Flatmo during all of their tattooing sessions together, Flatmo agreed to take Williams on as an apprentice, both enjoying much of the same look and aesthetic of tattooing. Although Williams would mostly mix colors and make needles, Flatmo’s overall attitude towards tattooing would be forever changed. “It just gets engrained in your head,” Williams says. During his apprenticeship, Williams began working at a local tattoo shop, tattooing walk-in clients to get the basics of tattooing down. After his apprenticeship, Flatmo recommended Williams to some friends who owned a shop in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Being a very high volume shop with a lot of walk-in’s, Williams took the opportunity. With the shop being constantly busy, Williams was the busiest he had ever been, really changing his tattooing. “For years you just kind of focus on the craft of tattooing,” Williams says. “For me, it was probably four or five years before I began to use my own art.” After spending two years in Green Bay, Williams moved to the Cleveland, Ohio area for a short time, continuing to tattoo while also getting married. But after speaking with Mike Dorsey, owner of Permanent Productions and an excellent tattoo artist, Flatmo recommended Williams as an artist for his shop. In 2007, Williams would move back to Cincinnati once more to work at Permanent Productions and Bold Traditions Tattoo, splitting his time between the two shops. Working at Permanent Productions gave Williams the opportunity to watch and learn from Dorsey, who is known for his large and extensive tattoo pieces. “Watching Dorsey work on big tattoo projects really made them seem possible when you see it all the time, moving me from a small to big minded sense of tattooing,” Williams says. “Plus, Dorsey tattoos so fast that it really increases your speed as well.” Working at Bold Traditions Tattoo offered Williams the opportunity to do a lot more walk-in’s than at Permanent Productions. Brandenburg and the other artist there also offered a great atmosphere for Williams as both artists were very enthusiastic towards tattooing. In 2009, after talking back and forth with Flatmo, Dorsey decided to shut down his shop and continue his art at Flatmo’s studio, Plurabella Tattoo. Williams was invited to do the same and continues to tattoo there today, splitting his time between Plurabella and Flying Tiger Tattoo, formerly Bold Traditions Tattoo. Having only been tattooing for eight years, Williams’ tattoos speak for themselves, drawing in clients both local and from afar. With his speed dramatically increasing, Williams can do large pieces in one sitting if they let him design it, a great benefit to those from out of town.
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