64 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • JULY 6, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
Watch these Queens tattoo artists
compete on this season of ‘Ink Master’
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com
Queens resident and tattoo shop owner
Richard “Made Rich” Parker is competing
on season 9 of “Ink Master” for a chance
to win $200,000.
Parker, the owner of Th ink Before You
Ink at 167-16 Hillside Ave. in Jamaica,
will be competing alongside his co-worker
DTatStar. Both artists grew up in
Queens and have a combined 24 years of
experience in the tattoo industry.
Parker, 29, was also on Season 3 of the
show and is looking to redeem himself
aft er what he says was a disappointing
appearance.
“First off , I decided to come back on
the show because it was a great business
opportunity, but personally, I was also
very unhappy with how I handled my
fi rst season,” Parker said. “I didn’t want
that to be anyone’s last memory of me on
a international platform like ‘Ink Master.’
I was very timid and carried myself more
so as a fan than a competitor. Th at same
thought had me think about my son and
how I want to raise him. I want to make
sure he seizes all opportunities that come
his way, confi dently. So this was a perfect
time for me to correct my season 3
wrongs.”
Th e show, which airs on Tuesdays at 10
p.m. on Spike, pits tattoo artists against
each other for a chance to win money
and a feature on INK magazine. Th is season
includes a twist, with pairs competing
together to represent their shops.
Season 9 is also diff erent because each
time a shop is eliminated, the show introduces
a veteran from a past season. Th e
season offi cially started on June 6, and
contestants must prove they have technical
skills and “on-the-spot creativity.”
Each episode focuses on a diff erent style
of tattooing.
Parker began tattooing in 2007 and
attended Wagner College in Staten Island
where he graduated with a degree in fi ne
arts. He got professional experience by
working at DTatStar’s tattoo shop, One
Stroke Tattoo, in Rosedale.
“Aft er tattooing in my dorm room for a
while, I saw the kind of money that being
in this business could easily bring,” he
said. “Being self taught, working in that
shop also helped me develop my tattooing
etiquette.”
But aft er 10 years, the shop was in
fi nancial trouble and that’s when Parker
decided to open Th ink Before You Ink.
Eventually, Parker invited DTatStar to
work at the shop as a partner.
Parker said his style is constantly changing
and that he doesn’t like to defi ne his
art.
“Even if you do have some sort of classifi
ed style, you’re always tweaking it –
so styles are forever evolving,” he said.
“Instead of pigeonholing myself into one
classifi cation, I just do things how I like to
do them. If you like it, then let’s rock. If
not, then the shop has plenty of other artists
you can shop through.”
He has lived in Queens for his entire
life and said that living in the “World’s
Borough” has taught him that “art is subjective.”
“Nothing is “perfect” about our borough,
but that’s what’s beautiful to me
about it,” Parker said. “It’s so culturally
diverse. So just like the borough, I try
to take diff erent elements that I believe
to be visually appealing and apply them
to skin.”
Th ough Parker has experience competing
on the show, he said it’s extremely
stressful.
“Everyone in the competition has the
ability to tattoo; that’s a given,” he said.
“What you’re unprepared for is being
away from everything you know, dealing
with your competition’s opinions,
the judges, rules being bent – it’s a game
show. You leave the competition feeling
like a patient out of Arkham.”
Photo courtesy of Ink Master
But the show also helped Parker build
friendships and contestants learn tips and
tricks from each other when they weren’t
competing.
“Other nights, we’d have organized
drawing sessions, and when it came time
to design our elimination tattoos, we’d
actually help each other on design elements,”
he said. “A lot of the things I’ve
picked up from the other artists are things
I’ve even brought back home to my shop.
If you allow it to, that competition can be
much like a sports team.”
DTatStar (left) and Richard “Make Rich” Parker are competing on this season’s “Ink Master.”
