Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Barbarino.
Hi Justin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up on the east side of Cleveland, and I have always been fascinated with tattooing. Ever since I was little kid, I thought they were neat. I have to guess that my first exposure to tattoos had to be my grandfather and the lone tiny dagger that he got in Los Angeles on his upper arm when he was 17 years old before he shipped out to fight in the battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. After that, I began noticing them everywhere.
It wasn’t long before I started drawing on myself in grade school with markers, trying (and failing) to recreate the cool look of the indelible ink. After that, I began carrying around a marker bag and began drawing “tattoos” on my friends in my neighborhood. Their parents were delighted. Back in the 80s and 90s, tattoos were not anywhere near as societally acceptable as they have become today.
As hobbies tend to go in our youth, I abandoned the marker tattoos and moved on to other things (partially due to parental influence). However, I never lost my interest in them. Every year, there was a festival that took up the main street by my house. I would save up my allowance and get at least one temporary tattoo done every year. I was also always scoping out whatever tattoos I could see on folks, which was a bit more rare in those days as they were generally only visible on bikers and rockers… not the crowd my parents tended to run with, but a few friends’ parents were in that crowd, so I still got to see them up close occasionally. Thanks to popular bands like Guns N’ Roses, Poison, and Motley Crue and their subsequent appearances on MTV and in rock n’ roll fan magazines (available in the local drug store), I was still able to see tattooing in a peripheral way. Of course, since they were on rockstar bad boys, the allure to them became even stronger.
I first got tattooed myself 2 days after I turned 18. I remember being almost a carnival-like oddity at my catholic high school. Almost NOBODY got tattooed that young back in the late ’90s, just myself and my lifelong friend Dan. I got 4 tattoos in one setting that encircle my upper right arm. I distinctly remember having to hide them from my parents and relatives. My grandfather and uncle strongly advised me never to get tattooed, as they both had miserable experiences in the40s and early ’80s, respectively. My mom forbid me to get one. Not that my parents were uptight, but again, generally, only an “unsavory” crowd stereotypically got tattooed back then. I have never been great at obeying authority hahaha.
As you may have guessed, I wasn’t able to keep my tattoos secret for long, as they accidentally peeked out one night while talking with my mom. She didn’t speak to me for two days hahahaha! Afterwards she explained that it wasn’t that tattooing was generally reserved for the outlaw crowd, but that I had harmed myself and desecrated the life she created… how’s that for a guilt trip??? (Don’t worry, I ended up tattooing her 3 times ha!)
I ended up hanging around the tattoo shop not long after that, learning how to draw for tattooing and helping out with phones and front desk duties. I asked many times to apprentice, but I was always shot down with the same response, “Finish college and get a good-paying job.” Still, I continued to get tattooed and help out, learning what I could, when I could, I eventually started getting tattooed below the elbow (affectionately known as “the Scumbag Line” back then), and from there was no turning back.
I finished my education at Wright State University in Mass Communications/Broadcasting. I worked in Dayton television news for a few years, but I was miserable. I began my tattoo apprenticeship at Monkey Bones in Beavercreek in 2008 and left the TV station to focus on tattooing in 2009 when they began laying folks off. I learned there from some fantastic tattooers and then moved to Chicago to strike out on my own. The biggest highlight of my career to that point was receiving approval from my grandfather before he passed away to pursue the trade. Sadly, I was too novice, nervous, and making nowhere near the money needed to survive in a big city like Chicago, so I quit. After almost two years in Chicago, I moved back to Cleveland, where I began a second apprenticeship at the shop where it originally all began.
After a falling out with the shop owner, I returned to Dayton 12 years ago and began my career again. I worked at Wells and Co. (then in Vandalia), moved to Modified Skin, and was there for four years. I briefly worked at Aisle 9 Tattoo but separated due to differences in business ethics. During this time, I was also a guitarist/vocalist for the touring Dayton-based band The Loveless.
After departing A9, I landed at Black Cloud Tattoo on Needmore and worked there for four or five years. I made great friends and learned even more about tattooing while there, and I look fondly upon my time there and my continuing friendship with owner/tattooer Kevin Byers.
I am currently at Ironside Tattoo in Springboro, beginning my tenure there in November of 2022. I absolutely love my team and the environment. I have the pleasure of working with some awesome folks, including owner/artist Dakota Warren, Hannah Federinko, and my former apprentice Erin Manning.
I am just now returning to work after nearly a year hiatus, since being diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure and subsequently having open heart surgery last year. I also sustained nerve damage in my dominant hand during an emergency procedure while hospitalized. I was hospitalized for 8 weeks total during the ordeal, The past year has been focused on rehabilitation of my body and getting my dominant hand back into full functioning order. I have been successful in both areas, spending anywhere from 4 to 6 days a week in the weight room and rucking on the track or on trails. I am fortunate to be able to push myself in these areas, so I give it as much as my body will allow. I continue to be focused on improving my health as much as possible… but I also enjoy life with friends and family.
Hobbies outside of work include playing with my amazing 3-year-old daughter Artemis, spending time adventuring with my lovely wife Rachel, and working on hot rods and old cars with my brother-in-law Philip and my friends in Road Devils Car Club. I also play bass in the local punk band Legbone, and I am also always looking for/working on music projects as they present themselves. Lastly, I am a proud Freemason and Shriner.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ha! Definitely not smooth. Anything but. In tattooing, in general, you spend the first few years trying to build clientele and get better. There are a lot of ramen-fueled nights. Since tattooing has become more societally acceptable, this has become less of an issue for new tattooers.
As noted in my tome-like response to the last question, there have been a ton of ups and downs. But if you want something enough, you’ll figure out a way. In recent years, I have taken the attitude that if I am unhappy about something that I can control, I need to make a change.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in American Traditional, Neotraditional, and Illustrative styles of tattooing; as it has been said in the past, “tattoos that look like tattoos”.
I am very proud of the client base and positive reputation that I have established. It led to me being voted Best Tattoo Artist in the Best of Dayton poll in 2021.
I am also VERY proud of my former apprentice, Erin Manning. Erin has become an AMAZING tattoo artist and does outstanding work. She, too, was voted Best Tattoo Artist this past year for 2023.
What sets me apart from others (or at least puts me in a small crowd with others) is that I am very committed to providing my best work each and every time I do a tattoo. It doesn’t matter if it’s your 25th tattoo, or a large-scale project, or your first tiny tattoo… all tattoos are important and deserve to be treated as such. I do my best to instill the highest quality in everything that I do. Integrity, respect, and dedication are not just virtues but the law in my world.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I am fairly certain that every long-term tattooer has had to invest in a certain amount of risk-taking over the years of their career. As mentioned in my bio portion, when I left the TV station back in 2009, I volunteered for the lay-off… I figured (correctly, thank goodness) that I could take unemployment and double my efforts toward learning to tattoo.
Obviously, the move to Chicago was also a big risk as I knew almost nobody there other than my ex.
I feel like a career in tattooing breeds a certain amount of risk by nature… no dental or medical insurance, no paid time off, and you often have to sacrifice missing important life events, especially early on in your career. I have heard tattooing be likened to the life of a pirate. I like that (for obvious romantic reasons) because you are taking what business you can while it’s available… not that you are stealing or robbing, but that you are not sure where your money is going to come from, again, especially early on. Nothing is guaranteed. There are no real safety nets for many tattooers.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/capnbabs
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063480101223
