st.louis Archives - Matt Hodel Tattoo

The Grand Reopening of Randy Adams Studio Party.

Matt Van Cura Inherits a Legacy. Technically Matt purchased the shop from the legendary tattooist Randy Adams. Randy is the fellow with the hat on backwards in the photo above. If you got tattooed in the 80’s in Fort Worth, Randy did it. I know Randy from the covers of old 80’s Tattoo magazines. He…

Church Van Upgrades

van life with Matt Hodel

The Van Build 2022 The Van Build started in May 0f 2022. It was built for my duaghter Emma’s 9 week road trip. This was a down and dirty build. I know some van builds are nicer than your house but this van is built to live out of, not live in. It is made…

New Ragtime Shirts!

Ragtime has New Merch! Hey Hey Hey! We are bringing back the Ragtime Flag shirts! This time we are introducing four new color combos, as well as our classic black and white! You will find sizes Small to 3XL, sizes up to XL will be athletic fit, anything higher is a 100% cotton Tee! All…

How Much do I Charge?

How much should I save for my Large Tattoo? The cost of a tattoo sleeve can vary widely depending on several factors, such as the size, design, and location of the tattoo. The experience and reputation of the tattoo artist is also a factor. Some artists are in such high demand that they can charge…

I Peaked

Washed up? I have been rebooting my career. I have been taking stock of what I have accomplished, and what I am worth. I have been trying to find the fire that has driven me for so many years. The truth is, no one can recreate the past. Here is what I have discovered. My…

Tipping Your Tattoo Artist

Tipping Your Tattoo Artist Lets talk tips. Like a server, bartender, hairdresser, etc tips are apart of the service industry. They are not expected but very much appreciated. The article “Tipping your Tattoo Artist” by Hamptons Ink perfectly outlines tipping in the tattoo industry. Not by percentages yet based on your overall experiance with the…

Does Numbing Cream work for Tattooing?

Does numbing cream work for tattooing? Numbing cream can be used to reduce the pain associated with tattooing. The cream works by temporarily numbing the area of the skin where the tattoo will be applied. How long the numbing lasts is dependent open how much lidocaine is in the cream. The most common numbing cream…

Tonk The Tattooist!

Bringing Back Tonk! If you have followed this sight over the past year, you have already met! Back in Febuary 2022 we released the Zine, “Tonk the Tattooist”, ‘the first asshole of skin scribing”. As I noticed Tonks popularity rising again I figured I’d reintroduce him to everyone. I’ve Linked our original article in the…

Tattoo Artists Share 10 Mistakes People Make When Getting Small Tattoos

Small Tattoos! The more I look around the more I see people getting tons of small tattoos rather than large pieces. Im not here to tell you the right or wrong way to get tattooed but with the use of the article “Tattoo Artists Share 10 Mistakes People Make When Getting Small Tattoos” the author…

Your Taste is on Display

Your Taste is on Display Have you ever looked at a dude and said, “What in the hell did you do to your arm? Sometimes it baffles me what people choose to openly display on their bodies. Who Am I too judge? Well here is the deal, I tattoo for a living. I study peoples…

Van Life

Get out. Love more.

Professors View on Tattooist

Behind the Needle: Professor Explores the World of Tattoo Artists This week we look at Kara Snyder and Dr. David Lane’s take on the world of tattoo artists! Dr. David Lane Dr. David Lane is an assistant professor of criminal science that grew up in the world of tattooing. Many of his peers pushed for…

Reboot My Career

Rebooting My Career I Am Not Done Yet I’m rebooting my career. I have survived 27 years in an industry that has shaken off a lot of dead weight in the last few years. Tattooists from back in the day are succumbing to age, lack of drive and feeling irrelevant. I have friends in the…

Ryan Uses a Computer

Matt teaches Ryan Computer Ryan and I want to make a YouTube channel. We both do cool stuff and have fun lives. A good friendship is rare and we have been each others yin and yang for a decade or more. We help each other quite a bit. I think the trick to have a…

Saturday Morning Cartoons

Cartoons Inspire Creativity I was born in 1975. The 1980’s world of Saturday Morning Cartoons was a small window of time from 7:30 am until noon. I cannot express enough what an escape those few hours were for me. The fantasy worlds of Smurfs and Dungeon and Dragons and He-Man were a stark contrast to…

Codye.

I did Codye’s first tattoo less than a year ago. As I remember he was quite the handful. He was rather nervous and really persistent at communicating the importance of the getting his first tattoo perfect. I don’t mind. I was told a while back that the energy like this just means the client is…

Back Piece Finished!

Congrats to August So much goes into getting your back tattooed. You need to figure out what the idea is, how to design it, how to pay for it, how to commit time to it and how to keep up the energy when your still not finished. Finishing a large tattoo is very hard. I…

Get Weird

A Good Kinda Crazy Team Mullet Louie’s leg is ripe with humor. I guess you could describe him as silly but he looks a serious as a heart attack. Currently he’s shaved bald and looks scary as hell but if he showed you his hidden tattoos it would throw you off. We already did the…

I wrestled my Xterra

My yellow banana This is my forever project. I want a rig that can get me to the farthest parts and still get me home. I know “overlanding” is all the rage and yes I like everything about camping and back country traveling too. Overlanding seems to focus more on gear and sexy rigs. I…

Competition.

Healthy Competition “When you are in competition with others, you get bitter. When you are in competition with yourself you get better.” Self Growth Competition is healthy. Like most traits, using competition in the wrong way can be self destructive. Using other’s successes as your barometer isn’t reliable. Sometimes I can get jealous of other…

I drew the Circle Jerks poster!

I Drew the Circle Jerks Poster!!! I drew the flyer for the upcoming Circle Jerks show in St. Louis. I am beyond stoked!! The Red Flag The Red Flag is THE venue for shows. I mean it is just perfect. It is big enough to get a bunch of concert goers comfortably in the venue…

Cheap Airbrush Booth

DIY Airbrush Booth I am too cheap to spend $150-200 on an airbrush booth. I do not airbrush enough to justify it. I found a Wagner Spray Shelter at Home Depot for $29. I added a box fan for $25 and a standard filter for another $10. That is $65 dollars compared to the $200…

Progress on Amanda

Amanda’s Mermaid session #4 This is the 4th session on Amanda’s Mermaid today. I’m getting all the large sections worked out and slowly getting into the details. I am not too concerned with the cover up. We are still layering up. I like utilizing the bend of the arm in my designs. Here the waist…

Welcome Back

Lady and I are coming back.

Becoming Tattooed

Becoming Heavily Tattooed. Swapping stories about getting your first tattoo is fun. It’s a lot like bagging about fishing tales or near death experiences. Your nerves overestimate the environment and the adjectives don’t quite capture the maximum effect your trying to articulate. The only way someone else can understand is if they have been through…