JimiNewton TATTOOING is not just my passion, IT'S MY LIFE - December 11, 2009 add/view comments (0)

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PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THE TATTOOING VIDEOS (just click on the video bar above my main photo) AND TATTOO PHOTOS OF SOME OF MY WORK. ALSO THERE ARE BODYBUILDING PICS AND WEIGHT TRAINING VIDEOS OF ME AND MY WORKOUT PARTNERS THAT ARE SCARTTERED THROUGHOUT MY MANY PAGES OF PICS AND VIDEOS. Hello, It's my pleasure that you have taken the time to grace my page with your presence. My name is Jimi . I'm extremely happy that you stopped by my page. I know that with so many people on here that its hard to find time 2 drop in on everyone, so again THANKS!!!!! 2 tell u a little about me, as u can see from some of the pics I'm a professional tattoo artist. I've been doing this going on 20yrs. now. The first couple of years weren't that great but it was still what I felt I was 2 do in this life. I spent a few yrs. looking 4 an apprenticeship(someone 2 teach me)and finally found one. I had been in and out of so many tattoo studios looking for someone to take me in and teach me how to be a professional tattooist. It was one door being closed after another. After so many rejections I began to think it was almost hopeless. I was young to begin with and, as much as I hate to say it, Black on top of that. All the odds against me. But in truth, when are they ever in your favor. I realized that I need a plan. I needed more than just asking for it. I set my sites on one tattoo artist that had a cool nature about him. He had a small shop, but who needs alot of space for this anyway. It was not lavish or anything like that but he had what I wanted and was were I was trying to be. I started just coming around the shop as often as I could. Day after day showing my face and asking small, sutle questions about what it was that he did. I had told him several times that I really wanted to be a tattoo artist and he would say things like "Well keep at it and you just might make it one day." I would tell him about the tats i was doing at home which was not the way to do it, and he stressed that to me over and over again. I knew he did not like talking shop with me but he was kind hearted enough to blow me off smoothly. But the more he showed his dislike for what i was doing the more that influenced me to want to do this right and not the wrong way. Alot of artist have a start like this also. But i wanted to be like him, a REAL PROFESSIONAL. He told me "ANYONE CAN PUT SOME INK IN SOMEONE'S SKIN BUT THAT DOES NOT MAKE THEM A TATTOO ARTIST!! THERE IS A big difference in the 2. And the more he spoke the more I listened. He did not tell me much but what he said made alot of since. Once I realized this I was even more determined to be good at what I wanted to do. The more I wanted to be like him. I would do little things at his shop like grabbing the broom and start sweeping up his waiting area. He would say" NOW YOU DON'T NEED TO DO THAT" and I was like " hey it's no problem, I'm always hanging around here anyway. I might as well do something instead of just being in the way." He didn't like it but he didn't say much else about it.day after day, and week after week I was there. It was alot better than hanging in the streets which was leading me in badd directions and alot of other troubles. I didn't want to wear out my welcome but I was drawn to the studio like flies to sh*t. One day I was in his ear bothering him with questions again and he said to me " YOU REALLY WANT TO BE A TATTOOARTIST THAT BAD HUH?" I said "HELL YES! He looked at me for a minute like he was in deep thought and then said come back here and let me show you how to clean some of this equipment for me since you are always here. He sat me down and we got started cleaning all this stuff. He showed me how to be careful cleaning because of the blood and bacteria on the equipment. And was explaining how you have to be careful cause you don't want to get what someone else has by not being careful. after he was confident that I would be ok doing this, he started to walk out and leave me to it cause he had some clients out front. He turned to me and said " You will have to learn from the bottom up if you want to do this." I said "no problem" He was like "we'll see". Day after day I was there then. Cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. It was alot of work and still nothing about tattooing had we done. Weeks went by but I was cool. It was sorta like that movie THE KARATE KID. WAX ON WAX OFF. LOL. And once i had all that down we started on learning about sterilizing and sanitizing surfaces. He really took his time with me and taught me so much and we still had not done one tat yet. Sometimes I would get frustrated because I was doing everything except tattooing and one day while I was in one of frustrated moods he explained that "YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THERE IS MORE TO TATTOOING THAN JUST TATTOOING. And that was all he had to say to remind me that he was teaching the trade and the business at the same time. He said to me " LOOK, WITH YOU BEING BLACK IT WILL BE EVEN HARDER FOR YOU TO GET A GIG. SO YOU NEED TO HAVE AS MUCH SKILL AND CRAFT AND EXPERIENCE AS YOU CAN GET SO THAT IF THEY STILL TURN YOU AWAY , IT WILL NOT BE BECAUSE YOU ARE NO GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO. KNOWLEDGE IS SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN NOT SAY YOU WONT HAVE. And he was right in his methods of training of me. Well, one thing lead to another and after what felt like an eternity, he started teaching me how to build machines, needles, mixing inks, etc. He really gave me all that he knew and had to offer. I was so grateful for him being in my life when I needed him the most. Soon I was tattooing in the studio and it just blossomed from there. When I look back on the tattooing it was not the best but you had to start learning first. And the more we worked at it the better it became. I Wish he could be here now to see how I turned out, but life chose to take him from this world. I miss you Frank, and I know you're proud of what I became. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID FOR ME. I'LL HONOR YOU NAME FOREVER. I moved around alot, here and there, after that. From Kali to Europe and back, and so many places in between. I like to call those yrs. my NOMAD YRS because I was constantly searching for somewhere to really call home. And I still don't know how I did that with hardly any money in either pockets, but the memories and experiences are stories to talk about themselves. Tattooing was harder after that because it was very hard 2 get a gig anywhere back then. In those days there weren't so many shops. 1 here 1 there. Alot more underground u might say. Now everybody's getting tattooed. From your average joe 2 police, lawyers, docs, and even your 3rd grade school teach. But don't get me wrong that's the good part of this gig now. U meet soo-many different people from every aspect of life. But ,back 2 the story. Alot (not all) of shops would not take me and that bothered me because I would call on the phone and ask if studios were hiring. My voice, lets say, didn't really fit 4 what they saw come through their door saying(I'M here 4 the interview) 1 look at me and then it was "u must be mistaken, we're not hiring" I'll let u figure out the why's. But anyway. I got some work here and there, took a few breaks from tattooing along the way too. Then 1 day I decide 2 go 4 it and open my own studio. I worked for Brinks Armored Car (100hrs/week-120 hrs) and my weekends were spent tattooing at one of my friends studio .He couldn't give me more time working there then every so often because the studio wasn't doin 2 well. I did that 4 a while and with selling my car, my furniture, my jewelry, hell even my dog etc etc, Oh not to mention a little hustling(NOT DOPE) a real man is going 2 get out there and get it. Taking care of family and business. And REAL MEN FEEL ME ON THAT ONE ALWAYS but not those WATERED-DOWN CLOWNS calling themselves men. I knew how Blacks got treated in tattoo shops from a better point of view than most of you who are reading this. Because I worked in these shops I saw and heard the differences in how these artist(not All tattoo artist, but enough of them that it was a problem for me) treated the black clients that would walk in. And I'm sure some of u know what I mean. And the PRICES, SH**T---!!!. U'd be surprised what these kats would say and do when it came to those clients. And with me working there knowing this is what they are doing or not doing. The BALLS on those MOTHER F**KAS. But they had the studios and the knowledge that i was still lacking. But I was going to keep learning and learning from them just the same. See no matter how bad they did sometimes I still needed them to make myself better and they had what I needed(THE GAME) and SH*%TTT-!!!! I WAS GONNA GET ALL OF IT..I wanted to change some of that S**T black clients went through and give something back to my people that i took from those people. Success will always come with a high price. Sometimes you have to be willing to sacrifice for what you want. When it came time to open my own place I said "I'll put my shop in the heart of OAK CLIFF, DALLAS TEXAS where I had a good concentration of potential black clients. That was back in the end of 94. Opening took all of my money and possessions. And by the time I opened I had sold everything and NO BULLS**T I had 75 cents left 2 my name PEROID...Biggest chance I ever took in my life, at that time anyway. I was really scared, but F**K IT..!!!! I opened shop that day and have been going ever since.. THANKS 2 ALL MY CLIENTS FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN. I COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT ALL OF YOU. MUCH RESPECT.. With all those pieces of skin coming in it really allowed me 2 improve every day with my tattooing, and I have been striving to get better and better still every day. As 4 the bodybuilding, I started that in 98. A friend at Bally's took me 2 a REAL GYM and I was INSTANTLY hooked. Hell, I was 160lbs wet then(now 220). There were women in there that were moving around some real serious weight. Guys in there looked like Greek Gods carved from Mount Olympus. My skinny %#&@$! was like "This is where I've got 2 be." and a year later I was on a stage competing. Didn't do 2 good for my first show but hey, u gotta start somewhere. I loved the gym. I stayed in the gym. Day and Night. I eventually ended up having 4 different gym memberships so I could train with different people in different places. The #1 kat in my bodybuilding life was Mike Scarella. He was Mr. America 91. He was huge. I would watch him train and was just amazed at how strong he was and he had muscles popping out from everywhere.1 day I needed help on the bench press and he was training 1 of his clients.(1 Of his friends trained Micheal Irving's wife from the Dallas Cowboys). I was scared 2 ask him 4 help but I needed help so I asked. He spotted me and after I did my set He gave me some advice. He said to me " do you want some advice from me?" I said I 'll take whatever advice you are willing to give me. He was like "you're doing this all wrong". "U lift like a DAMN health clubber!" You don't really know what your doing but like most health-clubbers you think this is the way to do it but it is not the way to get bigger. And that's why after 5 yrs in the gym they still pretty much look the same as when they first started. He said do this and do that. The next day my chest hurt like a M**ther F**cker!!!!!. I drove 2 the gym at the time he was training just 2 thank him 4 the advice because it really worked. He said if you got the heart come up here tomorrow and we'll do legs together. Of course I said, "HELL YEAH!" That day was brutal. I puked at least twice. Couldn't walk good 4 a week. He then took me on as a workout partner. More like the extra little guy (who can add some more weight on the bar 4 him )but that's okay cause his fees I couldn't pay if he ask, so there u go, SORTA LIKE THE TATTOOING...:) :):) LOL. He died a few yrs. ago. Mike, you'll always be my brother. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID FOR ME MIKE. I'LL ALWAYS HONOR YOU. Eventually, I opened a gym for my wife(was married then not anymore) in Dallas. A friend of mine named Bryan Dobson sold me the franchise of his gym because that name rang out in bodybuilding. METROFLEX GYM "HOME OF MR.OLYMPIA BIG RON COLEMAN. Yes we owned 1 of the gyms that #1 bodybuilder in the world trained under. Although Ronnie never got the chance to guest appear there. she showed interest in working out at that time and i was tired of her working 9-5 Jobs SO I BOUGHT HER WHAT I THOUGHT SHE WANTED INSTEAD. I WANTED HER TO HAVE HER OWN CAREER INSTEAD OF A JOB. See, a JOB is nothing but work.  A job is that thing you do just because you have to. not because you want to. people go to their jobs everyday and spend it looking at the clock waiting on break and how much longer before I get off. a CAREER, on the other hand, is what you do because you LUV it. All those with a career know what I mean. I competed from 1999-2005. I sold the gym later and kept some of the equipment 4 my personal gym at my home. I call it "THE DUNGEON". Now I'm back on my feet and focused again. my studio is everything to me and I want to see it grow. And just like I worked for this one , I'm working even harder for the next 2 shops I'll open. It's not enough to dream it, that's just the start. But if you can see it, you can reach it. All it takes is will and determination. And if you fall short of your goals, just be able to know you did your best and more. Not every war is to be won, and it's not whether you win or loose , but how you shed your blood, sweat, and tears for it. YOU DON'T HAVE TO STAND TALL IN THIS WORLD, BUT YOU DO HAVE TO STAND UP. AND WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF MAKING YOUR PLANS AND SAYING TO YOURSELF "OH WHAT IF THIS, AND WHAT IF THAT" TAKE THIS FROM ME. SAY "FU*K WHAT, AND TELL IF TO SU*K YOUR D **K. GO FOR IT. LIVE FREE AND DIE PROUD OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE IN THIS LIFE. I CAN BE REACHED AT SKIN TIGHT TATTOOZ AND PIERCING, 3730 S. LANCASTER RD. SUITE 120, DALLAS TX 75216. 214-372-5405 OR EMAIL ME AT skin_tight_tat2@yahoo.com. "INSPIRE YOURSELF IF NO ONE ELSE CAN."

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