DENIS TORIKASHVILI

I took a great interest to tattooing in 1997. This is when tattoo art first became popular in Russia. Before that tattoo had been in isolation, being spread only in criminal & military environments. The community had a negative attitude toward tattooed people. By the end of 90’s the tattoo industry in Russia changed. First tattoo studios appeared, mainly in cities, including my native city Rostov-on-Don. I originally was drawn to the tattoo industry out of curiosity, which soon evolved into an addiction. That moment I didn’t suppose that my teenage hobby would become my profession. In the beginning, the process developed slowly. Finding an experienced tattoo artist in Russia was impossible for many reasons. First off, there was no access to the Internet so reasearching tattoo artists was extremely difficult. Secondly, artists who had some experience in tattooing, reluctantly wished to share it. Thirdly, there was no media publications educating the public about tattooing. My closest friends and family at first responded negatively to my hobby. There were very unique conditions in which I started my career with. I was self-educated, made primitive machines, used inks I was able to purchase, and tried different styles. This went on till 2004 when I learned St.Petersburg would be holding an International Tattoo Convention. Such an event I mustn’t have missed, so I bought a ticket and went. It would be a huge understatement to say I was impressed with what I saw. I met many great contacts and got acquainted to amazing artists. I’ve learned from this trip much more then I have had during previous years. I was charged with tattoo energy and inspiration. The quality of my works noticeably increased. From that time I’ve started to visit the convention every year. It has become the place where information and other kinds of tattoo activities were accumulated together, the place of meetings and communications of people who were in love with tattooing. In 2006 I could brag about my first industry success: my work was recognized as the best among many great pieces during the convention. At that moment I made a decision to work in my own studio. Since then I have traveled a lot, met well-known artists and took the prizes at many different foreign tattoo conventions.