With three decades of tattooing behind him, American Jake Meeks is not only a veteran with an assertive style, but also a particularly active entrepreneur in the tattoo wrold. After launching the first tattoo podcast in 2013, the Texan from Memphis is now at the helm of a multimedia platform aimed at the growth of professionals. It's an initiative driven by a desire for openness that, although it made a few people cringe at the time, has ushered in an era of sharing that is now widespread.
You've been tattooing for almost 30 years now, how did it all start?
I started tattooing in the spring of 1996 after getting a pretty bad tattoo at a local street shop. I did not expect it to become a career. I was going to art school and thought tattooing would provide some income until I graduated and got a “real art job”. Eventually, the tattoo industry grew and more skilled artists began tattooing. I think that inspired me to work harder to become a better artist and take tattooing more seriously than I had before.
How would you define your style?
I focus on large scale illustrative work these days. I really like the idea of creating a narrative or storytelling through tattoos.
Over the years you've become a tattoo entrepreneur, not just a tattoo artist. How did this change come about?
It happened by accident. In January of 2013 I lost my son and needed to find something to occupy my time and mind. Podcasting was a pretty new medium and I couldn’t find a podcast that focused on tattooing. I convinced my old shop mate and friend David Evans to start a tattoo podcast. At that time I had no intention of monetizing it. It was just a fun distraction.
This entrepreneurial spirit is then found under the banner of the Fireside tattoo network, an information and learning platform, including a YouTube channel. What were your objectives when you launched it in 2013?
Back then I really didn’t have any specific objectives other than to travel, meet and interview interesting artists with the goal of sharing information with the tattoo community. As the channel grew and became more influential, I started to think more about providing structured education content rather than just random tattoo talk.
What are the network's activities today?
Fireside has always focused on helping tattooers grow their skills. We are much more focused on design that technical application through our YouTube channel and courses although we do dive into technique in our private group the “Inside Fireside Tattoo Club”.
The content you offer is all about education, teaching and disseminating knowledge, with paid courses and free information. Do modern tattoo artists still need to go to the studio to learn and progress?
I think that a mentor/apprentice model is still the best way to learn any skill or trade. It is very difficult to learn to tattoo online. I do recognize, however, that not all apprenticeships are created equally and online education can be a great tool in addition to a structured apprenticeship.
The tattoo world is traditionally conservative. Have you received any criticism from the profession for sharing so much information?
For the first few years, we endured a fair amount of criticism. Particularly if we shared any technical information. Over the years the criticism has tapered off. We are now living in the age of information and so many tattooers are sharing their processes. I think that information sharing has proven to be very beneficial for tattooing overall.
With the availability of new digital tools and the development of new technologies, the profession is more accessible than ever. But it also faces other challenges and difficulties.
Yes. From the tools we use to AI imagery to tattoo robots, things are changing rapidly. I believe mindset is important when thinking about technology. I don’t believe AI and robots will take our jobs but I do think that an artist with a great command of these technologies will replace artists who refuse to adopt them.
Is AI a danger or an opportunity for tattoo artists?
I see is as a creative partner. I use it to research imagery and find new ideas for symbolism in my designs. I also think it can be a great replacement for google image/pinterest search for reference imagery.
Competition, versatility, communication, technical and artistic progress - do today's tattoo artists have to be ‘super tattoo artists’ to exist?
I think there is still a market for tattooers who aren’t interested in becoming fine artists or tattooing body suits. From what I can tell, the old style street shop tattooer, making a living off of walk ins and flash designs still has a place in our culture.
How has your business grown since 2013?
We currently have around 50 members in our Inside Fireside Tattoo club and have sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 1200 courses between our Foundations course for beginning artists and Simplify course for advanced artists. Though the years we have offered several e-books and workshops but I don’t have much data on those. We are starting to focus more on live events as well. I just completed our first “Fireside Yacht Club” excursion and am also partnering with TattooNow to host the Paradise Tattoo Gathering.
As an American entrepreneur, how do you see the European approach to the profession?
I have never tattooed in Europe and am not really educated on the different approaches between European and American tattooing. I do know that the European officials have been ahead of Americans on regulatory issues and it seems that our FDA is following the European’s lead.
I imagine that all these activities, along with your job as a tattoo artist and running a studio, take up a lot of time. How do you manage it, and what advice would you give to people like you who like to multi-task?
I try to focus on things that I do well and find people to handle the things that I do poorly. We have a great team at Fireside that really helps to take the load off my shoulders. I also have been working with entrepreneurial coaches for many years and have developed systems and automations for much of the work we do. + IG @pluguglyart @firesidetattoo www.firesidetattoo.com
