Interview with Ronak Patel: Transcript 0:00 Ronak Patel (RP): Before coming in here I've never tattooed before, getting used to the tattoo machine and that, that was a struggle of it's own. starting out wasn't very confident in my skills and my abilities, and you know just came with time and practice and tips from other artists around me, watching how other people did things and now I feel more confident. Am I the best tattoo artist already? No. I have a long road to go but have I improved since I began? Absolutely! 0:30 Guy Prandstatter (GP): Hello everybody and welcome to the tattoo trainer podcast my name is Guy Prandstatter and I am the tattoo trainer. My guess on the show today is Ronak Patel from our Philadelphia location and Ronak is a really talented graphic artist who found himself working and managing a liquor store and he's gonna share with you how he went from working at that liquor store and managing that liquor store to be one of our premier tattoo artist in our PA location. So let's get right in to the interview and could tell you his story. 1:01 Alright, Ronak, welcome to ART tattoo trainer podcast, man, thanks for being here I'm really really glad you're here. I was really looking forward to this today co'z you're just somebody who I've really admired, y'know watching your development watching you grow and become someone that we can all count on here. And did just become such a good tattoo artist and a staff member that I wanted to share your story with all our listeners. RP -- awesome, man, thank you for having me. GP -- yeah you're welcome. RP -- appreciate it. GP -- so we got a lot of people out there listening to our podcast subscribing daily to our podcast and in their mind what is this thing all about, they're not sure, they're uncertain they got doubt, y'know. So, what we're doing is more or less bringing them, y'know people who had the same maybe had the same kind of thoughts and become a part of our culture and had success with it. So, you're definitely one of them, man, so, tell us a little bit about your journey...what was your life like before you were a tattoo artist? What did you do, what did it looked like? RP -- So straight out of high school, my parents were not supportive of me becoming a tattoo artist at all. They wanted me to go to college, so I did the whole college thing I went and I got my degree in graphic design, I was working as a graphic designer for a while. The money was good but I just wasn't happy. So, I quit that, I found a job at a liquor store and I signed up for ART and...y'know it was just man I would do it all over again if I had to, y'know, it was absolutely worth it. GP -- so you're working at a liquor store, RP -- I was... GP -- Tell us about that, man, you went from being a graphic designer that you went to college for like what school did you go to? RP -- I went to the artist 2:43 GP -- is that like some inexpensive cheap school that you just do? RP -- No, absolutely not. GP -- so, I mean...were your parents supportive of paying for your college or did you pay for it, how did you get through it? RP -- it was half and half, yeah...they helped me out, I paid for a lot of it, but the money wasn't worth it for me. I was stuck in a cubicle 9 to 5, and being an artist is just not my type of environment, y'know? I wanted to be around like-minded people, sharing ideas, bouncing off of each other, learning from one another, not being in a box all day. GP -- right, yeah man. But that's just an interesting path, right; it is probably very much like so many people in say our country, that were sort of force-fed. This is the way do things, right? You get out of high school, you apply to college, you get in a college, and perhaps you figure it out maybe a small percentage of people really know what they want to do and are pursuing what they really want to do from the beginning. It sounds like you were just trying to figure it out along the way. RP -- I mean, I've always known that I wanted to be a tattoo artist, it's just I am not sure how to go about doing that. Where I'm from, there's a few small shops and... GP -- where are you from? RP -- Nutley, New Jersey. GP -- right RP -- and those shops are just, they'll be your friends, they'll be friendly as long as you want to get tattooed by them. But they won't really tell you how to go about becoming an artist or no tips anything like that, no sort of help. GP -- what was that moment that that you really decided, man, y'know what; I don't wanna live in this cubicle anymore I wanna be a tattoo artist and you just like...what happened? RP -- I was actually at work one day at the designer job and everyone was getting ready to go to lunch, and like...the whole time I was working there, I noticed that nobody would talk to each other, got to lunch, anything like that together. Everything was just done on their own, and one day I just had enough of it. I was like I'm here surrounded by all these creative people but I feel alone. So I was like...no, I don't want to do this anymore. GP -- and then what did you do? So what was like your path to get into the apprenticeship? RP -- I've always seen the advertisement when I was in college like I used to see them on facebook. So that's actually how I recalled how to get in touch. So I went on Facebook, I sent out a message, and within the next few days I would sign up for the workshop,y'know. As soon as I signed up for the workshop, I quit my job and then I started working as the manager of the liquor store. 5:19 GP -- right. And then, y'know, obviously you made a....did you made a dec...well I don't want to say... You made a decision to join the apprenticeship, right, after the workshop? RP -- right. GP -- what was the reason you made that decision? RP -- I was actually new, y'know. From you I got the vibe that listen; just because you were offering this doesn't mean that it's just gonna be handed to you. you gonna have to work your ass off and you're gonna have to earn it. And that just like really, that hit home for me. So, that's what it was. I saw how real you were and how real the apprenticeship was. GP -- so, was that your experience that it was challenging, hard, you had to work hard for it, it didn't come easy to you, what was your experience of it? RP -- It was definitely hard, it was definitely challenging, and it helped me grow a lot not only as an artist but as a person. From the art perspective of it, there were some things that came naturally for me because those mediums I've used my entire life, and then there were certain things like water color, for example, I was just stuck on it for a long time. And it really took like a lot of patience to sit there and just work through it. GP -- so you would say like that water coloring process was the biggest challenge you had in the program even.... RP -- well one of 'em, y'know...I've never used a tattoo machine before so when I got to that part of the program, that was a whole new challenge... GP -- okay... RP -- yeah y'know that wasn't easy, but it was worth it I will tell you that, and like I said before I would absolutely do it all over again if I had to. GP -- right. Did you have some fears going in to it? RP -- I did, I wasn't really sure what to expect, I came in, kind of...shit what if I don't fit in? What if they don't accept me? Stuff like that. But then, immediately, like everyone was very receptive, I would get tips from fellow apprentices, people that were doing these things I going through they've already been through them. GP -- right. RP -- Trying to help me further my progress, get along...move along a little quicker, sorry. GP -- so you actually had other people who were in the apprenticeship with you who were just a little further ahead like helping you and support you to understand the place that you were at. RP -- Right. And some of those people, y'know, some are greatest friends like Paloma, for example, y'know I have a lot of love for her. And she's very successful at doing what she's doing and I'm so happy that I had her there.