Interview with ShoutOut Social and Daniel Collins
Dan Collins | Owner of Rose Tattoo | @danielcollinsart
Meet Daniel Collins | Tattoo Artist & Part Owner of Rose Tattoo
July 2, 2024
We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel Collins and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Daniel, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I grew up in Worcester Massachusetts, a predominantly blue collar working class city, before moving into Boston. Growing up I worked just about every job possible from bartending, working on farms, bouncing at bars on Lansdowne Street, and trying to make a career out of mixed martial arts. At the time, tattooing was illegal until about 2001 so I was never really exposed to that world until later in life, but working a lot of these jobs I would see a variety of tattoos done from surrounding states or your friend’s garage. I was immediately attracted to the artwork and the fringe lifestyle, but back then we didn’t have social media so I would always seek out the tattoo magazines and see the work from artists like Tim Hendricks, Freddy Negrete, Mark Mahoney, and Freddy Corbin. I specifically remember seeing tattoos from Tim Hendricks with these perfect lines and smooth shading. It was nothing I had seen before but this would start me down a path of wanting to learn how to tattoo.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I first got into tattooing around 2013 and back then there was especially a lot of resentment towards anyone looking for an apprenticeship. Tattooing wasn’t a booming industry that it is today, it was still new to Massachusetts and a lot of people were looking to establish themselves. It wasn’t easy getting a foot in the door and you had to deal with a lot of rejection. I never had a formal background in art so early on I would sneak into the Boston Tattoo Convention to learn whatever I could from seminars they offered. Tattooing is an industry that takes a lot of determination and hard work, it’s one of the few careers that you can get out of it the amount you put in. Back when I first started becoming interested in the craft there was this mysticism to tattooing. The art form was sacred and treated that way by many artists who kept the trade secret. Information was very limited; there was no YouTube,TikTok, or How-To videos showing you how things were done like there is today. You had to go out there and figure it out yourself. After enough practice I was able to compile a small portfolio and eventually start working for a local tattoo shop sweeping, cleaning, getting coffee for artists, working for free and doing whatever I could to earn my way into the industry. Eventually that would take me to my second apprenticeship in Denver Colorado and eventually out to San Diego where I now reside and do the majority of my tattooing. It was about a 7 year journey of apprenticing, but it’s rewarding to know that I earned the privilege to be a tattooer and that it was never handed to me. In 2023 I was able to open a small shop, Rose Tattoo, located here in Point Loma next to Shelter Island with a couple of my really good friends and amazing tattooers. A lot of my down time is still spent traveling to other shops as a guest artist to continue learning the trade and evolving the craft. There’s no strategy to becoming successful in tattooing, just hard work, but at the end of the day you get to create art for really interesting people and work along side some amazing friends.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Thankfully we are fortunate to tattoo out of an amazing neighborhood here in Point Loma with a rich history. A full day here isn’t complete without a tattoo at Rose Tattoo, beers out on the fishing pier over at Fathom, catching a concert over at Humphrey’s, or stopping in to Tunaville over on the docks to get fresh caught fish and chat with the owner Tommy about the history of Tuna Fishing in San Diego.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There’s no such thing as being “self-made”, especially in the tattooing world. I had a lot of help getting me to where I am now from family and friends. I particularly want to thank my friend and one of my first mentor’s who gave me my first legitimate education in tattooing, Artis Garcia out of Denver Colorado. He gave me a shot and showed me how far I could take this career with hard work.
Website: https://Www.finelinesgoodtimes.com
Instagram: @danielcollinsart
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielcollinstattoo/
Other: Email for booking at: danielcollinstattoo@gmail.com
