Myke Chambers is all over the place–in the past six months he’s been at more conventions than I can list, made multiple appearances here on TattooSnob, and has interviews appearing in multiple tattoo magazines… and 2010 is just getting started! In the interview below, Myke lists everything he’s currently involved with, his plans for 2010, talks about his past and his inspiration for the future.

Tattoo Snob: I know you’ve experienced quite a bit in your life, can you give us a recap about yourself?

Myke: Well I grew up pretty much being shipped back an’ forth between my folks in Florida, Texas an’ Southern California. My little brother an I were kinda like hot potatoes between a split family. Then decided I’d had enough around 15 an’ left home with my best friend in the world, my little brother, Stephen “Stevie” Chambers.

I hoped trains back an’ forth across the country, ate out of trash cans, got hooked on drugs an’ basically just spent over 10 years not giving a fuck about anything…well that’s not totally true…when I first left home an hit the streets I was running from a messed up childhood, tho what I found on the streets was something of a shock to me…freedom. I lived a Huck Fin kinda life as a teenager….riding freight trains, sleeping under the stars (bridges and abandoned buildings when called for). I got a taste adventure an freedom an’ went off in search of that…tho’ somewhere along the way I got lost in the search an trapped in a whirlwind of drugs an booze. That freedom was lost.

Stevie died in a “squat” (abandoned building) fire in Hollywood CA in ‘96 an that’s about when my life turned for the worst… I’d lost everything in life I still cared about. He was the last string holding me to this world… an’ that was gone. No amount of drugs or booze could numb that pain… tho’ I tried for a long time.

You see my whole life I always ran from pain. Whether it was through anger as a kid or drugs later on or actually physically running from state to state, I could never get away from the pain I was afraid of. It wasn’t until years later when I sobered up that I found out the only way to not feel that pain was to go through it… there wasn’t any getting around it or running from it… the only way to heal was face it head on… today I deal with my problems, not run, an try to grow from the pain. I stopped running September 8th ‘05.

My life has been interesting to say the least… from eating out of a dumpster to Sharon Osborne ordering for me when I couldn’t make up my mind on what I wanted while dining out with her an Ozzy.

I’ve had some hard times but I wouldn’t trade it for the world… they’ve made me who I am today. I like that guy.

TS: Just about four years ago, you became sober and started really focusing on life and tattooing. Why did you make that decision?

Myke: Because life sucked the way I was living…. I literally wanted to die. I had nothing to live for an’ I was hurting everyone I loved… but mostly myself. Picture the worst nightmare you’ve ever had… well that was my life… for years.

Until a little over 4 years ago I was drowning myself in booze an’ drugs, until I finally got it together enough to check myself into rehab. I’ve been sober ever since so now I try to give back as much as I can. I go to jails an’ juvenile halls an’ speak with guys who are about to get out about my own trials an’ experiences an’ try to offer them some hope an’ direction. Sometimes they’ll call me up when they get out an’ that’s always cool to see them putting their lives back together. I figure I’ve probably caused way more than my share of hurt an’ pain so the least I can do now that I’ve finally started to figure my life out is try to put something positive back out there.

I love tattooing. It’s a gift I’ve been given an I’ve worked hard to get to where I am today but I think I’ve just been put in a place to try an help even more people. For instance, after a new feature on me comes out in a mag I’ll get email an letters from all over the world that my story gave them hope… an’ that’s awesome… because there is hope!! I didn’t think so for a long time an’ gave up all hope ready to just die. So really my driving force is Love. Love is my religion. I try to always put my hand out to people (an’ animals) that want help if I can. Whether it’s in dealing with pain an’ hard time that I have experience with or in the tattoo industry. I’m always more than willing to help out the new artists with questions. I actually answer email questions from aspiring tattooers personally an’ don’t blow them off… tho’ sometimes I do get busy an forget but when I remember I’ll get back to ‘em. There’s an awesome quote that I love “it’s through self forgetting that one finds”… I’m not gonna quote the whole thing but you get the idea.

TS: You eventually wound up in Austin, Texas. How did you choose Austin?

Myke: Well, I have a lot of family in Austin an’ I kinda grew up there… but there’s more to it than that. 
I was living in Long Beach California an’ I’ve always loved it there, but I have two awesome kids an’ at the time my son’s mom an’ I were still together an’ decided that as much as we liked it there, it probably wasn’t the best place to raise our son, Malachi. Austin is a really cool town, there’s a ton of art an’ music an’ the tattoo scene is exploding out there so we gave it a shot. If you’ve never been to Austin you’re missin’ out. It’s always kinda been my home base…Austin an’ Long Beach, CA.

TS: If we opened up your sketch book right now, what would we find?

Myke: I actually just had a crazy drawing spurt the other night when I was in Los Angeles. I started out sketching this branch with cherry blossoms on it for a client an’ then moved on to another piece, a neck tattoo for this chick back in Austin an’ then I just kept going. I busted out a ton of awesome sketches really fast that I’m really stoked on! The funny thing is one of my clients hit me up about a piece they want the next day for the Dallas show this November an’ it’s almost exactly like one of the sketches I drew so that was pretty fucking rad.

TS: Your portfolio contains no realistic work, which is definitely a break from the latest trend. Why is that?

Myke: Well that’s not totally true… I have a realistic tree frog in the back from a few years ago! Hahaha!!

I work with an’ I’m friends with some amazing portrait/realistic artists like Dan Henk, Joshua Carlton, Ron Russo, an’ Nate Beavers (tho Nate does it all). I totally respect an’ love what they do but what I love to tattoo myself is Traditional Americana. I’ve always been into bright colors an’ bold lines. There’s just something about solid, simple traditional tattoos that I love. Most of the work I do is custom so I work with the individuals to make it special for them an’ something they won’t see on anyone else walking down the street. I love when I can take something ordinary, let my creativity flow an’ transform it into something that jumps off the skin. One of the things I like about traveling the convention circuit is the chance to meet other artists an’ gain inspiration from all the amazing work I see an’ stories I hear. When I first started tattooing, after 6 months of apprenticing for my friend Weasel I pretty much thought I knew it all an’ was so wasted all the time that once I sobered up I had to learn how to tattoo all over again! Right now I’m just focused on developing my style and growing as an artist every day instead of being content with just an “OK” tattoo. Once you stop learning you’ve basically given up, ya know?

TS: You’ve attended a ton of conventions this year, and have a number scheduled for the rest of 2009. Out of all those, which have been your favorites?

Myke: Well it would be really hard to nail down one that is my overall favorite so here’s a few of my best picks in the US that I’ve worked: Marcy’s “Star of Texas Tattoo Art Revival” in Austin , Trace’s“Ink-N-Iron” in Long Beach, Troy’s “Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Fest” an’ I had a really amazing time at Durb’s “Hell City: Tattoo Vacation” in Arizona this year an that was definitely one of my all-time favorites.

TS: In the Prick article you mention you’re going to be busy in 2010, what do you have planned?

Myke: Since I sold my shop I’m looking forward to just hittin’ the road for a while. I’ve got a ton of conventions in 2010 up an’ down the east coast an’ all over the US.

Dan Henk an I are planning a east coast guest spot/convention tour early next year together. We pretty much work all our conventions together so we figured it would be fun to just hope in the truck an hit the road. I’ll be posting those dates soon on my website.

I’m also looking forward to spending some more time in Los Angeles where I’ll be guest spotting at a couple different shops. When I’m not traveling I’ll still be tattooing out of The Austin Tattoo Company, formerly Eternally Bound with Keith Underwood.

TS: When was the last time you were tattooed? What was it, and who did it?

Myke: My friend Timmy Barns tattooed a compass on the top of my left hand after we worked the Chattanooga show an’ I fuckin’ love it! The blues are super bright an’ since I had my right hand tattooed already I felt like I needed to balance it out on the left, haha! He also just reworked an old tattoo I had on my neck… You guys watch out for Timmy B!!!!

Myke's hand by Timmy Barns

(in the middle of writing this Myke took a break an headed down to All Hallows Ink in Fullerton, CA to tattoo a friend Kristen Jones, who some people might know from the TV show Tattoo Highway. After he tattooed Kristin, she hooked a friend and him up with some sweet little AZ tattoos.)

TS: What other artists do you want to tattoo you?

Myke: I really respect an’ look up to artists/friends like, Nate Beavers, Russ Abbott, Ron Russo, Jeff Emsminger, Tanane, Ish, Whitfield, Bryan Reynolds, Taylor Cort, J Ranno, Joshua Carlton, Bruce Morgan, Scott Ellis, Keith Underwood, Amanda Leadman, an’ Darcy Nutt…. just to name a few. I’d love to get tattooed by ‘em… which I will.

Tony Hundahl, an’ Steve Byrne are amazing traditional artists so they’re on my list, too.

Also, Nick Baxter is one of my good friends an’ he’s also one of the sickest artist I’ve seen. He’s such an amazing person, too. All I can say about Nick is “WOW.”

Dan Henk an I are about to tattooed each other with really large leg pieces. I’m getting a portrait of Alistair Crowley an’ Dan’s getting a gas mask thing.

TS: What are you involved with aside from tattooing?

Myke: Right now I’m filming this reality TV show, America’s Top Tattoo Artist. There are some sick artists involved so it should be pretty cool once we’re done filming and it airs. Unless they try to make me the stupid, hahahaha!

I also put out a book of my sketches through King Pin Tattoo Supply.

Something else that I’m really trying to work on more is my painting. Dan Henk an’ Nick Baxter an’ both amazing painters an we’ll hang out an’ paint all night at the shop an invite other artist to join us for “paint night”. We try to have paint night as often as possible seeing how we all travel a lot. You can get prints of my stuff at my website, too.

TS: How long can the average client expect to wait before being able to get an appointment with you?

Myke: Because I’m traveling so much it really depends. I’m usually booked up for the conventions pretty far in advance so make sure to check out my travel dates on mykechambers.com an’ contact me before hand tho’ sometimes I get cancellations at the last minute an I’ll post those openings on twitter an the like. I have a lot of clients who fly in just to get tattooed so they get priority but I try an’ be flexible an’ work with people’s schedules if they’re serious about getting tattooed by me.

TS: What’s the best way for people to get in touch with you?

Myke: I just launched my brand new website, www.mykechambers.com so check that out! It’s still a work in progress, but people can see some of my favorite tattoos I’ve done, check out my paintings an’ order prints if they want. I also post all the conventions I’m doing so you can see if I’m coming to your town sometime soon. An’ of course I’m on MySpace, FaceBook, Inked Nation an’ Twitter. Or people can always hit me up the old fashion way an’ email me at mykechambers@gmail.com.

TS: Any last words?

Sorry for rambling! Hahahahaha!!!!

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On Friday, I’ll be traveling to Deluxe Tattoo for the day, while a friend gets tattooed by Hannah Aitchison.

Speaking of Hannah, she recently updated her site with all new merchandise.

Did you know the phrase “The doctor is in . . ” came from the Peanuts? Apparently Lucy distributed psychiatric advice from a cardboard box that looked a great deal like a cartoon lemonade stand. She had a sign on it indicating the “Doctor’s” availability. The sign read “The Doctor is in . .”

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Nikko Hurtado recently updated his Myspace page with a number of his latest pieces.

I’d love to get tattooed by Nikko – maybe I can update his website in trade for a portrait?

Tattoo by: Nikko Hurtado

Other posts on TattooSnob you may enjoy:

1. Furry work
2. Traditionally out of the ordinary
3. Black Anchor Collective

Julie (originally from the UK) received this tattoo on a recent trip to Orlando, Florida from the Robert Jarrett at Hart and Hunnington Tattoo. I don’t know if she did research before her trip, or if she picked Hart and Hunnington because it’s a trusted name from the Inked series. Either way – it’s not important. It’s just another reminder of how much the reality shows have changed the world of tattooing. No matter where you’re opinion falls, you can’t argue with the fact that it’s a little mind blowing to think about.

Tattoo by: Robert Jarrett at Hart & Hunnington (Orlando, FL)

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Earlier today I accidentally stumbled upon this:

Original Media is looking to cast a tattoo enthusiast to receive a FREE tattoo on camera for an upcoming TLC series.  We are working with a masterful tattoo artist who has is a favorite amongst NYC celebs and socialites.  The design will be floral in nature and of our choosing.  Must be available all day and evening, Saturday, September 26th for shoot in NYC.

Must be 18 or older to apply. This is a terrific opportunity for anyone who would like a beautifully designed floral tattoo, expertly applied by a NYC tat master!

Now I’m just speculating here, but is TLC getting ready to launch New York Ink?

Before you doubt me, let’s recap TLC’s reality tattoo television history:

1. Miami Ink ended in 2008, after four trendsetting seasons.
2. During two of those seasons, the show competed directly against it’s sexier sibling, LA Ink.
3. Kat and the crew at LA Ink are now wrapping up their third season . . . .

If this is indeed true, TLC is making a very smart move here. Get viewers familiar with a new young hip tattoo shop during the last year (or two) of LA Ink. I’m sure TLC will arrange some sort of interaction between the two shops. Maybe Kat passing the torch in a very motherly manner? If that doesn’t do the trick, I’m sure some traditional shit talking will suffice.

Furthermore, what better place to start this shop than NYC?

Again, I’m just speculating but it does make sense.

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