Tattoo Reality Overload - New Show "Tattoo Nightmares" premieres tonight on Spike TV

With last week's double shot of Inkmaster's second season (two episodes for the price of one!) and Tattoo Rescue, you'd think we'd be rolling toward Tattoo Reality Overlord. Although it appears Tattoo Rescue was a one-off pilot, we will now get a new series premiering tonight after Inkmaster.

For those in the tattoo industry who think that "reality" shows exploit their industry and that no new tattoo shows is a good thing, they will likely cringe at the title of Tattoo Nightmares.

But, similar to a TLC series I spotted over the summer called America's Worst Tattoos, the new series highlights artists who are trying to correct tattoos gone bad.

As their press release touts:

"Real people with really bad tattoos, ranging from hilarious to downright disturbing, seek the help of three of the best cover-up artists in the business to fix them – Tommy Helm, Big Gus and Jasmine Rodriguez. The stakes are high as the regretful clients ... see if the artists at Tattoo Nightmares can work a miracle and turn their disaster pieces into masterpieces. Reenactments allow us to see how the bad ink was born."

The way I see it, you're either a fan of these types of reality shows, or you're almost violently against them. Personally, I'm a tattoo half-full guy. For the most part, these shows are entertaining - just on the basis that they are legitimately trying to show a positive side to tattoos.

One of the three artists behind Tattoo Nightmares is New York's Tommy Helm, who was one of the three finalists in the first season of Inkmaster. He's a top-notch artist, so I'll give the show a chance based on that alone.

Tommy Helm is one of the biggest reasons to watch Tattoo Nightmares

Look, when show's like Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo draws millions of viewers, it seems silly to complain about a tattoo reality program that celebrates an art form and arguably helps the tattoo business. The same people who complain about these shows are likely also going to be taking appointments from clients who are inspired by these "tattoo nightmares" and seeking high-quality cover-ups.

Tattoo Nightmares premieres tonight on Spike TV at 11:00 and 11:30 PM.

Chad and the City

I met Chad one afternoon in April outside of Madison Square Garden. He shared this tattoo which is on his left shin:

As one might have guessed, Chad is a huge fan of the former HBO series Sex and the City and this is one of a large number of tattoos that he has. When I asked how many he had, he quipped “I have no clue.”

Chad’s work was inked by Eileen Fabbricatore at Lady Luck Tattoo in Aurora, Colorado.

Thanks to Chad for sharing these tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

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Two Eclectic Tattoos from TG

I will pace subway platforms, while waiting for my train, so that I may exercise a bit, and, let's face it, spot the occasional tattoo.

After meeting TG on the 59th Street platform in Brooklyn, and talking tattoo with him all the way to 95th Street, he told me I was lucky he had removed his sweater back on 59th.

For it was there that I spotted his tattoos. First I noticed this one:


That is a brontosaurus, which is on his left arm. It was an impulse decision and serves solely as a decorative reminder of a moment in time. TG had just left work with a paycheck and wandered into Rising Dragon Tattoos in their (relatively) new 14th Street location.

The artist was Davide, who hails from Italy, and was most likely a guest tattooer at the time.

TG sings his praises as he took a relatively simple design and gave it his all, down to the shading of the dinosaur's eyes and toe nails.

An even more compelling tattoo is this line-drawn piece:


The caption under the robot and the bear reads "Go for the knees! Bears are known for weak knees!"

This refers to a brief snippet of dialogue in Season 1, Episode 3 ("Blind Date") of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. The line is uttered by the character Frank, who is played by actor/comedian Judah Friedlander.

The absurdity of the line made it memorable to TG, who chose to immortalize it on his right forearm.

The tattoo was inked by Mike at Mad Pup's Tattooing in Plattsburgh, New York.

Thanks to TG for sharing his two eclectic tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!