The Man Behind The Ink: Varand Hartoonian

“I started tattooing about two years ago. A friend of mine bought a cheap tattoo machine and tried to do tats but it wasn’t working out. I asked to borrow it and went home and tatted myself on my leg; I put a cross for my uncle - typical Armenian. After that, I traded my punching bag for a tattoo kit. To make a long story short, I got a lot of help from Body Shop Tattoo in Glendale. They basically took me from the street and made me into what I am today. I love them like family. Most of the time I feel good when I do Armenian writing on my people. I feel like I’m keeping my culture alive because they can’t erase it. It’s a good feeling. A lot of the people I tattoo on are Armenian. The piece I’m really proud of wasn’t like a crazy tattoo, it read ‘feed off each other.’ At the time, I didn’t understand, but now I get it. I thought the person I did it on would always be by my side. I didn’t know life doesn’t hold any promises. He passed away. I think parents have to be more open to this shit, especially Armenian parents. It’s only a bad thing if you make it bad. Most of the time, tattoos help heal wounds that can’t be healed by just words, but then again, I see what they’re worried about. Armenian girls I can’t figure out - some are very closed to ideas; they want it really small. Some just go all out, worse than the men. I LOVE MY JOB because it lets me connect with people; I give them something that they can take to the grave with them. Best feeling is when they’re happy with their tattoo. When this happens, I don’t even care about the money.”