It’s always great to see people at the top of their craft, which is part of what makes it so fun watching Epic Ink every Wednesday on A&E.   This past week I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the stars of the show, tattoo artist and shop owner Chris 51.   First lets get his official TV bio out of the way:

Chris 51 is the proud owner of Area 51 Tattoo, located in Springfield, Oregon, the hometown of Chris’s most beloved cartoon family, “The Simpsons.” He is one of the most well respected and knowledgeable tattoo artists around. Dubbed “the hardest-working man in the business” by many of his peers, Chris 51 is also an accomplished writer. He writes monthly columns for three tattoo magazines, has written a book on flower tattoos, a football trivia book, a baseball history book, two poetry books and even a children’s book. Chris’s guiding force is kids, who can often be found hanging out at the shop dad.

 

You hear the term “tattoo artist” a lot and most of us don’t give it a second thought, but when you see the work that Chris and his team are able to produce week after week you won’t take that term lightly again.  Chris 51, Chris Jones, Heather, Josh and Jeff produce some of the most dynamic, vibrant and photo-realistic tattoos that I have ever seen in real life or on any other tattoo show.   They eat, sleep, breath and specialize in all things pop culture and people come in from all over the world to have their skin adorned by these masters. Comic book art, movies, TV, toys, unicorns, Chris Farley, dinosaurs, these guys do it all and they do it better than anyone I have ever seen.

I’ve never been a tattoo guy before.   I make no judgments to those that like them, I’ve just never thought of any one thing that I would want to have on my body for the rest of my life.   I have plenty of friends and family that have tattoos and I’ve watched quite a few of the other tattoo shows that have been on TV… but just 4 episodes into Epic Ink, and seeing the work they do…  I’ve started to change my tune and have considered a trip to Springfield to get some ink from the one of these artists.  And I think I have my design picked out…  well it’s down to two…

But we aren’t here to just celebrate the tattoo craft and artistry of the team at Area 51, the other reason you should watch this show each week is all the TOYS!   Every corner of the shop is covered in beautiful plastic people.    Chris 51 is a hardcore collector and he surrounds himself with his geek pride in the shop as much as the art on his skin.   As I say in the interview, I have to watch each episode twice because my first viewing is spent looking at every nook and cranny in the shop at all of the toys on display.   Here’s Chris now with one of his latest acquisitions:

Check out my interview with Chris 51 and then make sure you check out the rest of season one of A&E’s Epic Ink every Wednesday night.  There’s a brand new episode tonight!   And if you want to check out the previous 4 episodes A&E was kind enough to put them up here.

Here’s a little sneak peek at tonight’s all new episode (and yes that IS Elvira, Mistress of the Dark along side Butch Patrick aka Eddie Munster!)

Thanks to Chris and the gang at A&E for taking the time to talk to us.

Click on the arrow below to start the audio player.