Ante Up! - Part 2

Ante Up! - Part 2

An interview with Vida Loca owner Dan Watson
Playing poker for a living and running a tattoo studio have more in common than you
might think. Tony Jones speaks to Dan Watson about tattooing, boxing, gambling and
never giving up.

On tattoos and tattooers
I don’t like to tie myself down to only tattooing one tattoo style. I like pushing myself,
working outside my normal comfort zone, learning and practicing new styles. I think it is
important to push your boundaries and to keep learning and growing. But if you really press
me for an answer I’d have to say that the modern Japanese style is what I do best. I love the
work of Shige, Filip Leu, Jess Yen, Johan Finne - the list goes on, there are so many amazing
artists.

I enjoy going to conventions too. Watching other artists and seeing the standard of work on
display helps you to keep your feet on the ground. It’s easy to sit around in your shop
thinking ‘My work is ace!’, but going to a convention really opens your eyes. I think that
sitting in the chair to be tattooed by someone else is one of the most educational things a
tattooist can do. This is how I got to learn the basics, by sitting for hours and hours at Voodoo
and, more recently, I’ve been getting tattooed by Jack Mosher which has been very
educational for me. Listening to tattooists talk, observing their style, watching the kit they use
and asking questions is a great way to learn and keep up with the ever improving standard of
modern tattooing.

On life outside tattooing
Before I was a tattooist I was a professional poker player. <At this point I began to chuckle as
I thought Dan was joking with me.> No! Seriously, I was. I quit my day job and played full
time on the poker circuit playing Texas hold ‘em for about 3/4years. It would be mostly all
night games, eating and drinking at the table, often sat with the same faces you’d been
playing with night after night before.

Most of the time I would make a decent living out of it, but unfortunately casino owners are
wise to the weaknesses of poker players. There is always a roulette wheel between your table
and the exit. I could be up by a grand or two over the course of the night, and yet somehow
manage to lose most of it at the roulette wheel on the way out. Eventually I ended up blowing
the lot and I realised that it was time to get out of the game. I still play a little nowadays but
only for entertainment when I am bored, and thankfully tattooing leaves very little time for
that. I sometimes go to Vegas too. I fucking LOVE Vegas! Poker is a fascinating game and
you can learn so much about people by playing, I met so many people from all different
walks of life at the poker table. I think my poker experience holds me in good stead for
dealing with people in the studio – it’s all about the people.

Nowadays my limited leisure time is very valuable. You’ll probably find me at the gym. I’ve
been into boxing since I was young and used to fight professionally on a regular basis, but not
so much nowadays. Tattooing takes over your life and leaves you with very little time to do
much else. You can easily get out of shape sat on your arse all day, but now I make sure I
train most days each week. I think it is important for my career to keep in shape because it
stops me getting those typical aches and pains that tattooists get through being hunched over
all day long. I only get the sore shoulders and back ache when I have been lazy and not
trained for a while, so it soon motivates me to get back at the heavy bag.
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