My story

My name is Bailey but i go by Mickey now as a tattoo artist, result of my first shop owner insisting on a nickname for me and telling him my current Instagram handle at the time. I was born in Vegas on Nellis AFB but only lived here until i was 10 until my dad got stationed to the island of Guam, a small Mariana island in the Pacific ocean nestled between Japan and Australia. growing up i always loved 3 things skating, video games and art and as i got older and more of my interests started to fade art was always there. Art and creating was my form of expression as an introvert who found socializing very difficult. It was also my escape from a lot of bullying I faced thru grade school, i was always the short kid who wore glasses and was a bit of a geek. Even when i grew older and bullying was no longer a real thing in my life, my art was my escape from traumas and mental health issues in my life. now with many mental issues subsiding or being delt with my personal art takes a back seat when I don't have the emotional attachment behind it. Tattooing has now taken over as my passion and hyper fixation with art, where now i can help other people express themselves and tell their own personal stories thru my art. growing up in the military exposed me to many different environments and cultures that ultimately shaped my view and understanding on art. from living in the super diverse city of Las Vegas to integrating and creating friends with the Chamorro islanders of Guam, I then moved to Colorado springs. the constant moving provided huge culture shocks at different points in my life that shaped the way i viewed art and how it can influence and express culture. moving on to tattooing, I starting my career as an apprentice at a tattoo shop in North Las Vegas in 2021 after the pandemic. Happening by chance i decided to ask my tattoo artist that just finished my knuckle tattoos if he could critique my small portfolio and give me some pointers on how to get better. Little did i know that simple question was going to get me a tattoo apprenticeship and open a whole new world of art and opportunity to me. I cant say i had an amazing apprenticeship due to an absent owner who's main priority was monetary gain and not artistic growth. luckily I had other artist around me at that shop that showed me the ropes and helped me gain knowledge and confidence in my abilities. After being fired for unknown reasons I had messaged an artist that I had met before and that was working at another shop, Black Rhino Tattoo. From there I met the rest of the team at the time, unknowingly meeting the team I would be working with from there out, I did have to land a kickflip tho to get onto the team. Since working at Black Rhino i have learned and excelled in a time frame I didn't think was possible for me. being surrounded by a group of people and an owner that actual cares about each other and the art everyone produces was a breathe of fresh air compared to my apprenticeship. I have now been officially tattooing for 3 years and have experienced quite the ups and downs, but i wouldn't trade this profession for anything!