BERNIE LUTHER- The smile of a kid in an old timer

For this episode we found ourselves in Aachen at the Kaiserstadt Tattoo Expo, as always flawlessly organized by Andreas Coenen.

The show opened with a pre-party exhibiting the life work of Bernie Luther, a mind-blowing array of flashes produced over four decades of traveling the world. 
On the following day I had the pleasure of recording this interview in front of a lovely audience, which made the energy of this afternoon very special. 

Bernie shared with us the recollections from  his 40 years tattooing carreer, filled with laughter, priceless anecdotes and with the joyful energy that makes him unique.

You can find Bernie on Instagram

Find the Aachen’s convention on Instagram

FREDDY CORBIN -When kindness meets talent

There is a reason if everybody likes Freddy Corbin.

His experience and contribution made him well known all over the world but that only doesn’t bring you that type of respect. His kind personality makes him connect joufully with people, instantly making you feel at ease. Even from a brief chat you can sense that he cares.

Needless to say it was an honor and a great pleasure to have him spend an evening with us, to share his story and insights.

If you have the chance don’t miss on visiting his Temple Tattoo in Oakland, a Mecca in the Bay Area’s tattooing.

Find Freddy on Instagram and at Temple Tattoo

OFF THE WALL- Nick Colella & Robert Ryan

This episode is part of the OFF THE WALL project, an initiative to put the spotlight back on flashes as foundation of traditional tattooing. 

Learn more at @stef_bastian_presents

Today’s guests are Nick Colella and Robert Ryan.

Two veterans of traditional tattooing, these artists give us an insightful look on what it means to immerse yourself in the tattoo culture, what makes a design impactful and balanced and share some tattoo history from their respective backgrounds.

Above all, they set an example of humility.
Humility towards the timeless designs and who came before us but especially towards the most important element in this dynamic: the people that get tattooed. 

Find Nick on Instagram, at @chicagotattoohistory and at Great Lakes Tattoo in Chicago

Find Robert on Instagram and Electric Tattoo

OFF THE WALL- Omar Edmison & Bobeus

This episode is part of the OFF THE WALL project, an initiative to put the spotlight back on flashes as foundation of traditional tattooing. 

Learn more at @stef_bastian_presents

In these interviews we talk with Omar and Bobeus about their own personal approach and experience and how to make the most of flashes in the learning process. 
We mention tattooers that influenced the art form deeply(like Greg Irons, Bob Shaw and JD Crowe); the importance of Purpose behind every line; the purity of folk art and much more. 

Find Omar on Instagram

Find Bobeus on Instagram

OFF THE WALL- Lal Hardy & Dr. Ole Wittman

This episode is part of the OFF THE WALL project, a new art project within the tattoo community to celebrate the flash as foundation of traditional tattooing, while raising money for those families affected by the war in Ukraine.

In this series of short interviews we ask our guests a little bit about tattoo history and the origin of the flash, what it means for them and how to make the best use of it today. 

We sat down with Lal Hardy, British tattoo legend, and Dr. Ole Wittmann, tattoo historian. In these chats you will find a great deal of information on english and German tattooing, insightful views on the relationship tattooer-artwork-customer and more. 

A special thanks to tattoo museums and private collectors for providing vintage flashes for the project, in particular:

Dana Brunson

Paul Ramsbottom(Rambo)

Derin Bray

Lal Hardy

Dr. Ole Wittmann

Andreas Coenen

Jason Brooks

Gabriele Donnini

Ahren Bloomquist

Find Lal on Instagram

Find Ole on Instagram

More info on current and previous projects on @stef_bastian_presents  and stefbastian.com

DAVID SPEED from Creative Rebels

David Speed is the co-host of the Creative Rebels podcast. His rich personal experience in the creative world(David has tattooed for a few years and has been a graffiti artists for two decades) enabled him to understand what it takes to build the best version of yourself and your business, often one being a reflection of the other. 

What gave birth to the successful CREATIVE REBELS podcast is the willing to share these insights and build a community around some of the most accomplished creatives, to deliver value to the listeners and their journey. 

In this episode we talked about the formula for success, the importance of consistency, David’s relationship with failure and much more.

You can find the CREATIVE REBELS podcast of all major platforms and David on Instagram

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If you like the show, it would mean the world if you could help us reaching more people by leaving a 5 star review on Spotify/ITunes and share your favourite episodes on social medias ❤️

PANEL- American Traditional with Holly Ellis, Chad Koeplinger, Robert Ryan and Andreas Coenen

Today I want to introduce you to a new series that I’m incorporating in what we normally do in the podcast. This series of extra episodes is called PANEL, and it will feature multiple guests at once, breaking down a specific topic. Each artist with their own unique experience and perspective.

For the first panel, I sat down with four of the most inspired and experienced artists, Holly Ellis, Chad Koeplinger, Robert Ryan and Andreas Coenen, to talk about something they excel at: American Traditional.

What does “Traditional” mean for them; where do they draw inspiration from; what’s their unique process and approach.

I believe that multiple perspectives can foster originality, the pinnacle of creativity, and hopefully these points of view can inspire you and your vision.

After two years of restrictions, cancelled conventions and trips, it’s been beautiful to sit down with them, even if virtually, to share an honest moment about something we all love. At least for me it’s been the closest thing to those shows and dinners we all love, made of friendship, technical talks and laughs. I want to thank these artists for sharing their insights, giving me a lot to think about.

If you find value in these episodes and would like to help me create more, I’d be very grateful if you could give the show a 5 star rating and a review on ITunes and Spotify. And if you are listening to it now, why not taking a screenshot and share it on your social medias. 
It doesn’t cost you anything and it makes a big difference in helping the show reach more people.

Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy the episode 😊

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Holly

Chad

Robert

Andreas

Follow updates on the show on Instagram

SHOTSIE GORMAN- Larger than life

Shotsie Gorman is a character larger than life. One of those old timers that, you know, “they just don’t make them anymore”.

Behind his 4+ decades of tattooing there is a deeply routed drive for Art, with capital A, and perhaps a la even deeper appreciation for Life and the people he crossed path with. 

In this episode we talk about his start in tattooing with Mike Bakaty, the crazy characters he met along the way, his love for Italy and what it means to be a tattooer. 

You can find Shotsie on Instagram and at Tarot Art Tattoo

You can follow the updates on new episode on Instagram

DANA BRUNSON- There’s more than a pretty picture

I could introduce Dana Brunson mentioning all his accomplishments and all the majorly influential artists he crossed path with in his 50 years tattooing, Huck Spaulding, Paul Rogers, Cliff Raven, Don Nolan, Crazy Eddie… but we won’t do that.

The aspect that I feel best describes Dana is his wonderful heart and genuine love for tattooing and the people he meets along the way.

The wisdom that comes from a lifetime of dedicated appreciation is priceless and I am extremely grateful for hearing these words directly from him. They inspire us to not only aim at being better tattooers but better and more connected human beings.

You can find Dana on Instagram

Follow the updates about new episodes on @tattootalespodcast

GOOD TIME CHARLIE- The birth of fine line

Charlie Cartwright is a living legend.

Crossing paths with some of the most influential American tattoo artists(Bert Grimm and Owen Jensen, to name a few), he’s been tattooing for six decades now.

Together with Jack Rudy and his team of artists, he developed in the 70’s what we call today “fine line”, bringing tattooing from 3-6 needles to just one, mimicking and refining a style that was developing amongst the Hispanic community within the Los Angeles prison system. 

Today Charlie is working on the non-profit “Tattoo Heritage Project”, with the goal of establishing a large scale Tattoo History Museum in Long Beach, CA. 

To support the project and learn about tattoo history, you can head to tattooheritageproject.org

Find Charlie on instagram

Check out the project on instagram