EXCLUSIVE: Ink Master Season 9 Contestants and New Twists Announced

See Who Will Vie For Tattooing’s Most Prestigious Title!

Ink Master‘s Season 9 is coming to air Tuesday June 6th (10 PM ET/PT) on Spike TV, and the new wrinkles are sending ripples through the tattoo community. Ink Master has always added a new twist to their competition which makes each season more exciting than the last—and this time around the competition is truer to a real tattoo experience than ever before.

If we had a critique of Ink Master it would have been that not all elite artists are world-beaters across all genres, once you get to the rarified air of master tattooer you normally have a specialty. Say, if you walked into Oliver Peck’s Elm Street Tattoo and asked him for a black-work tattoo, he’d most-likely tell you that he’s more proficient at American Traditional but he has Little Linda who can do that tattoo for you perfectly. Spike TV and the production company Truly Original have expertly incorporated that situation in this new season as top shops around the country are sending two of their tattooers to compete in Ink Master Season 9! The artists will be competing in pairs and for the first time, the title of “Master Shop.”

See the initial grouping of artists on the next page (there may be some past contestants who return as the contestants pack their needles and go back to their shops…). By the way the stakes have never been higher: in addition to the title and a feature in Inked magazine, the tattooers are competing for double the normal monetary award—the pair will win $200,000.

Meet The Season 9 Ink Master Contestants

Allegory Arts – Florence, AL
-Ulyss Blair
-Eva Huber

Artisitic Skin Designs – Indianapolis, IN
-April Nicole
-Dane Smith

Black Anchor Collective – Hesperia, CA
-Carlos Rojas
-Aric Taylor

Classic Trilogy Tattoo – Cortland, NY
-Thom Bulman
-Derek Zielinski

Pinz and Needles – Baltimore, MD
-Jessy Knuckles
-Allisin Riot

The Marked Society Tattoo – McDonough, GA
-Wes Hogan
-Mike P

Thicker Than Blood – White Plains, NY
-Jhon Campuzano
-Babiery Hernandez

Tri-Citites Tattoo – Atlanta, GA
-Bang
-Danger Dave

Unkindness Art – Richmond, VA
-Erin Chance
-Doom Kitten

TUNE IN: Tuesday June 6th (10 PM ET/PT) on Spike TV