Inked Exclusive: Nico Perez

Featured Artist: Art Issue 2017

Inked: How did you get into tattooing?

I was born in the country of Uruguay in South America. My parents immigrated to New Jersey in 2000 when I was 11 years old. I have to say: I never thought I would have become a tattoo artist. I was always involved in art but didn’t think I could ever make a good living from it. It all started about eight years ago. One day, while I was finishing my senior year in high school, a friend of mine was going to go get a tattoo from her cousin at his shop and she asked me to come with her. I happened to have my sketchbook with me and the next thing I know, he offered to teach me to tattoo. I apprenticed for about a year before I started tattooing full time.