Mike Rubendall: Made in the ’90s

World-class tattoo artist, Mike Rubendall, came up in the ’90s era of tattooing, where things like the Internet weren’t available and Photoshop had still not made its way into tattoo shops. Every design Rubendall and other artists of that time created were done through “real” research, like scouring newsstands and library book shelves for reference material. Although it was a difficult time to come up in, it gave the Kings Avenue Tattoo artist the opportunity to expand his portfolio, transcending various styles of tattooing. You see, back in those days, you took whatever tattoo request came through the door—Japanese, black and grey, lettering—whatever it took to get that work in. All of which made Rubendall the exemplary artist that he is today.

We checked in with Rubendall to get some insight on his early days in tattooing, his process when working on complex tattoos like large-scale pieces and Japanese work, his thoughts on tattoo reality shows, as well as get the scoop on his upcoming book publishing project.

Flip through the slideshow to see what Rubendall had to say in our exclusive interview by Yallzee.