The Red and Black

Issue date: 3/19/09 Section: Athens Living

When getting ink done, some chose to simply go tit for tat. But with so many parlors to chose from, why not get the best for your buck? Reporter Katie Andrew finds who's the best artist for your next permanent piece.

RON AT MIDNIGHT IGUANA
What: full service
Where: 800 Oglethorpe Avenue
Phone: 706-549-0190
Ron Hendon, 42, is the owner of Athens' oldest tattoo parlor, Midnight Iguana. After graduating from the University with a degree in music performance and graphic design, he opened one of the first tattoo shops in town.
"When I first opened, they had no idea how to even categorize it," Hendon said. "They'd never had anyone apply for a license."
Since then, tattoo parlors have become an increasingly popular sight in Athens, but Hendon's full-service strategy has kept the shop doors swinging over the years.
You can visit Midnight Iguana for permanent makeup, tattoo removal, paramedical tattooing, classes on scar correction technique and basic introductory tattooing. Hendon and his staff also work with plastic surgeons all around the country and even provide aureola creation for breast cancer victims.
"We've always taken the medical approach," he said.

"RADAR" AT WALK THE LINE
What: Black and gray realism
Where: 364 E. Broad Street
Phone: 706-369-9424
Todd "Radar" Gregg, owner of Walk the Line, began his tattoo career 14 years ago with an apprenticeship at Pain and Wonder.
"Young and stupid, that's how I got started," said Gregg. "It's better than slingin' a hammer."
Apparently so - Gregg has been awarded at too many tattoo conventions to count, in the U.S. and abroad. He also temporarily worked for star of TLC's reality show "L.A. Ink," Kat Von D, at her Southern California location.
"I feel that I'm pretty much one of the most diverse artists in town," said Gregg. "I can do anything you put in front of me."

SERGIO AT 13 ROSES
What: Japanese style
Where: 598 West Hancock
Phone: 706-354-6613
Ten years ago, becoming a tattoo artist the last thing on Sergio Lindob's mind.
"I'd had an interest in tattoos, but never really in tattooing," he said.
The painter/graphic designer was doing OK financially, but work was sporadic. Then in the late '90s, a fateful glance at some sample tattoos by an Athens artist set the pace for his career.
Lindob's refreshing and unique approach to his tattooing: humility.
"I just think I'm a nice guy," Lindob said with a laugh. "There's not too many tattoo artists who are humble. At the end of the day, I'm not changing the world or reinventing the wheel. I'm just making pretty pictures on people."

JOHN AT PAIN AND WONDER
What: Neo-Traditional
Where: 285 W. Washington Street
Phone: 706-208-9588
Pain and Wonder is arguably the most renowned tattoo shop in Athens.
It was the house of change at the mid-1990s when an artist representing the shop held a public demonstration protesting a county-wide ban against tattoo shops. The ban had been instated after a few artists and customers at a rowdy downtown tattoo parlor got the shop run out of town. After the dramatic scene of a downtown tattooing demonstration, followed by the swift arrest of the artist in question, the ban was finally lifted, and what we now know as Pain and Wonder was established.
John Collins started out about five years ago apprenticing at Aces & Eights. He now works the gun at Pain and Wonder, where he says all the artists are admirable.
"I guess what makes anybody a good artist is the constant strive for progression, never being content with anything," he said.
If you're seeking some old-school style ink with a modern spin, Collins is the man to see.
"Rather than having everything drawn traditionally, I use the same coloring and shading patterns, but I draw the way I see it."

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