Welcome to Tyler Bourbon’s Tattoo Tour! For the next twelve months (November 2022 to November 2023), I’m going to be traveling across the United States and tattooing at some of the best shops in the nation with a goal of reaching 45 cities in 52 weeks. I’m selling/ donating everything I own and will be living life on the road!
I'm excited to announce that I've partnered with the kids & art foundation and will be donating 10% of every tattoo to that cause along with delivering art kits to children's hospitals across the country throughout the year and helping organize virtual and in person events with them. if you would like to help support, there is a donation button at the top of this page.
I’ll be documenting the entire Journey on my instagram, tiktok, and youtube (links above) including the travel highs and lows, the food/culture of each city, the charitable efforts, and interviewing tattoo artists, clients, and friends I meet along the tour. I hope that you'll join me!
The Past:
My tattoo journey started three years ago when I got fired from my full time sales job. I was chasing a dream of directing feature films and self financed one along with my best friend (Philophobia: or the Fear of Falling in Love). By self financed, I mean I personally took out an irresponsible amount of credit card debt. The movie got distribution but we only made $0 which, for whatever reason, the credit card companies declined to settle for. after losing my job, I was forced into bankruptcy and didn’t know what to do. I did know that I never wanted to work another sales job. No more icebreakers or two truths and a lie. I knew that I didn’t want another boss, at least in the traditional sense. and most importantly, I knew that I wanted to keep chasing my dreams.
I started studying blood-borne pathogens and how to properly set up and break down a tattoo station. I bought a cheap machine, sharps container, fake skin, and all the supplies I would need. All of my time was spent online trying to soak in as much knowledge as I could. At the time, I was living on the couch of my aforementioned best friend and he, very generously, let me turn his dining room into a makeshift tattoo studio so I could practice on fake skin and myself. I wouldn’t tattoo anyone else but I did about 150 hours on myself before finally being offered an apprenticeship. A year after I started my apprenticeship, I got a job as a full time artist at Atomic Tattoo in Hollywood. Now, a little over a year later, it’s time for the next chapter to begin.
The Future:
The first three months of the tour are planned out! After that, as Natasha Bedingfield famously whispered, the rest is still unwritten...but it's going to badass.
For current dates and to request to be tattooed (or for your city to be visited), please click on the 'tour' icon above. I'll be announcing the next cities and dates by mid-December/early-January. thanks for stopping by!