ART & STEVE
GODOY
STORY BY THE GODOYS
Art: So how long have we been
doing tattoos now, five years?
Steve: Yep, about five years.
Art: Yeah, that's including the
homemade ones we have. Re-
member the sewing needles and
India ink? That was fun.
Steve: We had a little box with a
lock on it that said "tattoo box"
and it had all our supplies like
safety pins, India ink and Exacto
knife blades-sure was fun.
Art: Yeah. We got our first real
professional tattoos in Arizona.
It was sure worth the money.
Homemade was fun but remem-
ber how stoked we were to get
real ones?
Steve: Yeah. Now to explain
about tattoos-not everyone's
cut out for a tattoo. We knew,
since the first day we started to
mark ourselves up, that we
wanted to get sleeves, and not
just sleeves, but full shirts and
maybe turtlenecks!
Art: We still have a long way to
go. Lots of stuff to color. Anyway,
it's true, not everyone's cut out
for it and we think that not
everyone should have them. It
really separates you from a lot of
people. People aren't used to
seeing someone with tattoos all
the way to their hands, right?
Steve: Right. It's shocking to
some people. They probably just
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PHOTOS BY M.FO
have the wrong idea about us
when they first see us. They
think we're junkies, or we're in
motorcycle gangs, or we've done
time. We've even been pulled
over by the pigs just because we
were driving with our arms hang-
ing out the window of the car.
They always ask the same thing:
'Where did you get your tattoos?
Where did you do time? It's kind
of a hassle. A lot of non-tattooed
people get the wrong idea of tat-
tooed people. Huh, Art?
Art: Yeah, they do. I mean, there
is a lot of bullshit that goes along
with having a tattoo on you. We
decided a long time ago to get
sleeved off and that
we were ready to
face being looked at
as sort of 'outlaws'
or whatever...it's
just part of our lives.
Steve: As for regret-
ting the tattoos we
have, I don't regret
any of them. But, if I
woke up tomorrow
with no tattoos, I'd
go, 'Art, cover me up
again! I can't ima-
gine not having tat-
toos. They are the
coolest, and more
fun to do than any
painting, sculpture
or paper drawing.
Drawing on skin is
such a thrill and a
challenge, to try and
better each one you
do as you go. Right
now we are at kind of
a standstill on fin-
ishing our own tat
toos. We've been tattooing so
many people lately we just don't
have time for ourselves. But, we
like doing them as much as get-
ting them. How about the
longest sittings we've had? I
remember my whole right side
took 5% hours. Time flies, huh?
Art: Yeah, that was with no color.
If we had colored it, it would have
taken about 10 hours. Tattoos
take time. If you don't want to sit
under the needle for a long
period of time or if you're scared
of pain, don't bother to get any.
Steve: I think a lot of people are
curious and fascinated by
tattoos, but are scared or hesi
tant to get them because of the
pain involved.
Art: Nowadays, so many people
are scared to put permanent
designs on their bodies. There
are so many excuses like, 'What
will my parents think?' 'I won't
be able to get a job,' 'What will
I tell my kids when I get older?'
We don't want to listen to that.
We don't care if your parents will
hate it. If you're old enough to
make your own decisions, but
are afraid to because of your
parents, or your girlfriend, then
don't even think abut getting a
tattoo. We never did anything
based on what anyone thought.
If it's work related, I guess that's
cool.
Steve: But as for the work ex-
cuse, how about this? Remem-
ber we did modeling? We have
full sleeves and still did model-
ing for some expensive fashion
company. We were even in the
magazines. Sure we had to wear
long sleeves, but it made no dif-
ference. We still got paid and the
photos were great. Almost all
our friends have tattoos and
good jobs. You know when
you're ready for a tattoo.
Art: Some girls like them. We've
had some really hot girls in our
time. We've never been really
social, so not being part of an
judge a book by its cover. Then
again, sometimes you can.
Steve: As for reasons people get
tattooed, well, they want to be
trendy and get one where they
can hide it, or they want to be
that. Some people just live for it.
Art: Tattoos and skating don't go
together for us. Skating is one
life and tattooing is a whole
other life. We do both because
they're satisfying in their own
Steve: I agree. Another thing, if
you're out to get a tattoo, make
sure the tattooist is qualified. Be
positive that he has good
sterilization procedures, uses
new needles and is a good artist
"There are so many excuses like, 'What will my parents think?'
'I won't be able to get a job,' 'What will I tell my kids when I get
older?' We don't want to listen to that."
'in' crowd is natural for us. We
never tried to impress anyone.
We never cared about that. Most
of our friends now have tattoos.
A lot of them have been in jail for
heavy crimes and they are still
some of the best friends we've
ever had. They'll bend over
backward for us and we would
for them too. You can't always
seen as a 'tough guy, or maybe
they want portraits of family
members or friends who have
died tattooed on them to
remember them by, or maybe
they like the look and think
'That's for me.' We felt that way.
It's addicting. One wasn't
enough. Many of our friends and
other tattooed people agree with
ways. Instead of looking at
someone who is heavily tat-
tooed and thinking 'what a
scum' or 'didn't that hurt?' think
about how free they are to do
what they want. Just think of the
pain they went through for
something they like so much.
People look at skateboarders the
same way!
who can do something on you
that you can live with and enjoy.
Hopefully, we have shed new
light on the subject of tattooing
from our point of view. As we
said before, if your opinion of
what we had to say is negative,
we don't care. At least we're free
enough to do what we want and
let no one hold us back.
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