Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Miller.

Hi Mike, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Well, I am currently a tattoo artist at Timeless Craft Tattoo Gallery in Coral Springs as well as a firefighter paramedic for palm beach county. The shop was opened in 2001 under the name of Whole Addiction by my father. I was in the shop all the time as a kid growing up which naturally sparked this artistic flame of mine when I was younger. When I was in my teens, I moved away from home to play hockey and whenever I came home for the summers, I would be at the shop constantly to spend time with my dad and the tattooers at the shop.

However, It wasn’t until I was 19 years old when I quit playing sports that I decided to pursue this route. I became kind of obsessed with it and a lot of the artists I hung out with at the shop took me under their wing and began to show me the ropes. (Namely Amy Kyryliw and Walter Lopez) And from there, I began my apprenticeship in March 2018 and here we are today. During that whole process, I was pursuing another career at the same time as a firefighter paramedic. Many people tried to discourage me and tell me I couldn’t do both, but so far, it’s been great to me and I love where I am today.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been the easiest road but nothing worth having ever is. Being in school pursuing a career as a firefighter/paramedic and going through an apprenticeship as a tattoo artist full time, as well as holding down a job at night, was very hectic, but I slowly began to knock each pin down one by one and everything just kind of fell into place perfectly. I’d say the challenge of balancing all of these things prepared me for the real world of holding down two full-time gigs.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a tattoo artist at Timeless Craft Tattoo Gallery in Coral Springs, FL. I don’t really specialize in anything specific. I try to be as diverse as possible and take pride in doing a good, clean tattoo for whoever comes into the shop. I do, however, have certain styles I try to pursue more than others, such as American traditional, traditional Japanese, and a kind of hybrid of the two. Bold/clean lines, black shading, bold, saturated color, and smooth black and grey shading are all things that make a good tattoo and I do my very best to include these elements in my work.

I am most proud of the development of my tattooing ability in the last year or so. I am constantly looking for ways to improve my craft and make each tattoo better than the last. I feel as though specializing in one thing kind of puts you in a box and you can get comfortable where you are which can lead to a lack of growth as an artist. But that’s my own opinion. I think the thing that sets me apart from others is my work ethic. I am constantly working on bettering myself and my craft. If I’m not tattooing, I’m drawing/studying tattoos, studying old art, painting flash, talking with other artists about tattoos and constantly trying to learn.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The main thing I’ve learned is how important it is to support small and local business in times like these. The little guys are the ones who took the biggest hit during all of this and the best thing we can do is support them during these tough times.

Contact Info:

• Address: Vatican Tattoo 325 NE 2nd Ave Delray Beach, FL 33444
• Email: Mike@vaticantattoodelray.com
• Website: www.vaticantattoodelray.com
• Instagram: @mikemillertattoos

Created by : http://voyagemia.com/interview/check-mike-millers-story/