Bristol Tattoo Artist Lands Reality TV Show Spot

By The Continuous News Desk

Published: August 24, 2008

BY TIM CAMA
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

BRISTOL, Tenn. – When Billy Jack Trivett traveled to Las Vegas, Nev., several weeks ago to learn techniques for portrait tattoos, the skilled teacher applied one on him as part of the training.

But it created a quandary for Trivett, who then had to choose whose image he wanted on his body.

“It’s my grandson,” Trivett said, pulling up his shirt to show the tattoo of an infant boy on his torso.

For Trivett, owner of Billy Jack’s Tattoos on Pennsylvania Avenue, it was a lucky day. Not only did he learn new techniques from world-renowned tattoo artists, he also landed an appearance on cable television’s reality show “Inked.”

The episode will air on truTV next month, Trivett said.

“Inked” follows the tattoo artists of Hart and Huntington Tattoo Company, the first tattoo business to open on a casino floor. During the 4½-hour session, the video crew documented Trivett’s lesson as the image of his 9-month-old grandson, Coltin, took shape.

“I’ve done portraits before,” Trivett said, adding he can now do them much better after learning the new techniques.

His story of the first portrait tattoo he inked, long before learning the new methods, is one of the hundreds of tales Trivett has collected throughout his 20 years as a tattoo artist and business owner. Most of those stories “probably shouldn’t be published,” he advised.

“He wanted one of his grandma, who’d just died,” Trivett said of his first portrait customer. The man insisted, despite his warnings of not having portrait experience.

Trivett knew for such a meaningful symbol, it had to be right, and despite his worst fears, the portrait turned out well.

“The man started crying,” Trivett said, recalling the customer’s first look at the tattoo.

He estimated that, with the two other artists and an apprentice in his parlor, the business averages 20 tattoos each day.

Billy Jack’s Tattoos has received perfect marks from the state health department since it opened 20 years ago, Trivett said.

Health precautions are a major reason Trivett thinks his shop continues to succeed. From using new needles for each customer to wearing latex gloves and completely cleaning all surfaces with bleach between customers, he makes sure everything is sanitary.

“People have to trust you,” he said.

And while other tattoo parlors have opened in the Bristol area, Trivett said that trust and his approach to the art is what sets apart Billy Jack’s Tattoos.
“It’s an art,” he said. “It’s not a business. Too many people view it as a business, and you can’t do that.”

But Billy Jack’s is successful, which is not as important to Trivett as the art.

His favorite tattoos are the ones he can design freehand on paper before applying with ink.

“Whatever comes into my mind,” he said of his designs. “As long as there’s someone there to let me put it on them.”

Trivett said he continues to learn that tattoos can “have deep meanings” for his customers.

Such an example was a woman who recently walked into Billy Jack’s with a birth certificate adorned with footprints of her 15-month-old daughter.
Devin O’Quinn drove to Bristol from Haysi, Va., to get her daughter’s right footprint tattooed on the top of her own right foot.

Billy Jack’s isn’t the closest tattoo parlor to Haysi, “but it’s the best,” O’Quinn said with confidence.

It was her first tattoo.

Customers frequently ask for tattoos that depict their children. While it’s not his favorite tattoo to apply, Trivett appreciates the meaning.

Pictures around the shop attest to the popularity of such tattoos. And the tattoo portrait of his grandson on his stomach speaks volume, too.

“He keeps me in check,” Trivett said of the child’s image in ink. “We keep each other in check.”