Blaze Ben Brooks designed more than 150 tattoo business cards, branded Maverick, and illustrated Tom Petty’s final album. This one is for any artist figuring out how to stay original.
Austin sits down with illustrator, graphic designer, and painter Blaze Ben Brooks, the artist behind the Maverick Supply Co brand. They get into the business-card project that opened the entire tattoo world to Blaze, how designing for artists became a trade for most of his tattoo collection, and why he walks away from a project the moment he has it figured out.
The back half of the conversation goes somewhere neither of them expected. Blaze talks about losing his father, losing his ability to draw for a while, and then getting the call to illustrate more than 25 pieces for the re-release of Tom Petty’s Wildflowers, a project built on Tom’s dying wish and carried out by his daughter Adria. There is a jukebox, an unreleased record, and one piece of advice that got Blaze off the couch.
Along the way they cover tattoo-shop etiquette, the rule about never turning away a client, copying the artists you worship until you find your own hand, and naming a design studio that a bank refused to open an account for.
#TattooPodcast #TattooArtist #GraphicDesign #TomPetty #SupportYourLocalTattooer
Connect with Blaze Ben Brooks:
Instagram (@blazebenbrooks) – https://www.instagram.com/blazebenbrooks
Chapters:
00:00:00 – Coming up…
00:00:29 – Welcome to Support Your Local Tattooer with Blaze Ben Brooks
00:05:32 – How the tattoo business card project started and took off
00:08:07 – How designing cards became a key to the tattoo world
00:12:05 – Drawing from childhood: how boredom sparked a creative life
00:15:24 – How working with tattooers shaped Blaze as a businessman and artist
00:17:01 – Knowing when to stop: walking away from a project at its peak
00:20:24 – From church graphic designer to freelancer in Brooklyn
00:28:10 – Learning to say no and the art of collaboration with clients
00:36:22 – Getting tattooed in Brooklyn and finding artists who shaped his eye
00:42:31 – Breaking rules, finding your style, and standing out as an artist
00:56:54 – Losing his dad and how grief redirected his purpose
01:01:44 – Coming home to Las Vegas and committing to elevate the city
01:16:29 – Great Sex Studios: building a creative space in the Las Vegas Arts District
01:31:09 – The Tom Petty wildflowers project: illustrating a legend’s lost album
01:53:48 – Navigating AI as an artist and protecting the value of the creative process
Thanks for tuning in to Support Your Local Tattooer, the tattoo podcast for artists, collectors, and anyone who cares about tattoo culture. Hosted by Austin Spencer, each episode features honest conversations with tattooers, shop owners, and industry voices on tattoo history, apprenticeship, shop life, creative growth, tattoo business, and the real stories shaping tattoo culture today.
🌐 Learn more about Support Your Local Tattooer: https://itl.ink/SYLTShop
🛒 Check out Maverick Tattoo Mercantile: https://itl.ink/mavericktattoosupplies
📲 Follow Support Your Local Tattooer:
Instagram: https://itl.ink/SYLTInstagram
YouTube: https://itl.ink/SYLTYouTube
Facebook: https://itl.ink/SYLTFacebook
📲 Connect with Austin Spencer:
LinkedIn: https://itl.ink/austinlinkedin
🔥 Follow Maverick Tattoo Mercantile:
Instagram: https://itl.ink/maverickInstagram
🎙️ New episodes drop on the first Sunday of every month at 6:00 AM (GMT-8) on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Produced by APodcastGeek
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