For some people it's just a style thing but for others, including myself, it's a life. I collect art but on my skin. Tattooing has certainly been around in Bermuda for a while but it's only really started getting really popular in the last nine or ten years or so.

You have some people here who just don't like them but that's just narrow-minded. I think there's an association that goes back to the biker days which obviously has a negative effect.

: It goes right across the board, from white collar workers to blue collar workers. There are people who work in banks, who work in the hospital. It's not just a gangster thing any more.: The hourly rate is around $150, although frequent fliers get a little break and we get a few of those. We've also done a few tourists which is really good for us. If you do a good piece of art you're representing Bermuda.

When they get back home it's like, 'Where did you get that done? Bermuda? Oh, yeah'. Some people you talk to think that we still live in thatched houses on the beach so they can be surprised.

It really fluctuates from week to week. One day we can be really busy, and then we'll get a couple of quiet days.: Actually, I'm just waiting for the paperwork to come through on that. We should start doing that in the next couple of weeks. Again, like tattooing it was scary doing my first piercing simply because I know that it hurts and I don't want to hurt you. But you need to get over that. It's going to hurt no matter what so just do it.

I've been doing this for about a year now and got into it because the quality of tattooing on the island is really poor. I've got a lot of work on me which needs to be corrected. When you get your first tattoo it's very special and it should be done right and we don't have that here.

At the moment I'm just in training. I basically do everything else in the shop. I clean up after Kristian, who's an absolute master and I'm learning from him at the moment. It's a case of watching and asking questions.

I have tattooed a few clients here and there and I've also done some work on myself. You can actually go to college now. I can do small tattoos at the moment but if you want something more complicated, like a portrait, I'm not going to be able to do it. Kristian will do it.

In my younger days at school, yes. But I find that in Bermuda's schools, if you have a skill, the teachers really don't want to work with it. That's Bermuda.

Very scary. But like I say, I'd done a few on myself. That way you can feel the needle. It's not fair to tattoo somebody if you don't know how it feels. Some people just take a needle without any ink and run it across themselves, just to see what it's like.About six years ago, when I was 37. I'm now 75 per cent covered. I've had some good tattoos and some bad tattoos. This is me. Some people like it and some people don't. Some people will come up and say, 'Oh, you have some nice art on you', and others condemn it. People should broaden their minds.

Oh yeah. Actually I'd say women take the pain better than guys, they have more tolerance. But it depends on how long you're getting it for. I can get tattooed for two hours or 12 hours.

For example, I go to conventions and I might get a tattoo that takes six hours. I have to sit through that pain for six hours.

You've got to get it done because at the end of the convention, you're probably never going to see that person again. In Bermuda you don't have that problem ? you can get a 12-hour tattoo done in two-hour stints, a few hours here and a few hours there. It's definitely more comfortable doing it that way.

There's a lot to it. You have different types of needles for different types of tattoos ? three, five seven, 13 mag. You put it into the machine, set it up and it comes down at different speeds for different colours.

The needle should only go down about three layers. A bad tattoo is where the skin raises and scars ? that's because you've gone in too deep. You need to be really careful.

All tattoo artists make mistakes but you don't necessarily know because you can cover your tracks.

As far as spelling names wrongly, we ask the customer to spell it out in writing, not us. That way, if you come back, it's on you, not us.

There's been a few of them like that where they've come back and said, 'It was meant to be spelt like this'. Some are easy to correct, some aren't. It's not like it's on paper and you can just rub it out.

You do get some stupid ones ? guys coming in wanting a $20 bill on their penis. People also ask for them in stupid places ? the top of their head, their tongue, inside their lip, everywhere.: If they're really drunk then they're listless, they're going to be moving, their blood thins out ? it's just not going to happen. If you come up after the one drink then that's fine but otherwise it's dangerous. Hepatitis is the main concern which is why everything always has to be clean. I think it is addictive but I don't know why. Maybe people just like pain. It's a rush. you can be sitting there getting a tattoo and thinking, 'Why am I doing this?' and a few days later they've got their arms out again.: On the internet. A friend of mine got up on the internet and through that got hold of Thomas, who used to work here and, in fact, is coming back in January. Thomas and Kristian are friends and so now he's come out for three months to see how it works, but then he's going on to Tokyo.

You find that the really good tattoo artists can travel all over the world. I would say in Kristian's country there are ten greats and he's in that top ten. He's not just pretty good, he's fabulous.

Some artists might say that they're the best but I don't think Europeans have that problem ? they're very humble and they might say, 'Well, I'm an okay tattoo artist'.

Thomas's tattoos are in one style, Kristian works in another style. They're both different, but it's all phenomenal, beautiful work.

I haven't seen anything better than these guys. To get perfection and quality at the moment you have to go overseas and the quality of there work has never been available in Bermuda before.

That's very simple ? you have to love the work. You can't be in it for the money.