Meet Christopher Sharpe of Murfreesboro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Sharpe.

Hi Christopher, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Pure Heart Tattoo and Piercing started as a small side job that I started in Fallbrook, California, in 2016. my wife Theresa Sharpe and I were living in a small one-bedroom apartment when I got the idea to start tattooing again. I had been tattooing myself since age 18 in 2002. and have over 70 percent of my body covered in body art. I received my first professional tattoo in 2002 at Fallbrook tattoo, owned and operated by Kraig Santo and his nephew Shawn Oro became my best friends and mentors. I did not do my first professional tattoo until over a decade later, but they gave me the dream that a person could do their life’s work as a tattooer. I battled drug addiction and gang affiliation for 15yrs. In 2016 I completed alongside a ministry in Phoenix, Arizona, and received excellent mentoring from a group of solid professionals. I received financial, spiritual, and life mentoring. These relationships have improved and impacted my life in so many positive ways. That is where I fully understood the power of wisdom being passed down and received with humility that can learn life lessons. We opened a pure heart tattoo and piercing in Fallbrook, my hometown, in 2018. before we opened, I had been working two full-time jobs. And tattoo in a trailer I had built and used as a private tattoo studio. It was impossible to get a tattoo apprenticeship. I went to every tattoo shop in my town, and not one would give me a shot. So I pushed forward and found an online Facebook page about Christian tattooers. I put a post that I needed help, and Hammer R. Madison, the founder of inflicting beauty in Flagler Beach, Florida, answered my Facebook messenger messages. For 3 years, we messaged back and forth, and in 2020 when he got diagnosed with terminal cancer, I got the chance to fly in and meet him and tattoo him at his shop. Hammer online mentoring for no charge made me into the tattooer I am today, and my family and I are forever grateful. In 2021 my family and I decided the Lord was calling us to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. to continue the dream of Pure Heart Tattoo and Piercing- anyone with the desire and will and a pure heart can have a place to learn how to tattoo.

We offer professional tattoos and piercing and an excellent experience. We believe tattoos are therapy and the tattooer is responsible for the trust and relationships built while tattooing. In 2021 we partnered with artillery ink, located in Temecula, California. Jerrick Allen, the owner, and operator, also started his first shop in 2018. and has now expanded to 5 locations with the business model that works. Good people who love art can benefit the world at large by tattooing. Jerrick has been my partner for over a year and a great friend and mentor. 2022 will be a great year! We have opened a new location here in Murfreesboro, Tennessee! We have partnered with Jack Feingold, owner and operator of T.C.B. tattoo, located in McMinnville, Tennessee. Jack has owned his shop for 25 yrs. and has taken the time to teach many different tattooers. Pure heart tattoo and piercing started as one man in a trailer and has grown to where the young talented artist can find their place in this ever-challenging and ever-changing world.

We look forward to what the next chapter will be.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been many struggles and setbacks. Opening our first location in Fallbrook at 805 e. mission rd. unit A Fallbrook ca 92028 in 2018 had challenges. Working the other jobs and saving enough capital to open was hard on my family and me. I worked 7 days a week for years. Once we were open, it was not easy to fill the booths with motivated people who had the same vision we had—tattooing from a pure heart. We went through more than 12 artists in our first 3 years. Building clients for the shops heavily depends upon the individual tattooers and their customer service and productivity. We have come to find that many good people just need the chance to show what they have. We feel that we are on the verge of something new in the tattoo industry where you can and should be a good person and a good artist to be a professional tattoo artist since we have teamed up with Jerrick Allen at artillery ink. We have been able to fill the booths with positive artists to help further our reach into the community with great tattoos and a great tattoo experience. The challenge of mentoring young artists to fulfill these purposes and life callings is worth all the obstacles. Since partnering, we have opened a new 10-booth location in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. We are excited to continue our mission to provide excellent body art to this community.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I enjoy making life-long art for my clients. Our shop in Fallbrook is located outside of Camp Pendleton, and I attribute being outside of the biggest Marine Corps base to the variety in my tattoo style. Having so many clients from all over the country with different backgrounds and style preferences has made me a versatile tattoo artist. Also, a fun fact is that I did not start drawing until 2020. Before then, I would have another artist or apprentice draw the line work. In 2017 I took a basic art class, art 101, and in 2020 I taught myself the I-pad. Since then, I have taught many people how to draw and use the iPad and tattoo—giving back to empower the young artist.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting?
My advice is war is waged with wise counsel. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and are further down the inevitable than you are. And that the only thing that you can control is how hard you work. So work harder than anyone else. Remember, the wolf climbing the hill is always more hungry than the wolf at the top, so stay climbing! And remember not to sit looking into the past. You have to learn and move on. There is only so much energy in a day so use it wisely!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/chrissharpetattoos
• Facebook: https://m.me/christopher.sharpe.3388