Rising Stars: Meet Russell Hickman of Goodlettsville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Russell Hickman.

Hi Russell, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am originally from Wichita Falls, TX. I moved to Nashville in 2001 to study music business at Belmont University. While in college, I was in bands, a local promoter at many punk and indie rock clubs in town, and began getting tattoos. Through a pretty wild story, I was able to hit the road full-time as a tour manager, traveling the world with bands such as Underøath, Every Time & I Die, and Mutemath. Continuing to get more and more tattoos while touring full time, I started to fall in love with the sights, smells, and entire process of tattooing. In 2004, I met a tattooer named Mike Parsons, who was the first to encourage me into the industry. After many years of touring, I began getting the itch to pursue something different, and being gone 9-10 months out of the year began to wear on me. I was soon married and knew I wanted to “settle down” a bit. I also knew a typical “9 to 5” wasn’t my vibe. Tattooing was an incredible next pursuit. There is a much longer story to how it finally came to pass & happy to share that if you all would like.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In some ways, yes & in other ways, absolutely not. In 2008, when I attempted my first apprenticeship, I fell under the wings of what I would soon find out, a man who was a full-on heroin addict and a horrible situation at a tattoo shop that would bring a lot of darkness to my life. After 7 months or so, I had to leave that particular situation for my sanity and my family’s health. This was also on top of working a job at Michael’s Arts and Crafts. So that I could be making a little bit of money while I wasn’t making anything during my apprenticeship. I would work from 5 am to 12 pm at Michael’s and then 1 pm to 11 pm at the tattoo shop 6 days a week. It was pretty brutal.

After leaving that situation, it would be 4 years before what I consider my real apprenticeship would start. Thanks to an old friend named Ian White, now the owner of Safe House Tattoo. He and I had met years prior on the Vans Warped Tour. I was tour managing Underøath, and he was on tour with Hawthorn Heights, just tattooing people on tour buses.

In 2012, he had a private studio in Edgehill Village, and I was a personal trainer across the street from his studio. I would go hang out with him in the middle of my day when I didn’t have personal training clients or boot camps to teach. Knowing about my previous apprenticeship falling through, he asked me if I had ever lost interest in learning how to tattoo. I told him that I thought about it all of the time. He offered me an apprenticeship on the spot. So, I would start working at the gym from 5 am until 11 am, then be at his studio from around 12 pm until 6 pm, and then teach a boot camp and personal training clients until 10 pm, also 6 days a week. I did that for close to a year. That was now 10 years ago.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an artist who specializes in tattooing. I have a wide variety of skills in this medium. And have been known to bring a lot of comfort and friendliness to the overall experience for clientele.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I have always loved how friendly and welcoming Nashville is. Even though it has grown tremendously in the 21 years I’ve lived here. It still has a small-time vibe with big-city perks. I don’t like that we haven’t planned well for the growth, and we have lost a bit of the city’s soul by allowing too many outside investors/developers to come in and take over.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tattoopatriot.com
• Instagram: @russtattoos