ジェシー・マーティヌイクが明かすタトゥーの歴史の秘密

ジェシー・マーティヌイクが明かすタトゥーの歴史の秘密

We got a special guest with us today here at Lady Luck. The one and only Jesse Martynuik. How you guys doing? Thank you, man. Thank you, man. Let’s jump right into the Instagram thing, because I think there’s a lot of people out there that maybe don’t know as much tattoo history, that definitely know you from the– Where’s your manager? Let me go get him. Yeah, go get him. All right, hold on. Hello. I’m the manager, so I can help you with it. You just lost yourself a customer, smartass. Oh, I did? Do you think I’ll be able to find another one, or– Yeah, it was a f**king accident, really. I didn’t mean to do it. I tattooed some girl, and she was talking about tattooers being stupid online. She’s like, they’re doing TikTok dances and dumb stuff. She’s like, why don’t you do real videos for tattooers? And I was like, no one would give a f**k. I was like, no one would care. And she’s like, just do it. I was like, all right, I’ll try. And it f**king blew up. Like, it filled a little niche, because I’m an a$$hole about it. I don’t know. Real tattooers think it’s funny as hell, and nobody else is doing it at the time. And I can’t get canceled for some reason. I just keep pushing it. And then– You keep trying Yeah, I know. Every time that they get away with one thing, I try and make it worse. So on our Sunday Night Live streams, we talk about your reels a lot. F**king A. Because they’ll be one that just catches us, and we’ll laugh our asses off, and then we’ll talk about it. And we try to curb it, right? Because we’re on YouTube, and they’ll cancel you. I have people– I never thought I’d get that big. People from around the world sharing that stuff. I had a friend who was a minor in Poland. He’s like, I was at a bar talking about tattoos. And he’s like, these random dudes are like, have you seen this guy? And he’s like, that’s my brother-in-law. Holy f**k, it’s crazy. That’s awesome. I think there’s people that might think it’s a character. And obviously, you do that on occasion. Yeah, it sounds a bit like– Skit? Yeah, some of it’s skit. But you are just a crazy son of a bitch. Yeah, a lot of it’s just real tattoo-er stuff. It’s just bullshitting, and everything tattooers would do. And I’m pretty crazy. I got real [BLEEP] in my videos. It’s not stunt [BLEEP] Dude, I think one of the funniest ones that might have been the one that caught me onto your page was the Finding Your Grandpops box. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. You grew up in a tattoo shop. Your father, big name in the craft, obviously, your grandpop, huge name. Yeah, yeah. And now, you have a son who’s going to be the fourth generation. Yeah. And lucky enough to see him lay down a couple lines this weekend. He’s f**cking some people up. Let’s talk about that for you, though, man. I mean, with you growing up around it, were you involved in tattooing, like, jump? Yeah, well, when I was a kid, we literally lived in the tattoo shop at one point. I remember the front of the shop– or the shop is the front of the building we lived in. And then we lived right behind it. But I used to have to get out of the bath so customers could use the toilet. We actually lived in it. So that’s all I ever knew. I thought it was normal. I didn’t realize that tattooing was a different thing. I thought everyone grew up like that until I got older. And then I was like, oh, shit. All right, we’re different. So you and I talked about this yesterday, but just so people that might not know, you were saying you were around eight or nine when your grandpop died? Yeah, it was eight or nine. He died in the shop tattooing a Grim Reaper, which is a bad ass way to go as a tattooer. He died at 52. So my dad at 52 stopped doing Grim Reapers. So at 52, I’ll stop doing Grim Reapers. Got to make sure you don’t– Yeah, he f**king stroked out right in the middle of that shit. So we’ll talk about your dad, too, but let’s start with your grandpop, man. And I’m going to bring up something right off the bat that I know pisses you off. And I’m only bringing it up because I want to set it f**king straight right now and get it out. Because I think the only reference point anybody has about this subject that we’re going to talk about is a goddamn Dick Cavett episode that happened in 1969 or some shit. Oh, yeah, yeah. I asked this of all my lady guests, but do you have any tattoos? If I may say so, quite lovely. Thank you. I drew it myself. There’s a great cat– I had one. There’s a great cat in San Francisco that does it. He’s named Lyle Tuttle, who’s got them all over his body. He’s just gorgeous. Just gorgeous. He has a big sunset here and stars showering down one arm. And he has Aztec symbols on his knees. And it’s too much, man. On a clear day, you can see Alcatraz. You and I have already talked about this, kind of. But your grandpa tattooed Janice. Yeah, he tattooed her. Lyle tattooed her, too. So like grandpa tattooed her first. And she came into the shop with her old entourage and everybody. My grandpa’s tattooing. And he’s like, you got to wait like 30 minutes. And she’s like, I’m Janice Joplin. And he’s like, I don’t give a f**k who you are, bitch. Like sit down and wait. And she did. And she got roses around her wrist. And then my dad was like 14 at the time. And he was telling me that they went to a party at her house. I invited them to a party, and he tattooed 18 people. It’s a great party. Were they against their will, or were they– No, they wanted it. No, Michael Pollard got his wife’s name on his shoulder. There’s a jars of [BLEEP] and all kinds of shit. And he said he pissed off the diving board in the pool with people screaming and cheering. And he’s like, I dove in it. And then he’s like, I woke up in a bathtub in a mansion. When I say it pisses him off, it’s just one of those things where it’s like– There’s nothing you can do about it. And a few years later, why are we still talking about it? But I think I wanted to bring it up. Because like I said, the Dick Cavett thing, I think, is the conversation that kind of steers it away. Yeah, well, you had to– my grandpa was coming down to work for Lyle in LA and San Francisco and going back to Canada. But he was working illegally, and he was trying to get our family down here. So he told Janis Joplin not to say that he tattooed her. Because if she said that on live television while we’re trying to get immigration status, we’re going to be f**ked. So Lyle was able to take all the credit for it. I even saw him later, and I’m like, Lyle, you know f**king my grandpa tattooed Janis. And he’s like, you know the truth. I know the truth. So a lot of tattooers do know what’s up. But when Lyle was alive, I was like, f**k it. Nothing I can really say to him. My grandpa kind of gave the rights away. But I was like, now he’s dead. So now you can tell the truth on it. And there you go, folks. We’re setting the story straight right now. Who did your grandpa apprentice under, who’d he start with? So he bought two Jonesy tattoo machines off a bum for $5 in Edmonton, Alberta. And then he was tattooing out of his house a little bit. And Doc Forbes heard about him. So Doc Forbes apprenticed him. And Doc Forbes learned from Frederick Baldwin. He was the first person to use an electric tattoo machine in Canada. I’m pretty sure he got his from Wagner. So he’d chase him all the way back to the circuses in the 1900s. But Doc Forbes apprenticed him in Vancouver. And then he opened up the first shop in Edmonton, Alberta, Pat’s Tattooing. And then from there, he went down and worked for Lyle. In San Francisco, they had a falling out. And then that’s when he opened picture machine. But Lyle nicknamed him picture machine. Because he said he was like, you put your arm in a machine, you got a tattoo. I would say my grandpa could see a piece of dog shit in the gutter and turn it into a tattoo. He stole everything. I remember being a little kid. You go to a Chinese restaurant, or there’d be a geisha girl on a sake bottle. He always had tracing paper. And he’d wrap it, trace it. Anything he saw, he would steal it. He didn’t invent everything he’s got. He stole half of it. Like a real tattooer. You know what, man? Dana Brunson actually talked about that when I interviewed him. Not about your grandpa. But he was saying– I forget, he was at some pretty well-known tattoo– Cliff Raven, I think. And he was saying that, oh, man, I thought you just imagined all that shit in your head. And then Cliff was like, no, dude, go for Chinese calendars. Yeah, you steal it. I got big acetate back pieces. And then I found a bunch of tracing Japanese woodblock prints that he stole them from. I was like, oh, that’s where he got it. Even when I was coming up, when we first got a copy machine, anytime someone came in with a t-shirt and with a cool design, we’re like, hey, take that off. Recopy it, and then trace it, and turn it into a tattoo. So I’m assuming then your dad apprenticed under your grandpa? Yeah. He started when he was like 14. Did your dad work for anybody else? So my dad apprenticed under my grandpa. Then my dad came to Reno to work for a guy, Mike LeCure. He used to work for Lyle Tuttle. Mike LeCure opened Mike’s Tattooing in Reno in 1976. And then my dad came out to sit in with him. And then Mike LeCure did something that wasn’t so good and needed a lawyer. And he offered my dad the shop for $10,000. And it’s funny because my mom was a cocktail where my dad picked her up in a bar he wasn’t even old enough to be in. But she sold things back then, and she happened to have $10,000 sitting around. So she bought the shop for my dad, and then the rest of the history there. At what point did they start the whole picture machine flash thing? So that was in the 70s because Huck Spaulding and my grandpa were friends. So Huck Spaulding started selling– it was like 75, 76. And then I have the contract for it. And it’s something insane. It was like he bought for designs. There’s like 100 and something thousand designs for flash. But he bought that, started making the production flash. And everybody I know, the old schoolers all have some because if you bought the little Huck Spaulding kits, you got a piece of picture machine flash. But Huck Spaulding did that for a lot of people too. There’s way more than just my grandpa with that stuff. As an outsider, picture machine was huge. Just like Cherry Creek. Yeah, yeah. Everybody loved it because you could easily change it if tattooable as f**k. It still sells. I have it on the walls. And people still pick that shit. There’s something magic about it for sure. So then you learned from your dad? Yeah, so we went to Europe. And my dad was tattooing hanky-panky’s and working for Mao in Spain and Ibiza. And I was like 15. That’s where I started, actually apprenticeship. Before that, I’d go to the shop. They made me mop and clean and do stupid shit. But their filthy Bill, who owns Folsom City Ink. He’s like, you look bored, kid. Come over here. And he took me in the back room, which is a cave, and taught me to make needles for the first time. So I sat there making needles and no ventilation in a f**king damp cave. Solder. Yeah, oh, yeah. So that’s where it started. And then I started f**king up all my friends. And back then, I find them junky punk rock kids. Like, hey, you want a free tattoo or bums? I’m like, hey, I give you this bottle. Let me f**k you up. Just doing that until– not that I’m much better now, but– Nah, dude, you do good stuff, man. I didn’t know that a lot of talking to you throughout the weekend or whatever, that you were kind of really starting Ibiza. Yeah, I’m all like– I was just there. But that’s where we were working. My dad was working for Mao and Kathy. So that’s where I first made needles, which kind of feels like the first real– because I mop the floors. I always went to the shop on the weekends and did all the bitch work. But that was the first real tattooing thing I got to do. There wasn’t just cleaning. Came back to the States, started working for your dad at Body Graphics. Yeah, I stayed at Body Graphics for– I think I was like 20. And then I went back to Europe and hopped around in different shops in Europe for a while. And I worked at a picture machine. Like, I’d go to San Francisco and work and then go back to Reno. And then my dad was moving to Mexico, so I had to take over the shop, which was right before the economy crashed in 2008, which f**king sucked. Because I didn’t know shit about running a shop for real. And I didn’t want to. I liked to party. Right, right. I wasn’t– I was still a dumb kid. So now you’re all responsible for the economy crash. Yeah, I know. It’s hard. So you’re like treading water. Yeah, and I can’t let it die, so I got to do whatever the fuck I have to do to make it go. What year did they sell a picture machine in San Fran? It was in the later 2000s, because we had the same building forever. And it was rent controlled, which is insane. It was like $800 a month. Oh my god. Yeah, forever. And then they sold the building, so we moved it down the street. Rent’s way, way higher. But it’s hard going back and forth and everything. So my dad sold it to Lyle Jr., who had it for a while. And then Lyle sold it to Jason Story, who owns it now. And I don’t know what year he sold it to Jason Story, and I don’t remember. OK. Yeah, Jason Story still runs it. Yeah, I was just curious, because I knew it was after your grandpa passed. Yeah, it was way after. Way after. Yeah, because my dad ran it forever. When my grandpa died, my dad had to run it. And so we’d go back and forth. He’d just drive out there. But there was a murderers row of bad ass tattooers working there back in the day. And so they pretty much ran the shop by itself. They didn’t need a boss. We had Terry Tweed, Lucky Bastard. There’s so many other people, too, depending on which years you’re looking at. Over the years, there’s so many good tattooers that worked there. But real tattooers, you can trust them, usually, and they know how to run a shop. They don’t need a boss, usually. Right, right. When you were a kid, do you remember any big names rolling through while you were there? Yeah, I remember being like Filip Leu when I was a kid. And Bill and Junie and all the big names in San Francisco, too. I’ve known them all since I was young. But to me, it wasn’t big names to me. I just thought that was just– Yeah, they’re our friends. And so I didn’t think about it like, oh, shit, that’s a tattoo god at the time. It was just, we’re hanging out at their house. I never thought of it like that until I got way older. And then I’m like, oh, f**k, it’s crazy that we’re hanging out with them all the time. Because people kill for that. My dumb ass, I’m like, whatever, I don’t give a f**k. It didn’t seem like anything special to me. It was just normal. With that being said, though, what is your pride and joy moments of the tattooing? Finishing my apprenticeship was nice. Now I’m getting treated like hell anymore was cool. I had my kids start to tattoo. It was f**king pretty awesome. That’s gotta be awesome. Yeah, that shit’s f**king cool. I shot some video of him doing the one Friday night. I saw him tattoo a couple times this weekend, man. You’ve got to be proud. Yeah, well, he f**king sucks. But at least he’s trying it. He doesn’t know he sucks, though. Yeah, I know. He’s got a big ego already. Nah, man, that’s amazing, dude. That’s something crazy to think of. Yeah, man. I think that you being around it for all this crazy shit that happened is just legendary, though. Yeah, you know, I live for it, though. I don’t know anything else. I’m f**ked if I can’t tattoo. I don’t know how to be anything else. You were saying the other day about manual labor or whatever. There’s no way. Yeah, I just– You did it for a while. I just live in tattooing, you know? I grew up in it. And I don’t know. I love tattooers. I love tattoo shops. I go somewhere. My wife’s always like, what the f**k? I might just go to the tattoo shop. Let’s go to the tattoo shop. I’m like, f**k the beach. Dude, I know plenty of guys that I’ve interviewed already that do the same exact thing. That’s my happy place. That’s where I’m f**king happy to be. Let’s go back to the Instagram thing real quick. The outfits, dude. Yeah, so I was just wearing stupid track suits that I bought. And Honky Konger makes the one I’m wearing right now. He’s a tattooer. But I was like, let me wear those shits, and I’ll post you. So he started sending me free track suits. And his are awesome. I f**king love his track suits. Yeah, man, that’s how I like that traditional– It’s real tattoo– it’s real tattooer style. But I don’t know. It’s like wearing f**king pajamas, man. I like it. Dude. How do you come up with the ideas for those reels, man? Show you how to properly set up for a tattoo. [MUSIC PLAYING] Oh. I hope she doesn’t get pregnant. That looks good. We’re ready to roll. F**king– I’ll steal shit from other people. I’ll come up with shit myself. Other people who gave me ideas, they’re like, here’s a f**king idea. It comes from all over the place. Because I’m thinking to myself– me and Justin were talking about it one day. We’re like, dude, he’s got to have a think tank session. Because you’re putting him out pretty often. Yeah, I don’t know. There’s times I’ll have a million ideas. Times I have none. Just like drawing. Sometimes you can draw all f**king day. And then some days you’re like, f**k. Like, you’ve got no inspiration. But like I said, I have people flooding me now. They’re like, make fun of this. F**king– oh, yeah. They’re like, f**k this guy. So half the time I don’t even have to totally think up a new stuff at all. I appreciate you sitting down with me. I know you had a busy weekend. And we’re wrapping up here. Yeah, I know it was a very last minute, dude. But I told you I’d do it. Yeah, man. And I appreciate, dude. I– you know, you and I talked almost like six months ago or whatever. Your schedule didn’t match my schedule. And you know what, to be fair– That’s life, though. This is better. Yeah, that’s way better. Because we’re a person. Yeah, that was way cooler. It would have been like you staring at a camera, me staring at a camera. And it would have just kind of been like, ah. Yeah, no, this is way better. It’s f**king cool. And you know, I thanks dude. Oh, thank you, dude. I appreciate it, dude. F**king A. It’s a real pleasure hanging with you this weekend. Yeah, f**k yeah, dude. I got to see the real Jesse. Yeah. Not all an act, right? No, man. I mean, obviously, some of the shit you do is. But no, it was awesome, man. I appreciate it. Yeah, dude. Thank you, man. Yeah, thank you.

In this exclusive sit-down at Lady Luck Tattoo Expo, we welcome legendary tattoo artist Jesse Martynuik—a third-generation tattooer with deep roots in tattoo history. Known for his viral Instagram reels, raw humor, and unapologetic honesty, Jesse opens up about his tattooing lineage, growing up in a shop, and carrying on the family legacy started by his grandfather, the iconic Pat Martynuik of Picture Machine fame.

We dive deep into:
🔹 Jesse’s unexpected rise on Instagram
🔹 His controversial and hilarious viral content
🔹 The truth about Janis Joplin’s tattoo and setting the record straight
🔹 The history behind Picture Machine and the impact of classic flash tattoo designs
🔹 Tattooing through four generations – from Pat Martin to Jesse’s own son
🔹 Raw, real stories from legendary tattoo shops and artists like Lyle Tuttle, Doc Forbes, and more

Whether you’re a tattoo artist, tattoo enthusiast, or just love unfiltered storytelling, this episode is packed with tattoo culture, history, and attitude. From tracing geisha girls on sake bottles to pissing off diving boards at rockstar parties, Jesse Martynuik proves he’s the real deal in every sense.

🔔 Subscribe for more deep-dive interviews with the biggest names in tattooing!
💬 Drop your thoughts in the comments – what’s your favorite Jesse Martynuik reel?

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