Arts & Entertainment
'Ink Master' Features 2 Chicago Tattoo Artists This Season
VIDEO: The co-owner of Chicago's Mayday! Tattoo Co. and an artist from Oak Park's 7 Shades of Gray will compete on the show.
CHICAGO, IL — Two Chicago tattoo artists will compete in the new season of "Ink Master," a reality TV series on Spike. Gary Parisi, co-owner of Mayday! Tattoo Co. in the West Town neighborhood, and Koko Tatts, an artist at Oak Park's 7 Shades Of Gray Tattoos, will appear in the 10th season, which premieres Jan. 9 at 9 p.m.
Billed as a "Top Chef"-style competition show for up-and-coming tattoo artists across the country, "Ink Master" pits 24 body art specialists against one another as they compete for $100,000 and a feature in Inked magazine. Judges this season include rock star Dave Navarro and tattoo artists Chris Nunez and Oliver Peck.
With 21 years’ experience, Parisi describes himself as a versatile artist who specializes in photorealism. He also is going into the competition with an "I'm not here to make friends" attitude that's common among reality series contestants.
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“It’s the bearded villain’s season to destroy this competition," said Parisi, who added that his swagger will be a reason other artists will hate him immediately.
Tatts, a Chicago native who has been a tattoo artist for 3½ years," got into tattooing thanks to her passion and knowledge of art, her show bio states. If Parisi is positioning himself as this season's Bad Guy, then Tatts is setting herself up as the show's Crazy One. In fact, she even has a name for that side of her personality: Koko Loco.
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"Her personality can flip from zero to one hundred if she is disrespected, and she’s not afraid to show it," Tatts' show bio states.
Go to the Instagram accounts for Gary Parisi and Koko Tatts for more examples of their artwork. Mayday! Tattoo Co. is at 1610 W. Grand Ave. 7 Shades Of Gray Tattoos is at 438 S. Ridgeland Ave., Oak Park.
"Ink Master"
When: Season 10 premieres at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9.
Network: Spike (the show's first two epsiodes will air on the cable channel before it renames itself the Paramount Network)
WATCH: Check out a sneak preview of the Season 10 premiere:
Gary Parisi (Photo via Spike)
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