Nate Stephens
Nate Stephens started his tattoo journey in 2012. I was 28 years old when I started and left a career in the corporate world. After a brief stint in rehab for alcohol in early 2012, I decided I needed to pursue what made me happy, not what made me money. This was tattooing for me. It literally saved my life.
I've always been fascinated with history and what came before us; why our culture was the way it was, and this fascination found a home with western, American traditional tattooing. Even before I was tattooing, as a client, I loved it. The way the art form was passed down from generation to generation. How, even 75 years ago, western tattooers knew what made a tattoo stand the test of time. I can't get enough of it.
My go-to, daily driver setup is the Lineage Needle Co Bold 7RL, Tight 3RL and the Straight 9MAG. I don't even have to think about it. Give me a couple coils and those needles and I can make it happen. Big, Bold, Bright, Strong tattoos are where I like to be.