May 12, 2020

Meet Michael Phillips of Piercer Mike in Fort Worth

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Phillips.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have always been fascinated with body modification ever since I was a little kid. I’ve hung out in the tattoo shops since I was 14 years old. I started piercing professionally in 2009 after apprenticing at a tattoo shop in Lafayette, Indiana, at a shop called Operation Ink. I apprenticed there for a year and paid $5,000 to learn my craft. My mentor’s name is Daniel Mills aka “D”. The shop would keep the money out of the piercings that I did during my apprenticeship and also kept my tips as well so that I can pay the $5,000 for learning. I worked as a cook part-time at a bar and grill across the street from the shop. I would go to work at 7:00 in the morning, and then as soon as I get off work around 2 or 3, I would go home shower and go straight to the shop until close. I was at the shop for seven days a week.

After my apprenticeship ended, I decided to move to Austin, Texas where I worked at a shop called Austin Dermagraphix (who also happened to own a convention circuit called “Immersed in Ink”). This was perfect for a body piercer fresh out of their apprenticeship. Less than a year out of my apprenticeship and I was working my first convention in Louisville, Kentucky. I left Austin Dermagraphix about six months later after I decided Austin was way too saturated. So I decided to travel to places like Iowa, Louisiana, back and forth from Texas to Indiana of course in a lot of shops in a lot of cities, which I honestly never regretted. I learned a lot while I traveled. Things to do, things not to do. I worked in a lot of good shops, and some not so good shops. I met a lot of really good artists that helped push me along the way, as well as made a whole lot of really good friends. I traveled for a few years until I decided it was time to move back to Texas for good. My good friend and old employer Troll had hit me up asking if I was ready to move back and offered me my old job back. Without hesitation, I said yes! It helped that I had who is now my fiancée “Serena Von Romvesen” waiting for me in Texas… Haha!!

So I’ve been back in Texas for a little over four years now (about seven years total if you include all the other times I’ve lived here). When I got back, I worked for Troll at Salty Dog Tattoo Shoppe. I worked there for a short time and then decided it was time to move on. After I left Salty Dog, I bounced around from shop to shop for a couple of months until I found “Bonehead Tattoo”. This shop is owned by Cody Fuller and has been around for over 25 years! It is the oldest tattoo shop in Fort Worth to date. The moment I stepped foot in this shop I knew it was home. I’ve worked here for the past three years or so now and I’ve loved every moment of it. I couldn’t have found a better shop to practice my craft. Body piercing is my pride and passion. It’s constantly on my mind. I wake up thinking about piercing, dream about piercings, non-stop talk about piercings… I wouldn’t rather be doing anything else. Hence the name “Piercer Mike.”

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It wasn’t the easiest in the beginning. I was a starving artist for about half of my career. There were times I was homeless and completely broke. There were times I was sleeping on friends couches struggling to make $30 a week. I got caught up in the partying every night part of the industry. Thinking I was a rockstar of some sort. After a few years, I was over it, though. I wanted to focus more on my career; sell my own jewelry, supply my own tools, and put out the best work I possibly could. You have to be dedicated to succeed in the piercing industry or it will never work. So, that’s what I did. I started buying as much jewelry, tools, and supplies as I possibly could. I started to supply all high-quality jewelry such as titanium, niobium, gold, diamonds, etc. I try to perform the most unique piercings people have seen. I post my work everywhere I can possibly think of on the internet. I work six days a week open to close (only because the owner told me I wasn’t allowed to work seven days a week. He says, “Everyone needs a day off, Michael.” (It was hard to swallow there for a while.) It has paid off, though. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my career. The busiest, too. I couldn’t be more grateful for where I am and where I’m going.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I do professional body piercing. I’m known for that exactly. I put my everything into it. When my clients come to me, I give them my undivided attention. I make sure everything is proper and perfect. Well, I specialize in piercings, but I guess I could say my favorite things to perform are ear projects, unique corset piercing projects, microdermals, and biopsy punch flesh and cartilage removal. I’m proud of how far I’ve come in my career and as a professional. That I have stuck with something for as long as I have. I’m proud of how far my work has come, and the smiles I’ve created along the way. I think my passion sets me apart from other piercers. Not that I haven’t met passionate piercers along the way, it just isn’t my job it’s my hobby, it’s my life, it’s all I want to do- and I think my clients can tell that when they walk through the door. They know they’re getting the best of the best.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Passion. I think the passion is literally the most important thing to success. If you want to be successful at something you have to give it your all and more. It has to become your life. You have to put it before everything else.

Contact Info:

Address: Bonehead tattoo
7944 Camp Bowie West
Fort Worth, TX. 76116
Website: https://linktr.ee/piercer_mike
Phone: 8175607005
Email: Piercermike1985@gmail.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/piercer_mike
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/piercermike1985
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Piercer_Mike
Other: https://www.pinterest.com/Thepiercingguy

Image Credit:
Shop: Bonehead tattoo – owner Cody Fuller

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