Today we’d like to introduce you to Philip LaRocca.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I became aware of tattoos at a pretty young age because my dad had gotten one on his chest of a heart with a banner that included his girlfriend’s name in it. As a teenager, I remember all of the members of the bands I listened to had a bunch of tattoos. I decided early on that I wanted to be covered in tattoos and the moment I got my first tattoo I knew I wanted to become a tattooer. I moved down to Austin Texas and in 2009 found myself working for Keith Underwood at the Austin Tattoo Company. After a couple years I was offered an apprenticeship and in 2012 I began tattooing professionally. I quickly began traveling and tattooing doing guest spots and trying to take in as much as I possibly could. after 4 years of tattooing in Austin and traveling frequently I was looking for something fresh. At the time I was considering moving up to Seattle or Denver when an opportunity came up to move back to my hometown of Dallas to work at Elm Street Tattoo. It felt like an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up and so I moved back to Dallas and began working in Deep Ellum. Elm street was just what I was looking for at the time. It was fast-paced and there was as much tattooing as I wanted available. I spent the next four years working as hard as I could and continuing to travel as often as I could. I, unfortunately, entered a bit of a dark time in my life mentally and emotionally. I came to the realization that I needed to make some changes, one of which being my environment. In 2020 I made the decision to open my own shop and unfortunately a pandemic had other plans. I was feeling uneasy about taking a leap when things seemed so unsure in the world. I had made my intentions known to some friends who owned a private studio in the Oak Cliff area called Electric Eye. Soon after they let me know that they intended to move to New Mexico and that they were closing the shop in a year at the end of their lease. The shop had the option to expand into a storefront and if I wanted, I would be able to take over the space in June of 2021. It didn’t look exactly like what I had planned but turned out to be exactly where I needed to be. I spent the year working with Marie Sena and Caleb Barnard and thought nonstop about the future shop. After a quick remodel my wife and I opened up Salvation Tattoo in august of 2021. We hired Nick Osbourne and Sasha Ignarski and have been working hard to make it the welcoming tattoo shop that it is.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have been incredibly blessed with my career in tattooing but it hasn’t always been a smooth road. Tattooing requires a lot of time and sacrifice and throughout the years there have been various struggles. Tattooing is unique in the way that it requires a lot of time outside of the shop. You don’t get to just clock out at the end of the day and turn it off. Often your work comes home with you as you prepare for future appointments. It is incredibly easy to get consumed with work and become burnt out mentally as well. I have struggled with creating a healthy work-life balance and ten years into my career I finally feel like I have a pretty healthy system.
The internet has changed the world for better and worse. As the internet has expanded so has the love and acceptance for tattoos. This is great because more people want to get tattooed but it is also extremely hard because it has saturated the market with shops and artists. Social media is a big platform for artists to show off their work, which can be great for inspiration but can make it difficult to stand out and look unique to the consumer.
Opening a tattoo shop during a pandemic was a struggle in and of itself but making sure that our shop stands out when you have a ton of talented tattooers in Dallas and shops that have been around for 20+years.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Salvation Tattoo?
Salvation tattoo is located off Jefferson Blvd in Dallas, Texas. Tattoo shops can be a very intimidating place and we opened salvation to be different. We strive to make everyone that walks through the door feel comfortable and accepted. We want to be known for not only great tattoos but also an exceptional experience. We practice most styles of tattooing. Walk-ins are available appointments are recommended for pieces larger than your palm.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
My faith is a big part of life so I tend to listen to podcasts and read books that center around that. I also really enjoy books by Malcom Gladwell, Talking to Strangers is one of my favorite books.
Contact Info:
- Email: salvationtattoo.dallas@gmail.com
- Website: www.salvationtattoodallas.com
- Instagram: @salvation_tattoo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Salvation-Tattoo-Dallas-106776268265728/
