We’re looking forward to introducing you to Josh Wilson. Check out our conversation below.
Josh, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Movie nights with my family. As a tattoo artist, separating home and work life can be really difficult. If Ive been busy making art for an appointment or a personal project at home, I still focus on finding time to spend with my 2 kiddos and my girlfriend. A good dinner and a movie with the people I love can really help make any day better.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Josh Wilson. Ive been tattooing for about 8 years now. Here lately Ive been focusing on pushing neo traditional designs. Im currently working on a flash book consisting of 50 skull tattoos and designs called Skin and Bone.
Outside of tattooing I spend my creative efforts on large scale woodcuts. Basically taking my flash and hand drawing it on to a plank of wood. This allows me to stay creative even on the days that I may be going through some sorta creative block.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
Id have to say the alcoholic version of me has served its purpose. Spending a good 13ish years chugging 40s, partying and making terrible decisions really put me in an awful place. Once I decided to get sober, I started making better choices and focusing on changing my life. I got sober Aug 2017 and started my apprenticeship Jan 2018.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Shortly after I started my apprenticeship, the company I had worked for had shut down. Leaving me jobless with 2 kids and still struggling to stay sober. I had no idea what to do and was hanging on by a thread. Thankfully I managed to secure 2 jobs and get things back on track. But juggling 2 jobs while apprenticing and taking care of 2 kids was wearing me thin. I went through multiple shops trying to finish my apprenticeship and plenty of sleepless nights wondering if Im doing the right thing for my family. I was so close to throwing in the towel on tattooing.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
I like to think so. I do prefer to keep my social media feeds pretty focused on the positives in my life. Art, kiddos, family times…etc. But I’m human and come with my own worries, concerns, problems etc that I dont air out online. But I like to think I’m a pretty genuine person.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Scrolling on my phone. Sadly this phone is part of my career and necessary. I try and practice staying off the phone as much as I can but always slowly slip into bad habits. But to answer the question…Id focus on my family and making memories. 10 years…while it sounds like a short amount of time in comparison to like another 30 or 40..its still a pretty good chunk of time to try and make things right with loved ones or myself. So I’d focus on trying to share as many experiences with my family as I can. I dream of leaving this city and just wandering the world one day. Theres so many things I havent seen.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Texasvandal.com
- Instagram: Texasvandal
- Facebook: Josh Wilson
