Today we’d like to introduce you to Capone Gallegos.
Capone, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started tattooing at the age of 16 as a way to make money. My initial clients were just my high school friends which quickly evolved into their older family members and everybody in my neighborhood. Eventually tattooing random strangers in the back of my parents’ home started getting me in trouble with the wrong crowds and wasn’t worth the tiny bit of money I was making. That’s when I decided to tattoo the right way. I began a two-year apprenticeship in 2008 where I did free labor to earn my way into the industry.
After my two years were up, I decided to pursue my career and began working at a local tattoo shop, Grove Side Tattoo, within my neighborhood in Pleasant Grove. I was there for about six months before I realized they were involved in activities that would eventually catch up to me in a negative way and I didn’t want to be associated with it. After leaving Grove Side Tattoo I landed at 7 magnum Tattoo, I was still tattooing in the hood, but with less risk of being thrown in jail. I gave 7 Magnum two years before I reached my first artistic peak and decided to search for something better.
After a long struggle I landed at a place with more creativity, Cat Tattoo in Addison, where the artists had a greater work ethic and the environment was professional. It was there where my career as an established artist began. I started Capone Tattoos LLC and created the Cap1 Tattoos logo to brand and market myself as an independent artist. I learned a lot about tattooing and business in the two years I was there. Eager to learn more about the technique of tattooing, I decided moving to Rebel Muse in Lewisville would be the best next choice for my business. At this point, I was able to be a self-established artist and conduct business as Cap1 Tattoos through independent contracting. I was only there for six months before I got the opportunity to work at Dark Age Tattoo Studio, which was just opening in Denton. There I would be able to learn to push my own creativity by working alongside some of the most influential artist in the industry today, Rember Orellana and Francisco Sanchez. They took me under their wing and showed me the ropes while allowing me to independently market myself as Cap1 Tattoos. I have been at Dark Age since 2014, and can’t imagine being where I am today without the help and influence of each shop and artist I’ve had the pleasure of working with.
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?
The road for me hasn’t been easy in a lot of ways. Some of the main ones have been working for free while having the opportunity to perfect my craft. There would be times when I would go to my apprenticeship right after school to tattoo for free and only get paid the money clients would tip me, and of course not everyone tips. There were days when the only meal I ate was in the school cafeteria, or if I was able to get some dinner left overs after getting home late at night. I had to go back to tattooing at my parents’ home on the side (which was extremely frowned upon) to make the money I needed for graduation, a car note, to help out my family or whatever else came up. After graduating high school and my apprenticeship, I was bouncing from shop to shop to only make enough to get by. Sometimes I would have less than 5 dollars in my pocket, gas tank almost empty, starving and still with the hope that a client would come to the shop. In the tattoo industry, you have to be at work from open to close no matter if no one walked in.
Perfecting my craft by doing private sessions at home while working on drawing and painting was one of the reasons I was able to get my foot into one of the most know tattoo shops at the time. Struggling for four years paid off when I had the opportunity to be able to make decent money working at a professional tattoo studio. There were plenty more obstacles after that, but none that compares to the first few years of establishing myself as an artist.
Please tell us about Cap1 Tattoos.
Cap1 Tattoos is a business that offers premium quality when it comes to tattoos and customer service, specializing in custom body art while providing the client with the best tattoo experience. Our goal is to inform and cater to each individual client from the moment they email all the way through to the after-care for their fresh ink. We set ourselves a part by focusing on the experience the client has while getting the artwork they desire. Cap1 Tattoos believes the tattoo experience is essential. Whether it’s emailing about inquires, consulting or the tattoo process, the client’s experience is number one.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memory is when my dad took the entire family to see “Bride of Chuckie” in the theaters. It seems common place, a family going to the movies, but for my family it was a one-time special occasion. Taking out a family of six was a bit expensive for us and my dad wasn’t very much a family guy, so it’s a memory I hold on to.
Contact Info:
- Address: 124 W Oak St.
Denton, TX 76201
(I am currently an appointment-only artist at Dark Age Tattoo Studio) - Website: www.cap1tattoos.com
- Email: cap1tattoos@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tattoosbycapone
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cap1Tattoos/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/cap1tattoos
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cap1tattoos-denton
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