Today we’d like to introduce you to Gavin Foster.
Hi Gavin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Starting our early journey in Little Rock, AR we knew our vision was too big for such a small market and had been getting warm welcomes from Dallas/FW area artists and tattoo shops, Pnut finally took a leap of faith and moved to Dallas in 2015. Working in and out of shops in DFW, he finally decided it was time to open 1UPINK in December 2019. Battling a pandemic and choosing to close our LA location in 2025, Pnut’s unwavering commitment to 1UP’s success, he’s brought it up to be one of Dallas’s premier tattoo shop’s.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Officially starting our Dallas journey during Covid 19, it wasn’t easy closing a shop for 4 months, while only being open for 30 days.
Opening a second location In LA in 2022, we had a large following and clientele base, we thought the low rent prices and plethora of rental prices were a good sign, however was a major red flag.
From buildings faulty infrastructure to uninspired artists/employees, we finally decided to close the doors in early 2025.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We specialize in Pop Culture and Anime so that under that umbrella falls
Anime (of course)
Comics
Manga
Music
Tv/Movies
Cult followings (example: legos/Jordans/etc.)
What do you like and dislike about the city?
We’ve always been so drawn to Dallas’s diversity and liveliness the city becomes whether it’s for a sporting event, holiday, etc.
What we like least is that we still feel we haven’t fully explored all areas of the metroplex since moving out here.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://1upinktattoos.com/
- Instagram: Www..Instagram..com/1upink_tattoostudio
