Danny was introduced to me by Ben Morris, editor of AAH Magazine, during January 2022s Pop-Up Horsham. In lockdown, Danny had begun writing his life story covering his forty years as a tattoo artist. When Danny began his trade, he was one of the fore-runners who brought this artform out from the backstreets and into the mainstream as a highly recognised and sought after form of body art.

This autobiography really does have it all, Danny’s life has been as colourful as the tattoos he’s inked on his clients’ skin. Here’s the introduction to Danny’s book to give you a flavour of his determination and of the incredible highs and lows he has faced and overcome:

“I have made my living as a professional Tattoo Artist for over forty years.

Tattooing certainly was a unique and unusual career choice to make back in the late 1970s when I first got interested in the subject.

My particular story started with a homemade needle and Indian ink job I did at home one night in my bedroom when I was about fifteen years old. God knows what made me do it and at the time I pretty much instantly regretted it. It was awful. Rather than just do a simple cross or my initials like most people would, I tried to be all arty and do a castle with a bat flying round it! It took me ages. After it was done, I realised it might be seen by my mum and dad who were extremely old school and would not have been amused in the slightest by my amateur tattoo attempt!

Regret it? I might have done at the time, but little did I realise that one silly teenage rush of blood would go on to shape the rest of my life. It was the first step on what was to be – in my eyes – an adventure. One so varied and fantastic, so rich and rewarding that as I sit here now looking back, I can’t believe I was actually lucky enough to have experienced it.

Don’t get me wrong, tattooing isn’t an easy career that’s for certain. There were very few tattooers to be found in the 1970s. It was also extremely hard to get into. I had no one to help me and I faced many obstacles in my early days. At the time I got interested in it, tattooing was more of an underground activity. It is a bizarre way to make a living and it is definitely not a career for the squeamish!

First of all, and without a doubt, getting tattooed involves a certain amount of pain and the smallest mark from a tattoo machine will last your entire life, so there is very little room for error. It’s not like a ruined haircut where your hair will eventually grow back. When you become a tattooist, you are on your own. You are not part of a team.

You have to learn the hard way and quickly if you want to make a living.

It takes a certain kind of person – a rebel if you like – to be a tattooist. Someone with huge strength of character, someone who can keep calm and do a job where no two days are the same. Someone who has the ability and the imagination to deal with the unexpected, the people they will meet and the requirements those people will have.

They will need to be a people person, that’s for sure. Over the years, I’ve met and sat with thousands of people for extended periods, good and bad but mainly good. Fortunately, I have made many, many friends since I became a tattooist. All of whom were drawn to me and the indelible service I learnt to provide.

Tattoos build people’s character. It’s a fact. There is something about wanting to be tattooed that is an inexplicably fundamental part of human nature. People are often drawn to it without actually knowing the true reason why.

Do you know the real reason why you got your Tattoo?

It’s as if a kind of primordial connection with our ancient ancestors still exists, dating right back to when homo-sapiens first began to develop the first signs of intelligence. It is not a modern fad, or a desire to be trendy, it is an ancient and symbolic ritual that a certain type of person gets drawn to.

After all this time, I still don’t have an accurate explanation of what it was that made me want to dive wholeheartedly into this ancient art form. Once I had sat down and experienced the thrill of getting my first few tattoos, I began to feel a growing desire to explore this strange ritual more deeply. A desire that I felt build up inside me and which I couldn’t ignore. It all sounds a bit heavy I know, but the way it took over my thoughts and eventually my life proves it was obviously meant to be. Perhaps one of my ancestors from long, long ago was somehow reaching out to me to follow in their footsteps? Or, was it just that once I first noticed and began to take an interest in those indelible marks made on the skin that I felt a subconscious connection with the whole process? One which would lead me to devote the rest of my life to exploring and trying to fully understand the secrets of the art of the tattoo.

Whatever it was, I can honestly say with my hand on my heart that I have never once regretted my decision to take – what at the time seemed to so many – such an unusual path in life. I do feel truly blessed that I possessed the courage to make the leap of faith that so few at the time could or would.

This is my story, of how I went about it all. From a nervous, nothing special, extremely shy ex-public schoolboy, to a seasoned pro who took his chosen trade to its limits. The characters I met, the places I went and what it was like to be a tattoo artist through the 1980s, 90s and beyond. Tattooing’s truly golden age.

I really hope you enjoy the ride. My good times, bad times, ups and downs and the fascinating tale of what you can do with your life if you’re prepared to step out of the box and follow your dreams.”