Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Martinez.
Michael, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I go by Mike and I’m known as Mike Tatz in the tattoo Industry. I have been tattooing and piercing for over 20 years. I first got into tattoos when I was a child and saw one of my family members covered head to toe in tattoos and was mesmerized by the art of it, that was the start of it all. Through the years, I tattooed and worked at several tattoo shops. During Covid the tattoo shop I was working at closed down temporarily. While being at home, it gave me time to think about my next moves and how I could provide for my family. My wife Abril and friends had always pushed me to open up a tattoo shop, I had the time, the means and the clientele, so I decided it was time and took the leap and opened up a tattoo studio named Empire Tattoo Co. We Opened our doors July 1 20220 and have been growing ever since.
Alright, 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?
By no means was it an easy road, there have been many challenges. Our biggest challenge came right away when looking for a location. Not every shopping center wants to house a tattoo shop so we had difficulties finding a good location but we were able to find a great one and a great landlord. Being a husband, father and business owner is a lot of work and can be mentally and physically exhausting, it is almost like a rollercoaster, you have your highs and lows but it is always worth it in the end.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Empire Tattoo Shop?
Empire Tattoo Co. is a tattoo studio located in the heart of Humble, our exact address 7320 Ranking Road Suite 200 Humble, TX 773996, we provide piercings, tooth gems and tattoos. We strive to offer the best work and the best environment to our clients. The goal is to make our clients feel as if they were at home and as relaxed as possible when getting a tattoo or piercing. I specialize in color and cover ups. I have a passion for what I do and absolutely love doing color and how it all comes together at the end. Cover ups are hard but very rewarding. To have a client come in with something that they no longer want due to it reminding them of a bad memory or time period and for me to be able to cover up and produce something beautiful where what once was there is no longer visible is the best feeling, not only because I did my job but also seeing how my clients light up and come out 100x happier and no longer have to see or deal with the previous tattoo. When doing a tattoo, I strive to do the best I can and listen to what my clients want and provide the best work. I take pride in this and feel like this is what sets me apart, because of this and the work I provide, I have been able to tattoo rapper 50 Cent. When 50 was doing a meet and greet here in Houston and my client attended and took a picture with him he was so impressed with the work my client had on him and asked who his tattoo artist was, next thing I know I am tattooing 50 cents, it has definitely been one of the highlights of my career. I have also tattooed YouTube stars Braap, Randy Mai and Cory Pritchett.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
The role of luck.. not quite sure. I feel like everyone is handed their fair share of good luck moments and bad luck moments. We have had plenty of bad luck moments, one of them being our studio being broken into, supplies, ink sets, Ipads, tattoo machines were taken thousands of dollars just gone and had to be replaced, at the same time we were hit with good luck and was able to track my Ipad and get everything that was stolen back. Most important thing is that when those bad luck moments hit, always stay positive and keep moving forward with a positive mentality.
Pricing:
- Tattoo Minimum $60
- Piercings start at $40
- Tooth Gems start at $40
- Merchandise $20
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Empire Tattoo Co. Empiretattoo_mike
- Facebook: Empire Tattoo Co.
