interview with Maksims Zotovs

 Hello Maksims Zotovs! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. Please start by telling us something about yourself and your background. How it all started? My name is Maksims Zotovs aka Laky. I am from Latvia, Riga. I enjoy spending time with my family. I like extreme sports like skateboarding, snowboarding and mountain biking. Before I started tattooing I worked in UK in warehouse as a picker and packer. I never thought of becoming a tattoo artist. I wanted to be an architect. I always wanted to have tattoo done by Florian Karg, but unfortunately I didn’t have enough money to book. I started to take more interest in tattoos. I watched many “How to” videos and finally I bought my first tattoo kit on eBay. Oh man, I still remember how excited I was. Professionally I have been tattooing since 2013.

Q: What did your family and friends think about you getting into the business?
A: My family thought I was just wasting my time. They told me "stop fooling around and go get yourself a proper job". Only my wife (girlfriend at that time) encouraged and supported me to become an artist.

Q: Where are you located?
A: My shop is in centre of Sigulda. It has massive windows. Shelves are full of animal skulls, books about art. On the walls I got paintings from my tattoo artist friends, deer horns and graffiti that I made myself.

Q: What was the first tattoo you did?
A: The first tattoo I made was an acorn. My friend who I used to work with in the same warehouse wanted a tattoo. He didn’t know what he wanted and I suggested an Acorn on lower part of the leg. Why? Because his nickname was and still is an Acorn.

Q: Would you give your style a name?
A: My style is spontaneous. I like to experiment with different styles, but horror tattoos are my cup of tea.

Q: Your thoughts on tattooing?
A: In my opinion being tattoo artist is not a job! For me to be a tattoo artist is to have my own personality. I do tattoos because it is my passion and I can be creative as much as I can.

Q: Any favorite artists?
A: My role model is Florian Karg, Den Yakovlev, Denis Sivak. I like their style of tattooing. I find their work very inspiring. Other sources are my friends from different countries who are tattoo artists as well. We share tricks and tips with each other.

Q: Tattooing can be a really fun job, any stories?
A: There is one story I will never forget. I lied to one girl who was a friend of my friend that I'm a professional tattoo artist (I was just a beginner who made only two tattoos). She came to me, got tattoo which was actually pretty good and left. After session I called her and asked if she wants to meet to show me how is her tattoo healing. We met the next day, I asked her if she wanted to go on a date. Now she is my wife.


Q: What are the pros and cons of being a tattoo artist?
A: The good part is, I meet a lot of new people including tattoo artists. I like to go to different tattoo studios for guest spots. Since I started to work longer hours my back started to hurt a lot. After a long day of tattooing my eyes hurt.

Q: What is the opinion about tattoo art in Latvia?
A: In Latvia there are different opinions about tattoos. Some people like them some people don’t. Personally, I don’t listen to those who are saying mean things towards me. They don’t deserve my attention.

Q: Have you noticed any changes in the tattoo industry?
Everything changes very quickly. In my opinion that is a very good thing because at the end of the day tattoo artists can choose the most appropriate equipment for them. I'm really happy that I can use tattoo cartridges instead of needles.

Q: Is there anything else you want to say?
A: I want to say thank you to all my friends, family members, my sponsors: Radiant Colors USA, FKIrons, Sorry Mom Products and Ez cartridges. Special thanks to my wife, family, friends who took a big part of who I am now.