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.