OUTLINE INSIGHT


RYTCH FROM SITH


So what made you want to become a tattooist? Actually I never wanted to become a tattooist. I’ve always wanted to be an astronaut. Seriously? Yeah. Te only things I’ve ever been good at in my life are drawing things and taking things to pieces and there’s not really that much of a market for taking things to pieces. Drawing of things is a much more sensible option . What was the scene like when you first started out? When I got my first tattoo, there was only two tattoos studios in Norwich, the only people that were tattooed with were your classic criminals and military people …. So did you start with an apprenticeship? I was on holiday down in Cornwall and I went into a tattoo studio. I’d become friends with the tattooists. I ended up speaking to customers, doing drawings for people and they asked me to stick around for the whole season, they gave me an apprenticeship. For over two years I was an apprentice. So let’s move on to your own apprentice(s), so what is your expectation of them? I expect excellence. I expect them to be at their best. To be a 100% committed and loyal. I expect them to learn. In my opinion, they have to be artists. To have an apprentice means you’re investing a lot of your own knowledge and experience into the apprentice. I think it depends on the person learning tattooing, and the amount of time the mentor has to give them. It was 3 or 4 years until my 2nd apprentice picked up the machine. It all depends on the


16 / FEB-MAR 2018 / OUTLINEONLINE.CO.UK


apprentice. Te acceptance of tattoos is probably as high as it has ever been. It’s more fashionable, but what do you think of TV programs that often focus on the negative? I don’t watch them anymore. People ask me almost everyday. Did you watch Tattoo Fixers or Did you watch Tattoo disasters? I say ‘No’. I wanna watch the best tattoo in the world not the worst. What do you find as an inspirational? Everything. Everything? Yeah. Nature. Space. I’m a big fan of watching documentaries on space. And contemplating infinity Everything has pattens and its own meaning. How did you come to find your style? Back in 2008, I went to America. I went to a tattoo convention and met Guy Aitchison. Tis led me to the bio- mechanical, style of tattooing, which is what I feel is best suited to me… … it has organically grown from there. I know the clue is in the name, but what made you choose Sith as a studio name? When my friends knew I was going to open a studio they asked ‘What are you gonna call your studio?’ Te first thing that came to my mind was Sith. Sith represents the dark side of the universe… You’ve been open since 2005, as a Norfolk boy, you’ve seen lots of changes, what would you say your main changes are?


I’m from Cornwall not Norwich, but I was brought up in Norwich. As opposed to 2 studios initially … I think there are now 26 or 27 studios in Norwich. Tattooing is more main stream now. What would you say is the difference with your studio? Tere are a lot of good tattooists in Norwich, there’s no doubt about that. When a customer walks in, we try and understand exactly why it is they want, We really try to cusotimise work to the individual. I believe you’ve got an adventurous streak, what would you say is the most challenging thing you have done? I’ve jumped between two cranes a hundred feet high and six feet apart I’ve driven the entire length of 12 countries so far. I can fly a plane and a helicopter. Music appears important in your life. With your band (Back Down or Die) how does that help to express the other sides of Rytch? I‘m a very calm person. I pride myself that I’ve never lost my temper or got angry. As the front man of Back Down or Die, I get to shout out and stamp my feet., it’s very angry music. Finally, we turn into the tattoo industry, what do you see as a challenge as over the next few years? As there are more and more tattooists coming through, they are all getting better and better. We’ve got to carry on doing what we do best.


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