Tattoo Artist George Rodriguez on Scar Covering, Apprenticeships and Opening Old Soul Tattoo Club

Charlotte tattoo artist George Rodriguez considers his craft to be his wife. He loves tattooing unconditionally, and that love bleeds into the quality of his work.

Rodriguez recently opened a new tattoo studio with his friend and longtime partner Jose “Jay” Alvarado. Called Old Soul Tattoo Club, the space is located in The Arbors shopping center on West Mallard Creek Church Road.

In the lead-up to the opening, I went to meet with Rodriguez while he worked on a cover-up back piece using his mobile tattoo kit. I spoke to the old soul himself about the benefits of going mobile, his roller-coaster of a journey in tattooing, AI in art, specializing in scar tissue and more.

Queen City Nerve: You’ve turned your tattoo studio into a 100% mobile kit. Can you tell me about that process and why you value being mobile?

George Rodriguez: My go-kit is absolutely the same setup as my studio. Yeah, I can be sanitary on the go and that’s super important, but it’s really about the moment. At a moment’s notice, I should be able to do this. If I get inspired, if I have the time, if the moment feels right. Because it allows me to do this all day every day and I always want to be able to.

What I do, it’s bigger than me. It’s not just for me. The money is cool but it’s not why I do this. There are people out there who need something done and I wanna be as available as possible for them.

What are you working on as we speak?

So this piece I’m working on right now is a coverup of a coverup. At this stage, what I’m doing is more of a finishing than a covering. This second layer piece has good bones. I’m continuing where the last artist left off to completely cover the original. The first layer was done on a couch by an apprentice. We now know that we don’t do that because of everything that can go wrong. That initial piece created a lot of scar tissue which I have to be mindful of as I work on her today.

Scar tissue sounds like a challenge. How does it differ from normal tattooing?

I personally want to go out of my comfort zone and specialize in scar covering. Partially, it’s because I’ve realized that a lot of people in this industry avoid it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about tattooing, it’s that people like being artistic in their own zone and that’s totally cool and fine. If you’re good at something, be good at that, but cover ups and scar covering are still a much-needed service. You have to be open to anything.

Scar covering isn’t something that I started thinking I would be so passionate about, but growing into it I’ve come to understand that this niche is bigger than the art. It’s for [the clients] in a way beyond money and visual satisfaction. They come to me with a challenge and I get to give new life to something on their body that they are unhappy with.

You’ve already mentioned a couple times how this business goes beyond the value of money for you. What can you tell me about that mindset?

The money is cool but it’s not why I do this. There are people out there who need something done and I wanna be as available as possible for them. Money only holds value because people put value in it. I know that I’m going to be well-fed and successful over the years through consistency, so I’m not worried about it right here and now.

If I chase the money and become a greedy person, I’ll miss out on the better qualities of the tattooing experience.

I feel like a lot of artists have said no to a lot of really good people over the years because they didn’t want to take on a challenge or touch someone else’s work, because they’re not used to doing it. When I first started, I had to take any work that came my way because the alternative was to starve. I was lucky to spend my first few years tattooing next to a pizza shop. It got to a point where I started trading tattoos for pizza. We transcended the financial aspect altogether. I was hungry and they wanted art.

You’ve worked in many different locations before landing in Charlotte. Tell me about that journey.

In my very first year of tattooing I traveled to eight different states across the East Coast. I was in a limbo of figuring out what direction I wanted to go in. To stay in Charlotte or go to Richmond or to land somewhere completely different. I tried all of these options and still wasn’t happy with the outcome. It wasn’t where I physically was, it was about what I was trying to get out of it.

So in my second year of tattooing I started talking to a therapist and I stopped traveling. It did a lot of good for my mental state … I realized through all of those experiences that maybe I should try to figure out what feels like home to me and spend a few years building that feeling for myself. I decided to give myself the opportunity to transform my current location into what’s best for me.

In that first year, I went back to Richmond for a guest spot and started tattooing friends. Honestly, it was the best feeling to walk into that place and say “I’m ready to work” and the work just came. I knocked out 17 tattoos over three days. I slept there on the floor, woke up, and hustled all weekend. Everyone was impressed that I had been gone a few months and came back with the quality of a full time artist.

There were people two years into this just getting into full-time while I was four months into tattooing doing guest spots in Philly next to Myke Chambers. Myke is one of the biggest traditional names on the East Coast. I hit him up on Instagram and he gave me a warm welcome and a place to crash. That’s the thing about this community; once you’re in they treat you like family. No asking for credentials or checking at the door. I’ve only gotten warm welcomes except for maybe one or two cities.

It doesn’t sound like you had much of a normal education when it comes to tattooing. What was your apprenticeship like?

I wasn’t given what most would call a typical apprenticeship. Before coming to Charlotte, I had always talked about wanting to tattoo. I had tried internships and hanging out with artists but it never came together.

I moved down here as a mechanic and hurt my back to where I could no longer do that line of work. So I started bartending in Concord, which led to meeting the owner of a tattoo shop. I asked him for a chance to learn. His one and only question was if I spoke Spanish. Pretty much everyone in his shop spoke only Spanish. When I told him no he shut me down immediately. I was devastated. Knowing the language barrier was the only thing holding me back from my dream was a real low point for me.

So I took a shower, got in my car, and drove straight to his shop. He was shocked but he let me have a seat and hang around. I stood over people’s shoulders for two to three months figuring out a list of supplies to practice with and got close with one of the guys who spoke a little bit of English. He was a bit of a loner, but we bonded over the craft. One day he told me I was ready to tattoo myself. This is a stunt he was notorious for. He gave me a gun and went home. He had decided that I had learned enough as an observer and left me to my own devices.

Obviously I started messing up real bad. Eventually, one of the guys who didn’t know any English came over to correct me. He showed me how to hit the correct depth and that was such an “ah-ha” moment. It felt like the clouds rolled away and the sunlight came down. From then on, tattooing and I went together like bread and butter. That first piece was awful but I finally got it. Ten minutes later I called a buddy into the shop and started working on my next piece. After that it truly became one after another with random people I knew. My 10th piece ended up being a face tattoo.

What are your thoughts on the current state of apprenticeship in the tattoo community?

To be completely honest, the apprenticeship I was given showed me more than anything how to be self-reliant. Nowadays people look online and say that’s good enough to open their own private setting. They never really get the understanding of what it takes to do this day in and out. They see a social media version of what this is. It’s a sick job, don’t get me wrong, but it pushes your social battery, your mental capacity, it’s not for the weak.

There was once an apprentice I spent nine months on. What I learned in that time is that teaching someone else while I was teaching myself is not a winning combo. I’m a people person, but right now I can’t see myself taking on another apprentice when I’m not at the point where I would bring someone any benefit beyond being a good tattooer. I can’t teach them to market themselves or to connect with people because I’m still working on those things for myself. I also can’t teach someone how to create art at the same time that I’m teaching them how to draw squares and straight lines.

Ultimately though, I can’t do as much of my own work if I’m teaching someone else. It gets taxing. It’s been cool to watch someone else grow into this, but I lost so much of my time stopping to train and help even on my off days. I wasted my patience for teaching on a kid who didn’t really listen to my instruction, which kind of messed it up for any chance of taking on another student in the foreseeable future.

While we’re keeping it current, how do you feel about the rise of AI in your field?

That’s one thing as an American traditional artist that I do not tolerate. I see everybody and their mother using Pinterest or GenAI as their reference guide and to me that’s a huge cop out that I will not do. It’s not something that I can see myself or anyone benefiting from. I don’t care how efficient it can be, it’s the death of art. I think art will survive this, but it’s gonna come down to the Matrix. Composition, execution, style and flare make art unique and worth doing. If you can’t handle drawing a mock-up, how are you gonna handle tattooing it?

What would you like to tell the people of Charlotte about the studio you’re opening this month?

Jay and I are opening a new space in University City. Old Soul Tattoo Club. We have worked hard to curate a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere for people. I knew I needed a place where I don’t have to put myself in a box and that’s how this studio came to be. Jay does black/gray realism and freehand Japanese pieces while I focus more on traditional and fine-line. Between the two of us we can pretty much knock out any style. We also frequently collaborate on back and leg pieces.

You can visit Old Soul Tattoo Club at 2015 E. Arbors Road. It’s open every day but Wednesdays. George Rodriguez prefers to make appointments over Instagram DM. Follow him at @georgie.boy.tattoos. Follow Jay Alvarado at @official_jaytattoos.