Ink Master is one of those shows I always seem to catch repeats of while I am on my lunch break. Somehow Ink Master Season One captured my attention briefly away from X-Files. Mostly because of this guy:
And his rivalry with fellow contestant Shane O’neill. The two finalists hurled insults. The tore up each others work. They bragged and boasted, but they always could back it up. The rivalry between the two was unmatched by any other contestants. They argued like feuding siblings, but hardly found it worth fucking with the other contestants. Underneath the venomous words in their big talk they showed a lot of mutual respect.
look at him, looking like a badass James Bond
And that’s true class.
For the Season 1 finale, there was a surprise client for him to tattoo. He got a beautiful blonde woman and he turned to her and said “Well, this is a pleasant surprise” with swagger and unparalleled confidence. He nailed the tattoo.
But Shane was dubbed the Ink Master with Tommy standing by his side in second place.
And we’re talking about a contest where $100,000 dollars is on the line. Where fame and fortune are the prizes.
But when it came down to it he shook Shane’s hand and congratulated him.
No whining, no bitterness, no excuses and no bullshit.
All class.
check out http://artbytommy.com/ for his amazing work.
PS- He did win fame and fortune (although not the grand prize): he got his own show “Tattoo Nightmares” about covering up bad tattoos which has been going strong for 4 seasons.
timewantsaskeleton 