Artist Bio
I grew up in suburban Baltimore and after graduating high school I quickly joined the US Army where I served six years as a Medic. While my service to my country was important to me and time well spent, I felt I needed to try something a bit less structured and started a career in the art of Tattooing.
In 1991 I opened Little Vinnies Tattoos in Westminster, Maryland. Within a year I moved from an obscure location to a store front on Main Street and took on several additional tattoo artists and apprentices.
From 1991 -2002 I traveled the world learning and plying my trade where ever I could find a convention to attend or a tattoo shop that had space to work. In 2001 I began a hobby of fish illustration that took much of my spare time participating in fishing tournaments across the country and in Hawaii.
In spring of 2002 I was contacted by a Baltimore area Plastic Surgeon who asked me if I could attempt to do nipple tattooing for his breast reconstruction patients recovering from breast cancer surgery. I gladly accepted the offer. Quickly I became intrigued with this new found tattooing service to these ladies (men) in need and I began to refine the procedure by attempting to create the most realistic looking areola/nipple I could. My version of 3-D nipple tattooing was born. Since then the procedure has taken up all of my tattooing time and thought.
Several years ago I began working with Johns Hopkins Hospital offering the service to the breast cancer patients that had breast reconstruction. In the years that followed I have been able to work with the finest Breast Reconstruction Surgeons in the United States. Mid 2011 I began working at the prestigious Center for Restorative Breast Surgery in New Orleans with Dr. Frank Della Crocce, Dr. Scott Sullivan, Dr. Christopher Trahan . During that same time period I was asked to work At Lankenau Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa. with the founder and President of Breastcancer.org Dr. Marissa Weiss. I continue to put all my tattooing skills and concentration into how to better this procedure and make it an integral part of the reconstructive process.
As of this writing I am working in Baltimore, Md., and New Orleans,La., at The Center for Restorative Breast Surgery and will help as many women as I can with this procedure.