Marked 4 Life II

At some point in my life I cut-​off, bumped into or otherwise slighted a voodoo practitioner and that’s when I believe I was cursed. Part I is that I’ll never get the first thing I order at bars or restaurants and Part II is the death or imprisonment of anyone who defiles my skin with ink. This second part has led to a lifetime of poorly planned or unfinished tattoos.
Marked 4 Life used to employ a fine stable of artists including one so well regarded that he’d only make appointments months in advance and required half down to even look at your ideas. He got too big for the pond and is now featured on Tattoo Nightmares: Miami, but not before taking my down payment and sketches with him…
Dealing with the fully sleeved customer service arm of a tattoo parlor is as you’d expect full of pitfalls, but luckily I followed my mom’s advice and kept my receipt. Grudgingly I was given an appointment with their second in command simply referred to as – Chino.
He’d only perform his duty at 7 AM on a random weekday because of some baby-​mama drama that required him in court. So I took the day off from work, drove to nowheresville West Kendall to a shop next door to a Supermarket and he’s was late… an hour late. So he rushed through the process, let out an audible sigh whenever I’d offer suggestions and insisted on working freehand. I worried for naught as he was actually quite skilled, a master even. I returned two months later to discuss a cover-​up job and not only he but the whole shop was gone. Perhaps he too was on his way to reality TV stardom or the curse, through an agent like the baby-​mama, made it so that we’d never work together again.