Spiritual Journey Tattoo — Attraction in Stanton

Me and my partner finally came in for an appointment for a tattoo, which we booked months out and traveled many hours to attend. When we got to the appointment, the front of house was very nice and welcoming. However, my artist (Elle) was late to the appointment, and it seemed as if he didn't want to be there and was foisting as much work onto the other artists or apprentices as possible. I was upfront from the beginning on how much money I had, due to the fact we were traveling and we only could get so much out of ATMs, and we felt uncomfortable traveling with large amounts of cash. The apprentice was very kind, but the drawing of the tattoo took hours before it even got to the tattooing stage, which keep in mind I just got the basic design because we knew of the time and money constraints. She began hand poking the tattoo, and I let her know I'm staying with friends and have to drive several hours back. She then put away the hand poking, and the other artist began. He was kind at first, but then people came, and he said, 'I'm letting him finish this part while I handle some business.' He then made another tattoo artist (Joseph) finish the outlines, and the other artist was very kind. He was fine with me asking a lot of questions and kept me updated on what things were looking like and what he was doing and how far along we were, which made things a lot more bearable. After he finished up the framing, I was faint and not feeling too well. We took five, and the main artist began again. He was kind at first, but when I asked several times 'how are we looking,' not in an effort to upset, pressure, or make him feel rushed (because this was my first big tattoo, and I was in a lot of pain and felt a bit dizzy, which I tried to explain to him), he flipped out on me in a pretty angry voice and stormed out to smoke a cigarette, saying 'I killed the vibe' and that I was rushing him. I immediately apologized because this was completely not my intent. I felt horrible about the situation and just wanted to leave. I felt very bad and uncomfortable. When he came back in, my partner tried to defuse the situation by saying she got where he was coming from, but she didn't think he meant it that way and he was just in pain. He then got upset again and took another break. He finished a few more panels, but the attitude towards me made me mentally feel I couldn't do it and couldn't be there anymore. He then offered to finish the rest of the piece for free so he could get pictures of the piece finished, but I only had enough money for what I had done and didn't want to cheap him out of his work, so me and my partner paid and left. I felt horrible about the situation, but the artist didn't make me feel safe or comfortable with the situation. I kept apologizing while the apprentice cleaned me up, and she was very kind and understanding. I wish I would've experienced more of that from the artist I worked with. Overall, what could've been a very pleasant experience left me feeling traumatized and upset. Now every time I look at my tattoo I’m reminded of this upsetting experience. This has soured my opinions on tattoos in general, and I'm unsure if I will ever get...

AMAZING! My first tattoo experience = all around amazing experience due to the friendly and super talented artists at Spiritual Journey Tattoo!

Zel is a fantastic artist, she was so patient answering all my questions. Zel didn't rush and kept checking in with me to make sure I was comfortable or whether I needed a break. It's amazing how much she did in less than five hours. I also appreciated how she warned me ahead of time of the more "delicate/painful" sections, like the armpit area. This was all freehand and I honestly don't know how Zel was able to keep things so aligned, but she did. She has freakin' awesome skills!!

It's a total family vibe at this place! Everyone there was super friendly, each checked in to make sure I was good (several times during the process). Joseph did all my family history research and went over the self-care stuff (dos/donts). Elle was super cool and quite the funny guy, it was a treat to chat with him. I also appreciated the decorations and ambiance of Spiritual Journey, loved the numerous wooden carvings, masks, and other art pieces and weapons that littered the walls. Elle even gave me some good tips on some best/legit sources to buy a Panabas and Kampilan! I can't wait to come back in a couple of months to finish the rest of my right arm and to get another left armband done.

Maraming Salamat,...

Best first experience ever! I received my 16th tattoo with them and was so grateful for the experience. I have been an avid follower of the shop and the tribe for years and have always wanted to get a tattoo from them, especially since I am so passionate about my Filipino-Polynesian-Spanish roots. I already have several Polynesian tattoos for my Poly roots but I have always wanted a legit Filipino tribal tattoo from them to honor my Filipino ancestry. My wife and I went to the first Tribal Tuesday and we both got handpoke tattooed from Nicolette, a wonderful artist and a beautiful soul! And we met several other of the artists and tribe members. Elle and the entire crew were so welcoming and we felt like we were with family. For the longest time, my wife and I have been looking for the artists to make our tribal tattoo dreams come true to honor our roots. And after our experience at Spiritual Journey Tattoo, we know we finally found them. We will definitely be getting more tattoos from them to complete our pieces and to make our dream of honoring our roots through our tattoos a reality. Maraming maraming salamat Spiritual Journey and Tatak ng Apat na Alon! Mabuhay...