[img]958|left|Alex Campbell||no_popup[/img]Dateline Boston — I arrive right on time for my tattoo appointment at 5:30. I’m here to get the flower on my wrist colored in. I got the outline of the flower done about a year ago. It’s been so long, my tattoo artist, Ram, has forgotten what it looks like. He gets my file (which is pretty thick — I’ve been working with Ram for close to 10 years), and we sit down for a consultation.
[img]1272|left|||no_popup[/img]We talk about what I want to do. I tell him I want to color in the flowers on my arm, but we also need to discuss drawing the rest of the tattoo on my arm. We look at the sketches Ram had drawn a year ago. He gets excited about possibilities: “So should we do a tree, coming down like this? Do you want another peony? Or do you want cherry blossoms, coming around from your back? Maybe we should draw the rest today. Or should we color in the flowers? I dunno. We should finish it. Maybe I could take this walk-in…can you come back later? Like 7:30?” I say, “Sure.”
Now, my dear readers, here you may say, “Wait a minute. You had an appointment for 5:30. Not only does he not know what he’s going to tattoo, he tells you at 5:30 to come back in 2 hours? What’s up with that?”
This is where I try to explain the man who goes by the tattoo moniker Fat Ram. It’s sort of hard to do. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Ram is that he exudes Zen energy. When I’m around him, all my cares float away. I live in the moment. Whatever Ram says is okay by me.
It took me awhile to really understand how Ram works. In 10 years, I think he has been on time about half the time. You could say he has an issue with time management. I prefer to believe that once you enter Ram’s territory, he gives you permission to slow down and relax. When you get tattooed, you have to relax, or else it will hurt.
Flow with the Pain
I remember the first time I got tattooed by Ram. When he began, I held my breath and clenched my teeth, then exhaled. After a couple of minutes, he stopped and said, “If you keep doing that, you’ll be exhausted in 15 minutes!” He told me, “Don’t fight the pain; just go with it.” Something about the way he said that clicked with me, and I understood. I stopped fighting the pain, and you know what? I was tattooed for 6 hours, a very long time to have a needle scratched into your skin with no painkillers of any kind. You have to go into a meditative/dissociative state. Works at the dentist and on airplanes, too!
Ram is so Zen. We talk about all sorts of things when he’s working. I am so into the conversation, I almost forget about the pain. If my head’s not in it, it feels different. I remember one time when I was getting work done on my back, I was thinking about something stressful. I didn’t get into the zone, and oh, man, did it hurt! This last time, when getting work done on my wrist, I was nervous about it. I said so, and Ram just said, “Well, we’re just gonna get into it. We’re just gonna do it. I’m doing it right now, I’m already working, no problem.” You know what? It was no problem.
We talked about his energy and the fact that he always seemed so laid back and calm. He said the motorcycle ride over helped him get rid of all the stresses he had. He had to let go of his stress and not bring it into work. If he was stressed, that energy would definitely come through to me. He makes it a point to let that go when he comes in. And he really does!
When I come in and Ram says he’s still working on someone/maybe can I come back later/he’ll be right with me, and it takes him an hour to finish his conversation, I say okay and use the time to just be. I take a walk, talk to the staff at the tattoo shop or go shopping. I have to be available, but I’m free to do what I want for an hour or more; it’s great!
To really understand how to get into a hypnotic state before getting a tattoo, you’d have to come to Boston and see for yourself. Ask for Fat Ram — he’s the owner and has a 6-month waiting list. Be prepared to wait that long, and tack on an hour or two when you arrive. It’s worth it. Your body and mind will thank you.
Ms. Campbell may be contacted at snobbyblog@gmail.com
