Sobriety, Partnerships & Finding Your Purpose with James Boag and Missi Blue | Ep. 57
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
Release Date: 11/19/2025
Sobriety, Partnerships & Finding Your Purpose with James Boag and Missi Blue | Ep. 57
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
"I didn't die because of tattooing. There were days where I ran with some bad people... and I think the only reason I didn't overdose constantly was because I had appointments to go to. I had a job to show up for. I had somewhat of a purpose." - James Boag This conversation wasn't planned. James and I were trying to squeeze in a podcast recording all weekend at the Tampa convention, but life kept getting in the way. Finally, we said forget it. I grabbed the microphones and headed to the beach on Monday. What started as a casual hangout turned into one of the most honest conversations I've had...
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Building a Team That Actually Works: Lessons Learned with Missi Blue | Ep. 56
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
"If I don't know the job myself, how can I train someone to be successful in it? And how can I even know if they are successful?" After letting go of my manager at Bluebird Tattoo Studio, I knew I had two choices: point fingers or take a hard look at where I went wrong. This episode is me pulling back the curtain on every mistake I made in that hiring process—from undefined roles to missing training systems to inconsistent feedback. I'm walking you through my entire mental framework for analyzing failures, taking accountability, and building better systems so this never happens again....
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When Good People Aren't the Right Fit: A Leadership Reality Check with Missi Blue | Ep. 55
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
"Sometimes failure doesn't look like falling apart. It looks like realizing you've been holding on to something for too long." I recently had to make one of the hardest calls as a business owner—letting go of someone I genuinely cared about. It forced me to face some uncomfortable truths about my leadership, my blind spots, and the standards I need to protect at Bluebird Tattoo Studio. This wasn't about them being a bad person; it was about recognizing that being good at some things doesn't mean you're right for the role. I've learned that when you ignore red flags and stay too busy...
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Working Less, Achieving More: A Tattoo Business Wake-Up Call with Missi Blue | Ep. 54
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
Coming back to record this episode was harder than I expected. Five weeks away from the mic after a fall that left me with a fractured temporal bone, dislocated ear bones, a concussion, and a seizure—yeah, it was a lot. But here's what nobody tells you about forced time off: sometimes the best thing that can happen to your business is being physically unable to work in it. I'm not saying you need to injure yourself to grow (please don't), but this experience revealed something crucial that I'd been avoiding for way too long. I was so deep in the day-to-day operations that I couldn't see...
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How To Actually Do What You Say You’re Going To with Missi Blue | Ep. 53
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
- Free download to help you brainstorm and structure your goals: https://boundbyart.com/goals https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/8-reasons-you-wont-achieve-your-goals-again-this-year/id1777930586?i=1000682298139 "I was super busy all the time. But was I being productive? Absolutely not. I was just kind of running in circles, feeling confused and messy." - Missi Accountability meetings completely transformed how I approach my business. Before implementing regular check-ins, I felt perpetually stuck—busy but not productive, knowing what I wanted but never getting closer to it. Once...
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Beyond the Hype: Real Talk on Tattoo Industry Drama with Gia Rose and Missi Blue | Ep. 52
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
"People need to stop tearing each other down in order to get to an imaginary mountaintop that just doesn't exist. You can literally collaborate with people to get there." - Gia Rose This conversation with Gia Rose goes deep into the realities of building a career in today's tattoo industry. We talk openly about the challenges of dealing with online negativity, the true value of mentorship, and why skill-sharing over gatekeeping creates a stronger community for everyone. Gia shares her personal journey through cancel culture, finding love across continents, and what it really takes to stay...
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Surviving Apprenticeships, Mentorships, and Cancel Culture with Gia Rose and Missi Blue | Ep. 51
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
"If you would do it for nothing in exchange, you're in the right place. That's my philosophy—if you would tattoo for nothing, you're doing it for the love of the craft." – Gia Rose After 21 years behind the machine, Gia Rose has seen it all—from making her own needles and mixing pigments to navigating the brutal world of online attacks. In this raw and honest conversation, Gia breaks down what it really takes to build a lasting career in tattooing, why traditional apprenticeships are evolving (and getting harder to land), and how to protect yourself in an industry that's changing faster...
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When Your Apprentice Becomes Your Equal (What she taught me) with Missi Blue and Vicky Stoner | Ep. 50
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
When Vicki first started working at Bluebird Tattoo Studio as our shop manager, I honestly never planned on taking an apprentice. But watching her work ethic, her hunger to learn, and her genuine connection with our clients made me reconsider everything I thought I knew about teaching someone to tattoo. Fast forward three years, and she's one of the most consistently booked artists in our shop, with nearly 95,000 followers on TikTok and a waitlist of clients who trust her vision completely. What makes Vicki's story so valuable isn't just that she found success quickly—it's how she did it....
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Surviving the Slow Season with Missi Blue | Ep. 49
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
"Winners are made in the off season. While everyone else is taking a break, we're working our asses off - and when the next season starts, we hit the ground running." - Missi Blue Hey everyone, Missi here! In today's episode, we're diving deep into a reality every tattoo artist faces - the slow season. But here's the thing: instead of seeing it as a setback, I'm showing you how to use this time to level up your game. From creating additional income streams and building better systems to networking and improving your craft, we're covering everything you need to know to turn the slow season into...
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Why your tattoo shop NEEDS community partnerships with Missi Blue and Sutton Lockheart | Ep. 48
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
Running a tattoo shop isn't just about creating incredible art—it's about building systems that work, fostering community connections, and staying consistent even when the business side feels overwhelming. I was lucky enough to sit down with my friend Sutton, owner of Self Care Tattoo, to work through some of the real challenges he's facing as a shop owner in small-town Pennsylvania. We dive deep into the difference between being two weeks booked out versus two months, why community marketing might be more powerful than social media for local shops, and how tracking your client sources can...
info_outline"I didn't die because of tattooing. There were days where I ran with some bad people... and I think the only reason I didn't overdose constantly was because I had appointments to go to. I had a job to show up for. I had somewhat of a purpose." - James Boag
This conversation wasn't planned. James and I were trying to squeeze in a podcast recording all weekend at the Tampa convention, but life kept getting in the way. Finally, we said forget it. I grabbed the microphones and headed to the beach on Monday. What started as a casual hangout turned into one of the most honest conversations I've had on this show. We covered everything from how the industry has changed to James's personal journey through addiction and recovery. I learned things about my friend that I didn't know after all these years, and honestly, that's what made this episode special. It's raw, it's real, and it's exactly what happens when two tattoo artists just share REAL talk.
What You'll Learn in This Episode:
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How modern convenience is eroding the tattoo community - Why the shift from scrubbing tubes and tuning machines to disposable everything has unintentionally eliminated the bonding experiences that brought tattoo artists together
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The relationship between creativity and constant comparison - How scrolling through endless Instagram feeds dilutes your authentic artistic voice and why drawing from real life (not other tattoos) is essential for developing your own style
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James's raw story of addiction and recovery - How tattooing literally saved his life by giving him appointments to show up for, a purpose to pursue, and a reason to keep going when everything else was falling apart
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Why finding something bigger than yourself matters - The practical role that spirituality, higher power, or simply helping others plays in both recovery and building a sustainable career that doesn't consume you
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The reality of business partnerships in tattooing - How James and his business partner divided responsibilities based on their actual strengths, why clear roles prevent partnership disasters, and how having someone to ground your wild ideas can save your bank account
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What makes a successful apprenticeship program - Why James believes in complete retraining even for artists with previous experience, and how connecting management responsibilities to apprenticeship progression creates genuine investment
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The importance of networking in today's tattoo industry - Why building relationships with other artists isn't just nice to have anymore, it's essential for surviving in an industry where loyalty is disappearing and artists are constantly shop-hopping
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Creating authentic shop environments - Why so many modern tattoo shops feel soulless despite looking pristine, and how adding genuine artistic elements and personality makes your space memorable instead of just another white-walled salon
Links:
instagram.com/tattoosbymissiblue
instagram.com/boundbyartproject
instagram.com/bluebirdtattoostudio
Music: Unknown Road - The Harp Project