Ron Meyers is not just a guy that does tattoos, and to refer to him as such would be a disservice to the industry and an outright insult to Meyers’ skills as an artist.
Make no mistake, what Meyers creates daily with this gun and ink at Low Lock Tattoo Studio in St. Clairsville is art — masterpieces crafted with an eye for detail and guided with a steady hand.
A Roseville, Mich., native, Meyers didn’t make it to the Upper Ohio Valley until 2004. By then, he was already a household name in the industry, and Hot Rod Tattooing in Martins Ferry offered Meyers a guest-chair in its shop. You have to go back to the mid-1990s and American Graffitti Tattoo in Michigan to find Meyers undergoing his own apprenticeship alongside the skilled hands of Chris Page. He started small, working with flash tattoos but knowing deep down his artistic ability was capable of more. It yearned for more.
Meyers kept challenging himself, recreating more difficult pieces, and he eventually grew to become one of the most renowned portrait artists nationwide. He is a master of the grey medium, though he will branch out and create custom color pieces. His desire to push the envelope and create life-like creations also helped Meyers to conceive of his own ink, Ron Meyers’ Greywash. It too, like its creator, has developed a stellar reputation.
What sets Meyers apart is the degree of caring he has not only for his work but also for his customers. When someone wants a portrait tattoo, he or she usually does so in channeling a cherished memory. There is a moment, or a person, paramount to that person’s life that he or she wants to immortalize in permanency upon the body. There’s an incredibly strong emotion associated with that type of decision. Meyers senses it and works to incorporate that emotion into the pieces he creates.
The results speak for themselves.
You grew up near Detroit in Roseville, Michigan. How did you find yourself in the Ohio Valley, and what convinced you to stay? Did your wife have anything to do that with? As your popularity has grown in the tattoo field, have you ever felt lured to a bigger market to cash in on your success?
Actually, I’ve always been what I consider a redneck kid and have always wanted to live in the country. In 2004 I was invited down to Hot Rod Tattooing to do a guest spot. The shop was super busy, and I loved the small-town atmosphere, so I was hooked. They offered me a job and I jumped at the chance to relocate. I met my wife, Jessie, a few years later, so that was just a bonus. I had actually established a pretty big following before I moved to the Ohio Valley, so I could have moved just about anywhere. I really wanted to live in the country , own property and be able to raise my kids in more of a small town environment, so the Ohio Valley was a perfect fit for me.
Most artists either practice for a hobby or just for fun as it’s not the easiest discipline to make a living in. When did you realize that tattooing was a medium of art you enjoyed and could possibly make a living doing? Where did you apprentice, and did that shot teach you anything you still use to this day, either in technique, running the business side, etc.?
I did my apprenticeship under Chris Page at American Graffiti Tattoo in Brighton, Michigan, and he honestly taught me all of the most important stepping stones of tattooing. He taught me the basics, the nuts, and bolts of tattooing. But he also taught me the importance of the personal side of tattooing; it’s not just a permanent piece of art on your skin. It’s a moment frozen in time that people will carry with them forever. It’s an experience and a piece of art; you have to make it memorable and fun. If it were just about art, people would just buy art; they’re paying you for the whole experience.
You’re most well-known for the portrait pieces, but is there another style you enjoy doing, and is it a relief to occasionally get a break from the portraits and do something that requires more creativity on your part?
Most people do consider me the portrait guy, but I do enjoy doing anything that’s truly important to my clients. Some of my favorite pieces are when clients come in and feed me info about the person they want to immortalize on their skin, and we can toss ideas back and forth and come up with some random memory or idea that defines that person perfectly! It may be something ridiculous like a tractor , fishing lures, and a pack of cigarettes, but when we figure out what the image should be , it’s emotionally significant to that person and that gets me pumped to do the best I can.
Speaking of creating, your talents extend outside the studio. You seem adept in the garage as your truck and current Cordoba project will attest. At any point did you consider something along those lines as a career, or is that more your hobby? What ultimately caused you to venture out and open your own studio?
The projects are just stuff I love doing and working on. They’re more of an escape from the personal aspect I have with tattooing. It lets me shift gears so to speak. Being from the Motor City, I’ve always been into cars, trucks, and quads and stuff. After tattooing for over 20 years plus having my Greywash tattoo ink business at the time, I just felt the need to be able to do my own thing and set my own schedule. Plus, it gave me and my wife the opportunity to consolidate both of those businesses into one location.
What’s it like having first your daughter and now one of your sons apprentice and work at your shop? Do they view it as a master craftsman offering pointers or just advice from dad? Have they started settling into a specific style that they enjoy or are becoming known for, or is it still too early in the process?
It’s pretty awesome to honest; as my kids were growing up, I was pretty busy and didn’t spend a lot of time at home, so now I love every minute I get to spend with them. Well it’s kind of in the middle; they’ve grown up with me as a tattooer, so they just see me as “Dad,” but I have taught them enough to appreciate the skills of a really great tattooer. They’ve also learned to respect the trade, the history and the people that have made this a great skill to have. Mackenzie started out trying to set a path for herself in a certain style, and ironically, she has circled back into a similar niche as myself. She is quickly making a name for herself as a badass black & grey realism tattooer, while also staying incredibly versatile! She’s just over four years in and has a huge following. My son Cole has also been progressing exceptionally well as a tattoo apprentice. He’s a great people person. He’s caught on with everything at the shop very well, his artwork is amazing, and he’s been doing some practice runs on artificial skin with great results! He’ll be cranking out some little banger tattoos in no time. I couldn’t be prouder of all my kids, what they’ve achieved and the people they’re becoming. I’m a lucky man.
