Views Huka’s Instagram here
What inspires you to do what you do?
Love. I love what I do. That cliche saying that “if you do what you love you’ll never work a day in your life” rings true here. I basically color on people all day and get to use my creative fuel to make people happy. Sh*T is wild.
Was there a pivotal moment in your life that you knew this was your calling?
I was going to the University of Redlands, wasting a bunch of money not going to class. I was just getting tattooed all the time and drawing pictures for my friends. One of them mentioned that I could actually learn to tattoo. For some reason it hadn’t occurred to me before that, I hadn’t seen a lot of female tattoo artists and didn’t think it was possible. I immediately dropped out of school and moved to get an apprenticeship. I knew being a tattoo artist was meant for me. Best risk I ever took.
Do you have an epic story/memory that stands out to you the most?
The best parts of my job are 50% the art and 50% the people who get them. I tattooed a 82 year old French grandmother one time. It was her first tattoo and she got a little butterfly. I started and her response was “oh that doesn’t hurt at all” . She was adorable and charming and gave me a kiss on the cheek when we finished. I live for moments like that.
If you could share an adult beverage with anyone, who would it be with and what would you order?
Carrie Fisher seemed like she would be good conversation, maybe we would have a margarita with salt or a can of Gilly’s on the beach, keep the vibe mellow.
Could you share a few legendary last words for the people?
Everything worth doing requires effort.