I’m Marcus Reeves — and I’m raising the bar for tattoo content online.

Tattoo artist, recovering graphic designer, and the person behind every article on TattooNexus.

The part I don’t usually tell people

I spent six years as a graphic designer. Good job, decent pay, respectable title on a business card. I was doing branding for companies I didn’t care about and I knew it. The work felt hollow the whole time, even when the clients loved it.

What actually kept me sane during those years was drawing. Flash sheets on lunch breaks. Filling sketchbooks with design ideas I knew would never go into a PowerPoint deck. And getting tattooed — a lot. Every time I sat in someone’s chair, I’d end up in a two-hour conversation about technique, ink chemistry, needle groupings, healing. I was more curious about that world than anything happening at my day job.

At 29, I walked away from agency life and started an apprenticeship in Denver. Two years of sweeping floors, watching, practicing on fake skin until my hands cramped, and slowly earning real clients. It was humbling in a way that nothing in my design career had been. And it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

Why TattooNexus exists

A few years into running my own private studio, I started noticing a pattern. Clients would come in clutching screenshots from some blog post — placement ideas that don’t account for how skin actually moves, aftercare routines pulled from a forum in 2014, style references that had nothing to do with what their skin tone or body shape could realistically support. They weren’t being naive. They were doing their research. The information was just wrong, or so generic it was useless.

I started TattooNexus in 2024 as a direct response to that. Not as a passion project. Not as a side hustle. As a tool — something I could point clients toward when they asked questions I didn’t have time to answer in full during a consultation.

It grew from there into something bigger. Turns out, a lot of people are trying to make permanent decisions with temporary-quality information.

What I actually cover — and why

Style deep-dives — Not just “here’s what geometric tattoos look like.” I break down how a style is constructed, what makes it hold up over time, which artists are actually pushing it forward, and what to realistically expect on your skin after healing. I write these as someone who tattoos in multiple styles, not someone who googled them.

Placement guides with real anatomy in mind — Ribs hurt. Hands fade. Elbows distort. Feet are a nightmare. I don’t sugarcoat any of it, and I explain the reasons behind what your artist tells you — so you understand the logic, not just the rule.

Aftercare that’s actually current — The industry has changed a lot in the last decade. Second-skin wrap, dry healing, wet healing, different ink formulations — I cut through the noise and tell you what works in 2024 and beyond, not what your uncle’s friend did in 1998.

How to find and work with the right artist — Reading a portfolio. Understanding pricing. Communicating your vision without being a difficult client. Spotting red flags in a shop before you sit down. I’ve been on both sides of that chair.

How I approach writing

My design background made me obsessive about clarity. I can’t publish something that’s confusing, vague, or padded. Every article I write gets tested against a simple question: if a client read this before walking into my studio, would they be better prepared? If the answer isn’t yes, I rewrite it.

I also try to be honest about what I don’t know. Tattooing intersects with dermatology, chemistry, culture, and personal identity in ways that are genuinely complex. I don’t oversimplify any of that. Where there are real debates in the industry — about ink safety, about healing methods, about what “traditional” actually means — I say so.

On diversity and representation

As a tattoo artist with dark skin, I spent years frustrated by how little quality content existed for people who don’t have pale skin and minimal body fat. Tattoo photography overwhelmingly features one type of body on one type of skin. That affects what people think is possible for them — and it shouldn’t.

TattooNexus covers how ink behaves across different skin tones, body types, and textures. It covers cultural traditions and their context. It covers accessibility questions that most tattoo content ignores entirely. This isn’t a token gesture — it’s something I care about from personal experience.

Want to reach me?

Questions, topic suggestions, corrections, collaboration ideas — I read everything that comes in. You can find me on Pinterest or send a direct message through the contact page.

Business and collaboration inquiries go to [email protected].

Get informed before you get inked. — Marcus