Keith McCurdy is the tattoo artist to the stars. His artwork is displayed on the bodies of some of today's most prominent celebrities.
McCurdy is the owner of Bang Bang Tattoo and has a list of celebrity clients including the likes of Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Selena Gomez, and Cara Delevingne.
McCurdy revealed in an interview with The New York Times how he started from scratch and managed to establish himself as one of the most important tattoo artists. The artist who started earning less than USD. 200 dollars a day, today he charges 20 thousand dollars a piece and to get an appointment at his place there is a long waiting list.
But what is so special about McCurdy's tattoos to justify such a price?
It's largely due to what they call the "celebrity factor" tax: Some professionals like personal trainers or dermatologists can double or even triple their prices after receiving publicity from their celebrity clients.
This is the case of McCurdy who owes much of his fame and fortune to Rihanna. The singer was the one who "discovered" him 11 years ago when she entered the small piercing and tattoo shop located on West Fourth Street in New York where she was working. The star, who had come in to get a nipple piercing, ended up with several Sanskrit lines tattooed on her hip at Keith's suggestion.
Soon after, McCurdy went on tour with Katy Perry who hired him to tattoo her and her crew between performances.
In 2014 McCurdy launched Bang Bang and in 2015 he published his book, "Bang Bang: My Life in Ink," a memoir comprised of testimonials from his famous clientele.
But his clients are not the only factor in his success, McCurdy has proven to be a talented artist with great business skills.
In the industry, Bang Bang stands out for having a roster of artists that is mostly female and of different nationalities.
Eva Karabudak, 32, from Turkey is one of the most sought-after members of the team due to her ability to recreate the most famous works of art by Van Gogh and Klimt on her tattoos. 22-year-old Swede Oscar Akermo makes tattoos with black and gray ink. Sanghyuk Ko, 37 better known as Mr. K is a former graphic designer from Korea and his specialty is thin-line portraits that look like pencils on skin.
Last month Bang Bang opened its second location on Grand Street in the Soho neighborhood and the location cost USD to renovate. 1 million.
"This looks like the Apple store," a dazzled Miley Cyrus declared when she visited the store last Saturday to get her mother's signature tattooed on her arm and then she decided to get another tattoo on her genitals as well.
McCurdy's life story is worthy of his own movie and reflects the famous "American Dream." He grew up in Claymont Delaware. His father, Vincent Lacava, was 16 when Keith was born, and his mother, Susan McCurdy, was 17. The couple separated soon after, with his father going off to college while his mother dropped out of high school and started working. as a stripper.
"It wasn't something we were ashamed of. She was a feminist and with that, she paid the bills," McCurdy stated of her mother to whom she dedicated her book.
Eventually, Susan opened a cleaning company and her son helped her in the business.
At the age of 15, Keith got his first tattoo, "The cheesiest portrait of the Superman logo you've ever seen," is how the tattoo artist described it, he later dropped out and bought a tattoo machine online for USD. 268 and started practicing tattooing his cousin who he continues to work with to this day.
In 2004 he landed his first job at a tattoo parlor and less than a year later moved to New York with his father. In the Big Apple, he started working at a tattoo and piercing shop called Crazy Fantasy and later moved to Whatever Tattoo, where he met Rihanna.
"I just want to do fun tattoos," McCurdy said in an interview with The New York Times and it is precisely this philosophy that has made him popular with celebrities since what many want is someone who reproduces his ideas.
Rihanna revealed that when she met McCurdy, one of the things that struck her the most about her was that he didn't even know who she was.
"I remember thinking, this guy is a gangster," the singer wrote in her testimony for Keith's book.
Fascinated by a Freddy Krueger tattoo Keith had given the manager of the establishment where they met and with his advice on where to place her own Sanskrit message, Rihanna not only went back to see McCurdy but also connected him with other celebrities including Chris Brown and Ms Perry.
Throughout his career, McCurdy has made many friends in Hollywood but has also made enemies within his profession as many criticize him for being a "climber" or for having "sold out" and sacrificing his art for money.
In 2013 and after having worked in the most important tattoo parlors in New York, Keith opened his first Bang Bang on Clinton Street with the help and investment of his father. But the working relationship of father and son failed and McCurdy had to rent a small studio in Brooklyn where he continued to serve his famous clients.
With the help of his therapist and borrowed money from his friends, Keith opened another location on Broome Street and started advertising on social media. He uploaded photos and selfies to Instagram with all the celebrities he had tattooed using the hashtag #MeTattoo and hired talented artists from different countries to be part of his team.
