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In this episode of the Small Business Origins podcast, host John Kelley interviews Dan Henk, owner of The Abyss Fine Art and Tattoo Studio and Dead Guy LLC. Dan shares his inspiring story of overcoming homelessness, health issues, personal loss, and other hardships on his journey to becoming a successful tattoo artist, author, and entrepreneur.
Main Discussion Points:
- Dan's challenging upbringing as an "Army brat" and finding solace in punk rock, art, and imagination
- Becoming homeless at 18 after his conservative parents kicked him out
- Pulling himself out of homelessness by getting a dishwashing job and working his way up
- Pursuing art by attending community college and moving to NYC
- Facing major health issues like brain cancer soon after starting a tattoo apprenticeship
- Bouncing back while still undergoing chemo treatment through sheer determination
- Going through a painful divorce right when his tattooing career was taking off
- Finally finding stability by opening up his own tattoo shop on Long Island
Guest Bio: Dan Henk is a tattooist, author, and illustrator based in Long Beach, NY. He owns The Abyss Fine Art and Tattoo Studio as well as Dead Guy LLC. He has authored three fiction books and continues to create dark, detailed artwork for various bands, magazines, and book covers.
Tweetables:
"If you look at everybody, that's like a big actor. Brad Pitt slept in his car. He was homeless. You look at all these people they went through trying times to get there. It's not like it was a smooth ride." (00:35:31) - Dan Henk
"So that's what you need to do. You need to find something to keep working at, and you need to not give up." (00:35:15) - Dan Henk
"Nobody cares. They might say, hey, well, it kind of sucks, but if you want something to happen, you got to do it yourself." (00:07:50) - Dan Henk
Links Mentioned:
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Dan Henk
Dan’s early career included a year and a half-stint drawing political cartoons for Madcap Magazine and illustrating underground projects such as Maximum Rock and Roll. In 1997, after struggling through a violent car crash and a knife fight with a crackhead that severed the tendon on his left thumb, he attended art school. Receiving some commercial and local gallery acclaim for his artwork, he moved to New York City in an attempt to kick start an art career. Heavily immersing himself in the local hardcore scene, he produced artwork for the bands Shai Hulud, Indecision, Koshari, Unsound, Coalesce, Most Precious Blood, Locked in a Vacancy, Beyond Reason, and Zombie Apocalypse, not to mention various local record labels and venues.
In 2000, he started tattooing, initially working on many musician friends. A year later, in September 2001, he was stricken with brain cancer and underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Three months after the surgery, he married fellow tattoo artist Monica Castillo.
His work started appearing in both a growing number of tattoo magazines and more fine art-influenced tomes. Tattoo-related books such as No Regrets, Tattoo Prodigies, and Inside the Tattoo Circus took notice and included features.
Tragedy struck again in 2007, as his wife of 6 years, Monica Henk, was killed on a motorcycle by a hit-and-run driver. Despite extensive coverage in the local media and vigorous campaigns by both the tattoo and motorcycle communities, the culprit was never found.
He moved to Austin, Texas for three years, and started doing a regular comic …
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