Meet Shawn Triple6

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shawn Triple6 and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shawn, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
I took a risk getting my hands, neck and head tattooed before I was actually tattooing for a living. I was already quite heavily tattooed early on but those spots were a bigger deal back in the day. Everyone told me it would be difficult to get a job but I had decided that if a job didn’t want to hire me because of my tattoos, then it wasn’t the right job for me. It also just pushed me to land an apprenticeship and start tattooing as a career. The last thing I want is to be an old man wishing I would have taken more risks when I was younger. And I’m not getting any younger.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I love tattooing. I’m one of the lucky ones to not consider what I do for a living, a “job”. It’s definitely a passion that I’m still trying to get better at with every tattoo I do. A never-ending learning process for sure. Not having things like health insurance or paid time off or even a guaranteed income can be rough at times but I wouldn’t trade tattooing for the world.

As far as lessons go, I’d like to think I’m good at learning from other people’s mistakes. Always trying to listen to those who came before me and to those that I look up to. But I believe that you can learn useful things from almost anyone as long as you keep an open mind. Just be real.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Luckily LA is full of amazing vegan food spots so whenever friends visit, I just make them eat a ton. Crossroads Kitchen, Pura Vita, Planta, Monty’s Good Burger, Ãu Lac, Doomies, Besties Vegan Paradise… I could go on and on about the vegan food here. There’s always good shows to see and some amazing venues around LA as well.
But a spot I usually end up taking everyone that visits LA is Hollywood Forever Cemetery. It’s such a beautiful and peaceful place, right in the middle of the Los Angeles madness.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Without my tattoo mentor Craig Driscoll, I wouldn’t tattooing today. He helped me out, gave me a place to live, and opened the doors of tattooing for me after my best friend passed away suddenly. I haven’t looked back since.

Teer and Marc, Propaganda Tattoo & Pappy’s Barbershop in San Diego, gave me a shot right out of my apprenticeship. I could barely pull a straight line and I was terrified of every “walk in” but they took a big chance bringing me on. I was lucky to learn so much from the both of them about tattooing and just life in general.

Also, shout out to underground hip hop and hardcore/punk music. Both of those genres opened my eyes to so many different worlds at a young age. Music has always been a massive part of my life and helped shape me into the person I am today. Still vegan! Still straight edge!

Instagram: @Shawntriple6

Other: Xshawntriple6@gmail.com