Erika Armstrong – Fuelling Tomorrow

Crown of living snakes. Eyes that have seen too much. Body covered in the tattoos I gained as signatures, when no one else protected me. I am Medusa, reborn. And my snakes are fucking beautiful. Erika B Armstrong

Today I finally started writing my book — Business Beyond the Chair, the first part of Tatt's Biz - Spilling the Tattoo Tea.

TATT'S BIZ In the tattoo world, the drama often feels like a high-stakes soap opera—reputations get shredded, alliances fracture, and behind-the-scenes sabotage runs rampant. It's a volatility that's all too common, with artists frequently undermining each other through gossip, poaching clients, or worse. Why does this happen so often? After years in the trenches, I've pinpointed the root cause: "starved artist syndrome." This toxic mindset stems from scarcity, where creators

In Australia, the red tape has become completely unworkable. I believe it actually cements the criminal element into a creative industry where it has no place — cleverly disguised behind a “clean up the gangs” facade that ends up penalising every legitimate artist and shop in the Australian tattoo industry and it's overseas partcipants.

I started writing this book because I couldn’t find tattoo artists who had the full professional package — the same way any other trade expects its people to show up

We charge for the transference—the skill, the sterile environment, the hours of labour—not the image itself. It’s transferable fan art.

Here in Australia, it’s critical to understand that “cleaning money” through laundering, no matter the circumstances, is a serious crime that will land you in Jail. Let me share a quick story, and I’ll wrap it up with some crucial takeaways at the end.