Markuss Decker started
tattooing in 2001 at the age of 19. His career beginning started with
a questionable and less than reputable and often times dramatic,
chaos filled street shop.Everyone starts somewhere, luckily for
the clients Markuss works with that wasn't his last stop. He
eventually felt the drain of working in a less than desirable
atmosphere, and decided that for him, he would be better off
tattooing privately for the next year and a half.
As life goes
with challenges and obstacles, Markuss encountered a huge crossroads
with the death of a very close friend. The overwhelming emotions
that trail behind grief caused him to second guess himself,
his skills, what he was doing with his life and where he thought
the he might end up. Markuss started to feel as if he wasn’t
cut out for tattooing. Looking back, he says
sometimes it felt as if giving up would be easier than going forward.
Luckily, Markuss is
surrounded by family and friends that were extremely supportive. They
would not let him call it quits, they reassured him that he was not
only skilled but lucky to have such a gift.
Shortly thereafter he
took a job at yet another flash shop, in yet another less
than glamorous area. He served another year and a half tattooing
Cherry Creek until an old friend from the beginning of his tattoo
career, called and invited
me to do a guest spot in California.
Without hesitation he gladly accepted the offer.Soon he on his way to
the west coast to work at the House of Ink in Venice Beach, Ca. Going
to California was such a vital and crucial stepping stone in
Markuss’ tattooing career. Although his stay in California
was short, it was monumental in altering his career path. The time
spent at the House of Ink opened his eyes to what was actually
possible in the industry. For the first time
started noticing the
works, both tattoos and artwork of Guy Aithchison
(www.hyperspacestudios.com).
“Before that point in my life I had not had much exposure to
work that ventured far away from the 'new school' tattoo style.
The exposure to this different style caused a light bulb to go off
in my head. I finally felt like it "clicked", it finally
hit me!!! I was meant to do this!
I had done graffiti since 1995,
a lot of the same techniques and formulas could be applied into my
tattoo style. I was able to marry the styles together to hone in
on my tattoo style and apply it towards perfecting my skill.
Before California I did not have the true appreciation for the art.
I had developed some what of a chip on my shoulder assuming I was
a god of some sorts, merely because I was a ‘tattooer’.
After exposure to things greater than what I had been conquering,
I changed my attitude. I now had the outlook that I was thankful
for what I had been
taught, grateful for what I had learned and
eager to keep moving forward towards bigger and better things.”
Decker states.
Leaving California
and returning to a Baltimore street shop, to yet again tattoo
flash on walk in customers. He was surrounded again by druggies and
artists who were only in it for a quick dollar. Decker says “I
lasted two months back in the mix of all that trash before packing
my stuff and relocating again to a private studio. I knew for my
sanity sake, I needed to separate myself from that element if I
were to ever be successful.” One day in September 06 a
friend called Decker to say "Hey, check out that shop Tattooed
Heart (www.tattooedheart.com),
it's clean and they're good!" A week later he was working in
a shop where he finally felt like he could learn and grow into a
real ‘Tattooer’. Within only a few months of working
here there he switched from a flash artist to pretty much a
custom only artist. Decker explains “Flash
may still happen from time to time by the customer request, but it
never looks like flash when I'm finished.