CAM POHL

Cam Pohl was one of the breakout stars of the 12th season of “Ink Master,” proving that you don’t need to win it all in order to make it as a top tattooer. Since the season ended, he’s not only finessed his black-and-grey but also gained an understanding of his core strengths as an artist by specializing in beautiful female portraiture. We caught up with Cam to learn how he got into the tattoo world and what he learned from his time on television.

Take us through your upbringing and what led you to become a tattooer. I was probably 17 at the time and hadn't looked into the medium as a career path much more than [thinking of it as being] something you saw on your sketchy step-brother. One night, I took the $100 I had to my name and begged my mom to let me use her credit card to buy an all-in-one tattoo kit off eBay, which for whatever reason she let happen. A week later, I was tattooing my brother, myself and anyone I could convince it was a good idea to have a child permanently mark their body with questionably obtained products. After a half-assed attempt at going to college and pursuing a “normal'' career, I walked into a local shop that was close to campus and bugged them to let me do anything that would let me get my foot in the door. After about three weeks of consistent pestering they let me mop the floors, ask questions, and begin what would become the most meaningful and passionate pursuit of my life.