As a tattoo artist, Rohit’s life mantra is that one should only do what one really loves to do. Earning money and a name should never be their only goals if one wants to be successful in the longer run.

Rohit Rathod is a tattoo artist and owner of a tattoo studio named Inklore Tattoos in Bareilly, UP.

Rohit hails from Bareilly, UP. He completed his schooling from Bareilly itself.

Rohit shares that after his tenth grade, he was confused as to what he wanted to do next. He would work at his father’s food stall. However, he wanted to do something different to support his family in a better way. He thought of pursuing law but when he got to know about the time and money the same would cost him, he dropped the idea of pursuing it. He wanted to do something so that he could support his family as soon as possible.

Rohit then got to know about tattooing, when he visited a tattoo studio to have a tattoo inked onto his skin. He started training in tattooing at that studio itself.

Sharing his struggles, Rohit says that it was very tough for him to convince his parents to let him become a tattoo artist as they didn’t think that tattooing was a stable and dignified profession. However, he was firm on his decision and somehow could convince his parents. But when he joined the tattoo studio after paying the initial fees, within a couple of weeks he realized that whatever he was being taught was irrelevant and it would teach him no skills whatsoever. He left that studio although he had to lose the money that he had paid. He then paid a fee at another tattoo studio to learn to tattoo, but from there too he was left disappointed. But he didn’t give up and started learning tattooing on YouTube.

Rohit shares that he initially started with basic art and then slowly took to realistic art as a tattoo artist. Then he also bought a tattooing machine. Thus he kept working to hone his tattoo art.

When asked about his role models, Rohit says that he can’t pinpoint a particular person as his role model as he has learned from different people at different times. However, Lokesh, a New Delhi-based tattoo artist, inspired him a lot.

Sharing his COVID experience, Rohit says that owing to his job, he could not visit his family for more than two years. But during the pandemic, he could live with his family as tattoo studios were shut down. He says that his COVID experience was good.

In his spare time, Rohit likes to teach tattoo art to his students. Besides, he also likes to watch videos of renowned tattoo artists on YouTube to learn more about tattooing, and watching videos of other tattoo artists makes him feel invigorated, he says.

To aspiring tattoo artists, Rohit advises them not to take to tattooing if they only want to earn money and name by looking at other successful tattoo artists. He says they should only pursue tattooing or any profession if it truly interests them.