Tuesday October 12, 2004 - Today I lost part of my family, my cousin, my best friend.  Army Captain Dennis Pintor was the company commander of Bravo Company 20th Engineers serving in Baghdad, Iraq.  He was killed in an apparent roadside bombing.  I choose not to remember how Dennis died, but how much he lived.

I grew up in a small town, where my parents moved to not knowing anyone.  They befriended two other Filipino families and their children became close.  My blood relatives resided in California and the Phillipines, so this was the closest thing to family I had.  My memories of Dennis go back as far as I can remember.  Being the oldest of the children, Dennis and I took command and paved the way for the other seven siblings of our "family".  We were brothers from different mothers, but he always felt like blood to me.  We had different interests and hobbies growing up, but the bond never weakened.  We had so much fun together and learned from each others mistakes and experiences.  He was the most upstanding guy I have ever met, that wouldn't hurt anyone.  Dennis was the perfect father, perfect husband, perfect friend, ...the perfect role model.  He is the code everyone should follow. 

I will miss you very much, Dennis, and so will all of the family and friends you touched in your time here.  You were always the "life of the party".  It's hard to forget the ones who influenced and enriched your life so greatly. 

To read more about Captain Dennis Pintor click here.

 

Collected work from other artists

I have recently been going through laser treatments to remove and later cover-up the tattoos on me that I am not happy with.  I will be posting pics up as they are updated.  Here are the current pics I have, and the cover-up will start at Detroit's Motor City Tattoo Convention this March by Guy Aitchison.  Laser removal treatment done by Kevin B. Karikomi, D.O. at Westerville Dermatology.  I will also be posting tattoos I have collected on myself from other artists.

Check out some of my friends that I admire and have worked on me!

Guy Aitchison - www.hyperspacestudios.com

Robert Hernandez - Madrid, Spain - www.rhernandeztattoos.com

Jack Rudy - Anaheim, CA - www.gtctattooland.com

Paul Booth - NYC, NY - www.darkimages.com

Tim Biedron - Chicago, IL - www.timbiedron.com

Phil Holt - Tampa, FL - www.redletter1.com

Tom Renshaw - Livonia, MI - www.tomrenshaw.com

Johnny Peterson - Riverside, OH - www.alienskintattoo.com

 

In 1988, at the age of fifteen, Carmelo received his first tattoo.  This would be the spark that would fuel the fire.  Hailing from Lima Ohio,  there was nothing really to do there but skateboard, party, and draw.  Art was not something he had to do, it was something he LOVED to do.  He took every available art class throughout his entire school history,  including majoring in Fine Arts - Drawing and Painting at the Ohio State University. After his first tattoo, he had found his passion.  Working as an apprentice, he learned how to make tattoo needles, design  stencils, and any shit work that needed to be done around the shop. After  a year, he began to work on skin. Working on friends and family,  constantly striving to make his tattoos improve for him and his clients. In  1994, he moved to Columbus, Ohio to finish his Fine Arts degree at OSU.  Working at odd shops around town and campus, he was still wasn't  finding a shop to call his home. Frustrated and hopeless, he decided to maybe move to Detroit to further his knowledge of the craft. That's when  Kevin Lee of "Tattoos by Kevin" popped into the picture. He had an  amazing reputation in the city as one of the three original shops. Not  wanting to leave the city, he gave it a shot.  Everyone worked together  great gaining knowledge from one another. This is where he finally  called home. A year later Kevin and Carmelo became business partners.  Carmelo eventually took over the business in February 2002. A long road that  started from early childhood drawings, to that first tattoo, to  becoming an owner/artist at BodystaiN Tattoo. After 19 years, it finally made  sense. Something that he loved, evolved into his calling in life.