Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Drew Linden. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Drew, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
optimism is defined by the google dictionary as; hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something.
I spent the majority of my childhood not in control of my life. My mother moved us back and forth from California and Nevada as I was growing up. She was not very good at being a supportive or a consistent parent. Im sure she did the best she could but I was left with a little sister (16 months younger than I) to take care of. From a very young age I had this inherent knowing that things would have to work out. They must, for the world isn’t all bad all the time right?
As I got older and gained some control of my own life I realized that I could make it what I wanted. What I desired was to be safe and secure, something I also lacked in my childhood. So I did the first thing I could which was find a Career that was based around people, a chosen family so to speak, Tattooing. Through tattooing I found others callings such a faith and Hermetic Science, which only furthered my beliefs that all the bad… and good was always for a greater purpose.
This purpose I feel, was to realize that all along I was the safety and security I was seeking.
This helps a lot navigating life today with the insane political climate to moving across the country, from New York to Los Angeles. I have a wonderful ability to share my perspective of a silver lining with people who maybe couldn’t see it another way. After all without the bad how could we have the good?
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I have been Tattooing for 15 years. It is such an amazing career that has brought so many wonderful things into my life. For 14 of those years I lived in New York City where I eventually opened up my own studio, The New Moon Studio, with my Business partner and best friend Zoe Bean. After 5 and a half beautiful years there we had come to understand that our lives were taking us in different directions. Hers closer to her home in New Jersey and mine closer to home in Los Angeles, California.
In 2022 I started studying Hermetic Science and the Western Mystery tradition through 22 Teachings which is located in the arts district in Los Angeles. Completing my Tarot training there I now offer readings to the public along with bringing it into my tattooing practice. I offer Tarot Tattoo Consults for anyone looking for that extra bit of divine guidance.
I love connecting with people. It’s what got me into tattooing in the first place and now with this added magic I am able to connect even more. My art is defined as illustrative traditional with the love the occult and a bit of fairy dust. I am excited to see what I create here in LA and the new clients I am able to connect with. I do travel back to New York every three months and I am so excited to be a tourist in my favorite city in the world once more. I will be returning the beginning of May and then again for the Pagoda tattoo convention in Pennsylvania this August followed by a short guest spot in New York. In Los Angeles you can find me taking appointments at Enjoy Tattoo and in San Diego at Flying Panther Tattoo.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
This is a broad question for me as I feel that experience has been the best teacher for me by far. being able to travel to meet and work with other tattooers was the best way for me to improve my style and work ethic. To see what others were doing and what was working and not working. My respect for tattooing trumps everything so I always kept the traditions that resonated with me alive with reverence. I always hear my clients comment on the way I am with my customer service. I firmly believe that my clients deserve the utmost respect and communication. Tattooing is a very intimate practice and it’s important to hone your people skills so that success comes easy. People are difficult, don’t get me wrong, but there is always a way to work with someone that will prove the best out come for the tattoo and time you spend together.
As for advice, learn, literally everything you possibly can. ASK QUESTIONS. Nothing is set in stone and there are other ways to look at things. But do not for one second believe that you know everything. There is always someone out here who knows more and is better. Be safe, there is a reason tattooing has been a round for so long make sure you are doing things that are appropriate for the safety of yourself and your clients.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
This question could have so many different answers. I truly feel like my entire life/being/soul has changed in the last 12 months, which is ultimately, for my greatest good. So i guess i should start from the beginning.
In November of 2022, I had this innate feeling that something big was coming. A shift or something that would alter my life exponentially. It wasn’t like I could see into the future or that it was going to be like anything that happened back in 2020 with the entire word. This was something that was happening within myself. I had been studying Hermetic Science with 22 Teachings for a year at this point and I was set to visit LA to attend the school for the first time in the beginning of April 2023. That whole experience was an initiation of sorts. It had blown my mind, soul and world view wide open. It was the first time i had uttered the words, ‘Should i move to LA?’
I knew that moving to LA and leaving behind the 14 years of clientele and security I had built in New York was a big deal. I had opened a shop, I had made it in the hardest city to make it in in the US. But something was calling me out West. My nervous system was ready for a re-set. I missed sunshine, I missed my family and friends out on the west coast and further more i wanted to be immersed in this magical community at 22 Teachings. It honestly felt like home. It was similar to the feeling I had when I had first found tattooing. I knew that in order for this to happen I would finally have to give up control and allow the Universe to take its lead. I knew that it was gonna be a jump first and ask questions later sort of situation. It was going to take trusting myself more than I ever had before. So in August of 2023, I made the decision. I started packing, booking clients that needed to get in before I left and closing down my beautiful studio.
I am no stranger to hard work and this truly takes someone committed to bettering themselves no matter the cost. I took the preverbal table and I flipped it up side down. I moved to Los Angeles in January 2024, 3 days before my 40th birthday to start my life completely over.
The dust is still settling I am finding my new clientele in LA, meeting new people, studying and practicing Ceremonial Magic. It’s a scary process and I am still sometimes fighting with my own ego, it’s hard to let that old way of thinking die. It’s hard to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. I work hard and I know I will find my way, I always do. I now know more than ever before the strength and security I have always been chasing is within myself. I have proven to myself over and over again that not only is the time now but the only constant in life with always be change.
Contact Info:
- Website: WWW.DREWLINDEN.COM
- Instagram: @DREWLINDEN
- Other: TIKTOK: DREWLINDENOFFICIAL
EMAIL: APPOINTMENTS@DREWLINDEN.COM
Image Credits
Myself.
