Meet Sky Rockenbach

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sky Rockenbach. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sky below.

Hi Sky, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I assume many people go through life without ever truly feeling that they’ve found their purpose. I think it’s fair to say that discovering purpose rarely comes from taking the practical route. More often, it’s born from risk—big risks—the kind that demand you put everything on the line. Most people choose not to take that path, and that’s okay. For many, stability matters more.

But for me, the idea of another option never really occurred. I chose the arts because I had a natural talent, supported by years of training. Still, I didn’t expect where that path would lead. I stumbled into tattooing after a long, strange series of events in my late twenties.

At first, I thought it would be an easy way to make money. It has been everything but that. And yet, I stay with it—because of everything that has unfolded since I began. The growth I’ve experienced by putting myself out there, taking risks, meeting people from all walks of life—those experiences have been more transformative than all the years before combined.

Before tattooing, life felt aimless. Now, I have something to fight for.

In a way I still can’t fully explain, tattooing saved me. It embedded itself into my soul. And like something alive, I’ve had to nurture it, protect it, and sacrifice for it. I didn’t realize how much this career would demand of me—or how deeply it would shape me—until I was already inside of it.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

The tattoo industry is in constant flux, and there’s often a stark gap between expectation and reality. It’s heartbreaking to watch incredibly skilled, established artists—some with massive social media followings—leave the field altogether. But I see it happening more and more. It’s a cutthroat industry. Trends shift rapidly, economic uncertainty affects clients’ willingness to invest in art, and the daily pressure of having to “hunt for your food” wears people down.

Tattooing has always involved risk. Risks to your health, your finances, and your mental well-being. You’re either overwhelmed with work and stretched to your mental limits, or sitting in silence wondering how to shift something that feels beyond your control. For the first six years of my eight-year career, I wasn’t able to tattoo full-time. I worked second jobs just to keep the dream alive.

When the 2020 lockdowns hit, I was two years into my apprenticeship—and suddenly, everything stopped. So I did what I had to do: in three months, I became an EMT and started fighting wildfires. That’s not exactly a typical pivot, I know. After more than a decade as an artist, I had to abruptly shift into the medical world, becoming academic, efficient, and physically hardened. I found myself out in the forest beside walls of flame, doing work that was deeply necessary—maybe even more purposeful than anything I’d done before.

But in some strange way, that service—to others, and to something larger than myself—was also a service to me. It allowed me to survive, to reset, and eventually return to tattooing with a deeper sense of purpose. When the world reopened, I had a choice: continue with contract medical work, or go all-in on tattooing. The answer was already in my heart.

Tattooing isn’t about what I want—it’s about holding space for what someone else wants, and needs. My role is to bring my experience, training, and lived perspective to the table, and meet someone where they are. Behind every tattoo is more than technique—there’s a lifetime of stories, failures, recoveries, and quiet lessons. And then there’s the human connection: being physically close, bearing witness, and creating space for someone to process things they may not have words for.

Tattoos may not be a necessity in the traditional sense—but in a deeper, unspoken way, they often are. They become symbols of strength, of transformation, of enduring pain for the sake of something meaningful.

The best tattooers I know are unshakably passionate. You have to earn your seat at the table—and once you do, you fight every day to keep it.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Across nearly any industry, I believe three qualities rise above the rest: patience, hard work, and clear communication.

Patience, because you simply can’t control every situation. Things won’t always go according to plan, and becoming too attached to outcomes can set you up for disappointment. Whether you’re waiting on other people or navigating a problem that takes time to solve, learning to be still in the process is essential. Instant gratification might feel good, but doing something well often takes far more time than we expect—and that delay is where the real growth happens.

Hard work, because nothing meaningful just falls into your lap. What we call “luck” is really just preparation meeting opportunity. In tattooing, there are daily tasks—drawing, client outreach, self-promotion, scheduling—that go completely unpaid. But they’re not wasted effort; they’re long-term investments in your value as a professional. True hard work isn’t doing the bare minimum—it’s consistently going above and beyond, even when no one is watching.

Communication, because it’s how we navigate nearly every part of society. We each learn to use language differently, and often miscommunication stems from a lack of awareness rather than intent. Personally, I studied transactional analysis to better understand the mechanics of communication, and it’s the reason I survived my apprenticeship. Since then, it’s become a vital tool—not only for collaborating with clients and understanding their needs, but for translating their ideas into meaningful designs before anything becomes permanent. Clear communication builds trust, and trust brings in the kind of clients you actually want to work with.

For anyone just starting out: be patient with your process, work harder than you think you need to, and never stop refining the way you connect with others. These three things are deceptively simple, but they’ll carry you further than you think.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

One of the most impactful books I’ve ever read is Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage. It’s a gripping, real-life account of a crew that set out to reach the South Pole, only to have their expedition shattered by failure—or at least what most people would call failure. But I don’t see it that way. To me, Endurance is a story of extraordinary success—not in reaching a destination, but in surviving together through impossible circumstances.

What struck me most was how Shackleton chose his crew. Rather than selecting people strictly based on skill or experience, he chose them based on character. He told each person he believed in: you have six months to go out and master your role. That kind of leadership—rooted in trust, intuition, and human connection—set the tone for everything that followed.

The journey becomes a staggering display of perseverance, teamwork, and quiet strength. These men didn’t just survive Antarctica—they did so without turning on each other, without giving up, and without losing their humanity. The way they worked together to defy every odd… it stays with you.

The book reminded me that failure and success are sometimes only separated by perspective. It taught me that who you are—and how you show up when things fall apart—is more important than any résumé or title. And most of all, it reinforced the belief that resilience isn’t about brute strength. It’s about character.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://skyrockenbach.com/
• Instagram: @bestinkcosmetics
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bestinkcosmetics
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skyrockenbach

Image Credits

All photos taken by Sky Rockenbach