Meet Travis Sleeper

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Travis Sleeper. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Travis, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?

Life has the funniest ways of teaching us lessons, skills, or traits we’re lacking. At least, that’s been my personal experience. Almost everything I’ve learned in life has come through a reality check usually brought on by the pain of what I was missing. Learning the importance of generosity was no different.

If I’m being completely honest, I spent most of my younger life being a problematic person. At a very young age, I was introduced to the party scene. Days turned into months, months into years, and what started as innocent get-togethers with friends eventually became an insatiable drug habit. I wish I could say something pretty about that time in my life but honestly, if I could, it would probably mean I wasn’t fully receiving the lesson life was trying to teach me.

Without going into too much detail, I completely wrecked every relationship around me and ended up having to do some time in prison. I remember during the peak of my destructive phase, my mom told me something probably while she was mad but she repeated it a few times back then: “It takes seven positive things to undo one negative thing.”
In all reality, if I tried to do seven positive things for every negative thing I’ve done, I’d have a debt that couldn’t be repaid in this lifetime. But after being sober for several years, I realize it’s just a good belief to hold on to as a reminder to always try to be a better person. That mindset has made my little piece of life more abundant and flavorful than I ever imagined it could be.

I’ve had the opportunity to give back by hosting or participating in multiple charity events some for the recovery community, and others for specific families. I’ve also donated tattoo time to help raise funds for events that support people in need. It feels strange to even talk about that. To be honest, I usually try to do those things as quietly as possible. As tattoo artists, we naturally evolve into little marketing machines, but with those kinds of events, I’m not fishing for clients. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to be helpful and to be part of a community because for the longest time, I didn’t have the mental capacity to do that. Those moments bring me the balance I wish I had way back.

Beyond literal charity, generosity has helped me grow not only as a person but as an artist. When I’m booking clients, I try to meet with them beforehand so we can talk and I can get a sense of what they’re into. From there, I spend hours researching and designing so I can make their tattoo experience as unique and meaningful as possible. I believe that as artists, it’s essential to be as generous as we can with the skills and techniques we’ve learned over the years. That’s how we grow by constantly pushing ourselves and never settling for just what we know looks good enough.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

My name is Travis Sleeper, and I’m a tattoo artist! I have been tattooing for roughly 14 years in Austin, Texas. For the last several years, I’ve tattooed specifically by appointment only! I can confidently say it has been one hell of a ride to get to where I am today.

Have you ever heard of the Nova Effect? It can be summed up in a short story. It starts with a man whose beloved dog, Nova, runs away. Everyone in the village comes to console him, and he replies, “Who’s to say if it’s good or bad?” A week later, Nova returns with a pack of wild dogs, which the man trains and sells as hunting dogs. The villagers say what great fortune he has, and again he says, “Who’s to say if it’s good or bad?” One day, his son breaks his leg playing with the dogs, and the villagers pity him. The man gives the same response. Later, war breaks out with a neighboring village, and because his son’s leg is broken, he’s spared from being drafted…I always tend to think about the Nova Effect when I think about my little tattoo journey.

I always like to start by saying I’ve been doing art my whole life. I became pretty obsessed with drawing at a young age, which caused me to care very little about my actual schoolwork. I remember getting into a lot of trouble because my focus wasn’t where it was supposed to be in that setting. This kind of compounded over the years, especially when I created my own little group of outcast friends and started to party a lot. Long story short, after graduating and having zero structure left in my life, I got into a good amount of trouble with the law and ended up having to serve some years in prison. This definitely wasn’t the highlight of my life, but who’s to say if any of it was good or bad? I had years to focus 100% on drawing. I also started tattooing while I was in there and became the best on the unit I was at.

Once I was released, I dove headfirst into consuming everything I could online and through seminars about tattooing. I didn’t have a formal apprenticeship learning from one specific artist. I would always recommend getting a formal apprenticeship to any artist starting out because it takes a lot more time to learn without guidance. Although I can’t say if the route I took was good or bad, because it forced me to work extremely hard to grow artistically and gave me a lot more hands-on experience. I eventually landed a spot in a tattoo shop, and that opened up a whole new world of opportunities, setbacks, and learning experiences. For countless years, I spent sun up to sun down in tattoo shops. I once spent a month straight working 12+ hours a day without taking a day off… I’d zone into any artist I felt I could learn from, which landed me working in at least six different tattoo shops over the years.

All that is important because it has taken me to where I am today. I have been tattooing for years by appointment only. As of a few months ago, I opened my own private studio now called Creative Alignment Tattoos. I’ve had the blessing to tattoo on people traveling from all over the world—some traveling as far as France, Italy, and South Korea. I have been asked if I could tattoo in several people’s weddings. I’ve been invited to set up at bridal extravaganza conventions. I’ve been able to find ways to connect and give back to the community through art. I’ve had the opportunity to mentor other artists starting out. Although most importantly to me, I’ve gained the trust of countless people who know when they come see me, I am going to make sure I go above and beyond to make their tattoo experience as unique for them as possible!

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?

I believe confidence, patience, and humility are keystones in pursuing a career in tattooing. If one falls off, it’s hard to continue to build. They all feed into each other in a perpetual, synergic
cycle.

Confidence is a tricky thing because it shouldn’t be confused with ego. Self-confidence means a feeling of trust in one’s abilities, qualities, and judgment. This is so important when starting out because confidence doesn’t mean taking on projects way above your skill set. It means staying grounded in your current skill set and building within that framework. There is nothing wrong with passing up a project a person is not currently prepared for. I’d argue it builds more confidence when doing so. It’s important to understand that artists grow through repetition, and as things become ingrained into second nature, that’s when it’s essential to take on challenges slightly above their current skill set. Tattooing is a science. We can add to our creative processes by surrounding ourselves with other artists we can trust to critique us. The reality is, the more clarity we have of our current abilities, the more confidence will grow. Working and growing within a realm of possibility builds an unshakable confidence over time. Clients will pick up on that and will inevitably begin to trust they are in good hands. That confidence will continue to grow throughout an artist’s journey and will be something they learn to rely on when they begin to take on extremely detailed pieces. Also, confidence doesn’t mean developing a bad or better-than attitude with others. That has nothing to do with confidence and everything to do with ego.

Patience is so important because the reality is, if a person is truly pursuing any sort of artistic career, passion is involved in the process. Passion allows someone to work longer and harder than others. Passion is honestly a beautiful thing, and if a person finds theirs, they should hold on to it like their life depends on it. Although the cost of that superpower is that passion can keep a person up at night obsessing over outcomes that always seem a little out of reach. If you aren’t careful, it can lead to impatience. That can translate into rushing projects to the finish line and sacrificing quality just to get a picture of your work in hopes of recognition. The reality is, the more time someone puts into something, the better it becomes. Rushing projects you’re not interested in is a sign of impatience. Although quitting because you aren’t where you want to be yet is the worst form of impatience. Regardless of how it shows up, it is so important to remember that tattooing is a lifestyle, and there is no end game. We have to be okay with where we currently are and allow the proper time to grow.

Humility is extremely important to continue to grow. It allows for an open mind and receptiveness that is unparalleled. This is something that has to be consistently in check no matter how good you get. I’ve seen so many artists grow to a certain level, then hit a wall. The first wall always comes during the first few years in the industry. A lot of change and growth happen in those beginning years. Artists start to become used to making money off their art. They also start to experience some sort of recognition from their clients and build more of a following. That can be a little inflating for anyone’s ego. Although the bigger the ego becomes, the smaller humility will shrink. This is normally when artists stop being as receptive to critiques or they start slacking on their daily discipline that got them to where they’re at. It’s possible they stop consuming things from other resources because they assume they’ve figured it out. They may start to develop a negative mindset when dealing with other people. Regardless of how a lack of humility plays out, it translates into a closed mind, and it’s really hard to introduce new and fresh perspective within that headspace. In that headspace is where the feeling of being stagnant lives. Humility is a skill that must be maintained. It’s not something developed once and it’s there forever. There will always be the need to reevaluate humility for as long as a person progresses.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

To be completely honest, I can’t even pick a favorite color, let alone try to pick a single person who has been most helpful in my life.
I do know the universe is always on time, and I do my best to keep an open and receptive mind. That being said, I am blessed. I can confidently say that I have amazing people in my corner helping me on the daily to overcome whatever life throws my way. Without a doubt, I can say my son keeps me grounded because I know that little dude is watching me… Although, believe it or not, I learn so much from the people I tattoo. So many people have told me their life stories during long sessions in the shop. I hear so many gems from them that I can apply in my life on the daily.

To me, tattooing is very much a sacred art. I believe there’s always a bigger reason someone’s in my chair. I may not always catch it at first, but give it enough time, and they will always add some sort of value to my life if I’m open to it. I believe it’s so important to live in that headspace because it helps me to continue to double down as time ticks on.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @sleeperzink
• Other: Sleeperzink@gmail.com