Meet Wesley

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

Hi Wesley, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

My work ethic comes from a mix of necessity, identity, and the example I grew up around. My mom spent 28 years in the Air Force and another 15 in the Clovis Fire Department, so discipline, consistency, and showing up no matter what weren’t abstract ideas in our house, they were just the baseline. Watching her commit to something bigger than herself for that long left a mark on me.

We also moved around a lot, so there was always this pressure to adapt quickly and figure things out on my own. That turned into an internal standard where I don’t wait for things to feel perfect or comfortable, I just get to work.

Tattooing reinforced that in a big way. This isn’t an industry where you can coast. If you’re not putting in the hours, refining your craft, building relationships, you feel it immediately. There’s no hiding from your effort level, it shows up in your work, your schedule, and your reputation.

At this point, it’s less about discipline and more about pride. I take a lot of responsibility for what I’ve built, not just for myself, but for the people around me. Running a large studio, creating a space that’s safe and inclusive, and continuing to grow as an artist all require consistency. That’s really what it comes down to for me, showing up every day and doing the work, whether I feel like it or not.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a tattoo artist and the owner of Sacred Soul Collective, a private studio in Oklahoma City. I’ve been tattooing since 2010, but over time my role shifted from just making tattoos to building a space that actually means something. What started as a personal pursuit turned into a full ecosystem. We now have a large team of tattoo artists alongside a wellness side that includes massage therapy, a naturopathic doctor, and an esthetician. It’s not accidental, I wanted to create a space where art, healing, and self-expression all live under the same roof.

What feels most special about it is the culture. Sacred Soul is women-owned, queer-owned, and very intentionally inclusive. It’s a space where people can show up as they are, whether they’re getting tattooed, working, or building a business inside these walls. The energy matters just as much as the artwork. I care a lot about who we bring into the space, because one solid human can shift the entire atmosphere in the best way, and the wrong one can do the opposite.

As an artist, I lean into black and grey, botanical, illustrative work. I’m obsessed with flow, how a design moves with the body, how it breathes. I don’t want tattoos to feel stuck on the skin, I want them to feel like they grew there. A lot of that comes from my love of nature and Art Nouveau, that balance between structure and softness, control and movement.

Lately, I’ve been really excited about expanding beyond tattooing. We hosted our first art show in the studio recently, and it changed the energy of the space in a really cool way. It reminded me that this place isn’t just about tattoos, it’s about creating opportunities for artists to be seen in different ways. I definitely plan to keep building on that and host more shows.

Right now, I’m in a phase of refining more than expanding. We still have a few open rooms, and I’m looking for the right people to step into them, artists or wellness practitioners who actually align with what we’re building. I’m not interested in filling space just to fill it. I’d rather move slower and build something that feels intentional, sustainable, and real.

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?

Looking back, I’d say the three most impactful things in my journey have been consistency, self-awareness, and people skills.

Consistency is the obvious one, but it’s also the one most people underestimate. Talent matters, but it doesn’t carry you very far without repetition. Showing up every day, even when you’re tired, uninspired, or dealing with life, is what actually builds skill and momentum. Tattooing made that really clear to me early on. There’s no shortcut around time and effort.

Self-awareness has been just as important. Being able to take an honest look at your work, your habits, and how you show up in relationships is huge. It’s easy to get defensive or stay comfortable, but growth doesn’t happen there. The people who improve the fastest are the ones who can take feedback, adjust, and keep moving without taking everything personally.

And then there’s people skills, which I think gets overlooked a lot in creative industries. You can be incredibly talented, but if you don’t know how to communicate, build trust, and exist well within a team or with clients, it will limit you. A lot of what I’ve built has come from relationships, not just skill.

For anyone early in their journey, my advice would be to focus less on the end result and more on your habits. Build a routine that forces you to practice, even in small ways, every day. Seek out honest feedback, not just validation. And pay attention to how you interact with people, because your reputation is being built long before your work reaches its full potential.

If you can stay consistent, stay open to growth, and treat people well, everything else tends to fall into place over time.

How would you describe your ideal client?

My ideal client is someone who values the process as much as the final result. They don’t need to have everything perfectly figured out, but they trust me to take their idea and shape it into something that works well on the body long-term.

I tend to work best with people who are open, communicative, and collaborative. The best tattoos usually come from a shared vision, not a rigid set of instructions. If someone gives me a concept, a feeling, or even just a direction and lets me translate that through my style, that’s where the strongest work happens.

I also really appreciate clients who understand that tattooing is a craft that takes time and intention. The ones who are patient, respect the process, and aren’t looking for shortcuts always end up with better results.

Stylistically, I attract people who are drawn to black and grey, botanical, and illustrative work. People who like flow, softness, and designs that feel like they belong to their body instead of sitting on top of it.

At the end of the day, the ideal client is someone who sees this as more than just getting a tattoo. They’re here for the experience, the collaboration, and the meaning behind it. Those are always the pieces that end up mattering the most.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.instagram.com/sacred_soul_collective?igsh=NGg3OG9vNTdqdTI4&utm_source=qr
• Instagram: @wcanada_tattoos