Los Angeles and Miami aren't the only cities where you can get a top-notch tattoo.
The Loveliest Village on the Plains has a new custom tattoo shop, thanks to entrepreneurs Aaron Pollack and Mitch Gooden, co-owners of Flying Tiger Body Modification, which opened Sept. 15th.
The shop is open Tuesday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Gooden and Pollack are proud of the student-centered services they offer in the orange-and-blue shop on South College Street.
Pollack does all the tattoo work, while Gooden handles the piercings.
A student I.D. will get a 10 percent discount on piercings, and any collegiate-related ink will earn a 30 percent discount.
"Business has been steady enough," Gooden said. "We tried an away-game special, and people took advantage of it."
With TV shows like TLC's "L.A. Ink" and "Miami Ink," tattoos seem to have become more popular in the U.S.
Gooden said this phenomenon is just the United States catching up to other parts of the world.
"Cultures have (tattoos as) rites of passage across the world and throughout time--it's something human," he said.
Both artists advise thinking carefully about getting a tattoo.
"It's the only thing you'll buy that'll last forever," Pollack said. "There are a lot of fake shops out there. Do your research. Make wise decisions."
Pollack also mentioned looking at a shop's record of safety and cleanliness before getting work done.
The craziest tattoo Pollack's ever done?
"I've tattooed a guy's entire face before," he said. "That's pretty crazy."
The artists advocate custom designs, instead of copying work, to encourage one's individuality.
Although it is sparsely decorated now, Flying Tiger Body Modification will soon be filled with photos of happy, custom-inked and freshly pierced patrons of the South College shop.
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