Hey, I’m Ben Kaye aka @DBKaye. 
I’ve been tattooing for 11 years. I’m a co owner of Ship Shape Tattoo in beautiful New Zealand. Tattooing is my life and honour and I don’t mean that in a light way, honour. This trade has taken me around the world, allowed me to meet and befriend some of the most interesting people and support my wife and two kids. 

A little about my story, I was born in Manchester in the north of England, I got my first tattoo at 18 off the wall from a guy called Steve in a rainy private, smoke filled, heavy metal, Harley in the front window studio and I fell in love. Not with Steve - he was a bit of a dick - but with tattooing. At the time I was a baker but after work I spend hours building a bad portfolio, over the next few months I shopped it around the local studios with no luck. 

After a good number of rejections I had basically given up and had plans to join the army as a mechanic. My dad strongly suggested travelling first, I took that advice and with savings left for Japan. I only planned on a few months but I met a women. I stayed for 12 months. Travelling opened up my mind, making the world a lot smaller with a lot more possibilities. I still had the dream of being a tattooist, I remember tattooing my foot on a shitty desk and grapefruit constantly while in Japan. 

When I returned to Europe I started applying for apprenticeships overseas. Eventually I got one in Malaysia, It was a very quick apprenticeship and I was tattooing after three months. I stayed for a year and then went back to Europe, settling in Celle/Bergen in northern Germany. Working for an old school master by the name of Nigel Basset in a walk in studio. I learnt so much. Nigel had been tattooing 30/35 years when I started, he had stories and knowledge that I found invaluable and was the basis for where I am today. 

After three years in Germany I went to New Zealand for 6 weeks and I was sold! Came back home, sold all my stuff and I moved to New Zealand. I’ve been here 7 years to date and its the best country I’ve been to. Now settled down with my small family I run Reference87, tattoo and now make regular trips to my mate Ben Ochoa’s studio, Manor number 9 in Anaheim, CA.

I’m a realistic tattooist but I don’t feel limited by that, I don’t feel like every piece I do has to be photo realistic or even one set style. I’ve used fusion ink exclusively for 6-7 years and it genuinely changed my game, the flexibly of the colour for mixing muted tones, vibrant solid shadows or just solid bright tones. I have a few colours I pour for every tattoo; Forest Green for muting warms, Dark Magenta for making vibrant warm shadows, Dark Matter for off black tones, Pearl and Banoffee for off white mixes, Burnt Caramel because it's just badass and purple haze for the same reason. Whatever the tattoo is those mixing colours are out and ready to go. Fusions Power Black is liquid gold! Smooth solid black.

Big thank you to Fusion for the support over the years and to you for reading this.
Ben Kaye