Thom Grayson:

Tattooing is my first love. From the time I was probably 12 or 13 years old I started drawing really terrible tribal tattoos on my arms and legs, and soon after began dreaming of being on the business end of process. I grew up in a small town on the Puget Sound with beautiful views and awesome fishing, and when I turned 18 I made the long drive to Milwaukie, OR to get my first tattoo from an awesome new shop called Pussycat. That was the beginning of the end, as they say, and I knew instantly the path my life was going to take.

I had always been somewhat artistically inclined, and spent countless hours as a kid drawing epic Spiderman and X-Men scenes. Comic books helped shape a lot of my ability, as did the boredom of growing up in the middle of nowhere. But nothing has helped (or forced) me to grow as an artist more than tattooing. And in turn, nothing has helped my tattooing more than working for Pussycat, now ten years after that first roadtrip. After an arduous journey through Oregon's odd system of "tattoo schools" which has taken over the traditional apprenticeship, I feel amazingly lucky to have landed with an outstanding team of artists and individuals who make sure that I learn something new every day, without fail.