E: I think I have to get a tattoo from you. Do you go to conventions?

Tom: (He just smiled) Yes, I go to conventions, like Dunstable, USA, Switzerland and especially Karlsruhe, where my friends are, and I work myself, too. It’s always an event and you meet a lot of interesting people. I mean at all conventions in general. I talk to colleagues who I know or who I’ve worked next to at other conventions, when these things started a decade ago. These conventions are also open to a wider audience. It offers a good overview of professional work and the possibility to get in nice contact with the artists behind the artwork. It’s a gleaming world of different characters who enjoy that same cult: Tattoos. Tattoos. Tattoos.

E: I really can tell now, you love tattooing, I hear it with any sentence you say.

Tom: Yes, that’s true. It’s never boring and I’ve never lived on welfare (laughs again) or was without a job.

E: What do you think about facial tattoos?

Tom: Absolutely nothing! You don’t have to go out and force everyone to accept something they don’t understand. I don’t even understand it. OK? I believe that the face and hands must stay tattoo free. I don’t do any facial tattoos except beautymarks, eyebrows and permanent eyeliner. I don’t like lip-conturing. I’m not a fan of tattoos on hands except when their made to cover-up a bad one. You can tattoo your whole body but if you leave your face and hands free you can completely cover them up if you want to travel incognito.

E: Thanks a lot Major Tom. I hope you visit us again when your’re back in London.

“THE LEADERS WERE CARRIED ON PALANQUINS. EVERYTHING WAS SHOWED IN SLOW MOTION. YOU COULD SEE THEM SITTING ABOVE, WITH THEIR ALL- OVER BODY TATTOOS. ACCORDING TO OLD YAKUZA TRADITION. SILENT AND PROUD.”