Maverick Spotlight Artist: Das Frank
Das Frank
📍 Las Vegas, NV
@das.frank.ink / @das.frank.inc
Get ready to meet Frank, a Las Vegas tattoo artist with a story as unique and vibrant as his art! While he might jokingly blame "getting drunk" for his entry into the tattoo industry, Frank's passion for tattooing actually sparked back in 1998 after his 18th birthday tattoo.
Fast forward to 2003 in Las Vegas, and a chance encounter at The House of Brews with fellow artist Dano laid the groundwork for his incredible journey. Frank, who was pursuing his Masters in Fine Arts at UNLV, quickly transitioned his artistic talents to the skin, learning the ropes from Dano before embarking on his own path.
Specializing in bringing complex custom tattoo ideas to life – like the epic alien, Godzilla, and Alice in Wonderland leg sleeve you'll read about – Frank is a master of turning challenging tattoo projects into meaningful, show-stopping pieces. Dive into his world as he shares insights on overcoming industry hurdles, and some truly golden life advice!
What made you realize you wanted to be a tattoo artist?
I got drunk. That’s the short answer I usually give when asked that question but really I had been interested in tattooing since getting my first tattoo on my 18th birthday in the summer of 1998. By the time I moved to Vegas for graduate school in 2003 I was covered in ‘em.
I used to hang out at a bar near campus called The House of Brews and it was there I met Dano. At the time we were bar friends, it wasn’t like we were hanging out at each other’s house every other night but if we were at the bar we were drinking together. I knew he tattooed and one night, out of the blue, I said, “I wish I learned how to tattoo. I think I might have been alright at it.” He asked me what I’d did for work now and I told him I was getting my Masters in Fine Arts at UNLV to which he said, “Alright, show up on Saturday. I’ll teach you.” I showed up on Saturday and he started teaching me. A year and a half later he cut me loose and told me to figure out the rest.
Ok, so this guy is sitting in with his brother who was getting a tattoo out of his jeep. While we’re plugging along on this jobber he starts chatting me up about an outline he had on his leg that no one wants to work with. The tattoo was special to him and he wanted to find somebody to finish it but everyone he had spoken to up to that point only wanted to cover it. I asked to see what he was working with and it turned out to be an alien holding a ray-gun hot rodding in a flying saucer. Rad. I told him I’d be more than happy to handle it for him but then he asked if I was willing to handle the rest of his ideas and make it into one cohesive piece? It turns out not only did he want the alien finished but he also wanted a Godzilla for his son, an Alice from the Disney animated movie for his daughter and to hide his wife’s name in there somewhere.
I said no problem. So now this cat has a piece wrapping his lower leg of an hot rodding alien battling it out with Godzilla, who is destroying a city, while Alice is being beamed up into the saucer. A slew of saucers are now in the spacey nebula sky, kidnapping cattle and the wife’s name is a busted road sign in the demolished cityscape. It is easily on of my favorite projects in the last 20 years.
One challenge you've had to overcome in the industry and how it has impacted you?
When I started tattooing, the biggest advancement in tattoo technology was still electricity. A lot of the supplies and equipment were time tested and definitely got the job done. In the last 10 years or so the technology has grown by leaps and bounds and separating the legitimately brilliant advancements from the snake oil has become an endless endeavor. I will be a happy man if I never have to sit through another sales pitch trying to get me to sell another repackaged bottle lubriderm named after an emotional state and a random mammal.
Anything else you'd like to share?
If you ever drop your keys in a river of molten lava just let ‘em go man because they are gone.
