Hi, I’m Hardik Mehta — and honestly, I never thought I’d become a tattoo artist. Life has its own plans, and as they say, time teaches you everything. Today, I’ve been tattooing at Sam Tattoo India for over eight years, but my journey started long before that.

Let’s go back about 15 years. Like most kids, I went through school with the usual mindset: study hard, get a degree, and land a job in a big multinational company. Science and drawing were my favorite subjects, and though it may sound scripted — art really was my thing. I used to draw for my friends’ school projects, participate in interschool competitions, and that’s how I unknowingly honed my skills.

Then came college. Alongside studying, I worked as a skating instructor to support my family. My daily routine was packed: teaching kids to skate in the morning, attending college, playing football, studying, and repeating it all the next day. But the pressure got to me. I failed my second year and eventually got detained due to low attendance. I tried repeating the year, but the setback had already drained my motivation. I dropped out — and yes, my friends called me a college dropout. It was embarrassing, but it pushed me to figure out what I really wanted.

After that, I moved to Goa to work at my uncle’s shopping mall. I started as a helper folding kids’ clothes and, over time, worked my way up to managing an entire department. Eventually, I became a cashier. It was during those five years in Goa that I got my first tattoo — “Maa” in Hindi on my chest — a tribute to my mom whom I hadn’t seen in years. That tattoo meant something. It marked more than just ink; it marked emotion, connection, and the beginning of something I didn’t realize back then.

Eventually, I returned to Mumbai for family and took up a job at a women’s garment startup. I was their first hire and handled everything — coordination, stock, marketing, dispatch, delivery. One day, on my younger brother’s birthday, we both decided to get tattoos. I got a tribal dragon tattoo — it cost ₹3,200 for 4 inches. That’s when it hit me: people actually pay for good art.

That thought stayed with me. I asked the artist if he’d teach me, but the cost was too high. So, I did what many aspiring artists do — I turned to YouTube. I watched countless videos, studied the craft, and even built a homemade tattoo machine using a toothbrush, motor, and pen parts. It actually worked. My younger brother saw my passion and took me to the artist who had inked his tattoo — a guy with round glasses and a long beard working in a tiny 10×10 shop. His name? Sam — the founder of Sam Tattoo India.

I showed him my sketches and the DIY machine I built. He laughed, but he saw the spark. He took me in as his first student.

From that day forward, everything changed. Under Sam’s mentorship, I learned every style — color work, black and grey, scripts, big pieces — everything. But I found my true love in blackwork: bold lines, Polynesian styles, sacred mandalas, and geometric designs. There’s something timeless and powerful in those clean, symmetrical patterns. They represent precision, balance, and energy — just like the journey that brought me here.

Tattooing is more than a job for me. It’s a passion, a purpose, and a way to leave a piece of art and emotion on someone’s skin forever. I’m grateful for every client, every design, and every step that led me from folding clothes in a store to creating meaningful tattoos at Sam Tattoo India.