The sounds of bitching and moaning have reached us here atop the Skin & Ink Building in downtown Pasadena. In fact, several of the Pinups have been caught weeping in the stairwells.
It seems that the old axiom, "Fifty percent of the people automatically love you, and 50% automatically hate you, no matter what you do," is perfectly true. We give our best effort each and every issue, and yet there is still mutterings and discontent among the tattoo community for certain "transgressions" that 50% of you will probably agree with and 50% will probably rebuke.
The case in point is the criticism that too many family and friends are involved in the publication of this here magazine. Some consider our particular brand of nepotism a bad thing.
First of all, let me say that everyone from cousin Cornelius (who takes our official Skin & Ink blazers to the dry cleaner for reblocking each Monday) to Grandma Nep (who licks the special delivery stamps)—everyone pulls their own weight and is involved in the magazine because of their proven skills, not their bloodlines.
Hey, I don't hear anybody criticizing Filip Leu and the Leu Family's Family Iron for having too many members of his clan in the business!
Excuse me for being a proud poppa, but thank heaven my family has the talent it does. I bet you wouldn't dream of publishing one word of your daughter's opinions in your magazine. But I would. In fact, my daughter has a college degree, is a former rodeo barrel racing champ, sang blues in a band called the Brims, sat on Bob Robert's lap—and lived to tell about it. So there!
And, when it comes to tattooing, I've got sons that you don't even know about who lay down some pretty righteous ink. Not to mention my youngest, tattoo-apprentice son who took over the advertising sales for the magazine and tripled revenues in just four months; pulling us out of a five-year slump.
And, as for friends, we include our tattoo buddies and mentors in each issue because they are part of our extended family. We're proud to talk about them just like we'd brag about any talented kinfolk. At Skin & Ink, we feel it is our duty to let our readers know what's happening with people that we care about. And we will continue to do so. But we ain't elitist. The truth is, we make it a point to welcome new contributors each issue.
It's kind of a family values type of thing.
—Bob Baxter, Editor in Chief