As a way of thinking and perception, tattoo came to me somewhere after the age of fourteen, when I went to Nico Tattoo for my first body piercing. In the beginning, being influenced by my older friends, I was thinking of having a tattoo that symbolizes something about BMX. Four years later, I started working as a body piercer at Nico Tattoo and started to understand that tattoo is an art in harmony with the body. So I decided to get something beautiful rather than something symbolic. Thomas Gramm did my first tattoo and it is a skull with a peony behind my left calf. Two more tattoos followed by the same artist under the same concept and tattoo style; a koi fish on my right leg, which was awarded as the "Best of show" in Alkmaar, Netherlands, as well as another koi on my right leg that won the "Best large tattoo" award at the same convention. My largest tattoo is made by Nikos Katsoulis and it is a dragon, which covers my right flank and leg. Most of the tattoo has been designed straight on my body by marker.
Name: Stefanos Kotridis
Profession: Piercer, Modification Artist.
Residence: Thassaloniki.
How many tattoos do you have?
Five. In the future they are going to be merged into one.
Which artist(s) did your tattoos?
Nico (Nikos Katsoulis), Thomas Gramm, Rinzing, Peter Mario Phill.
Which tattoo is your first and which one was your latest?
My first one was a skull on the back of my left leg made by Thomas Gramm and my latest one is a shell right next to it.
Which tattoo is your favourite and why?
I love them all very much, however the larger one stands a bit above, because it covers more surface and it “hugs” my body.
Which tattoo artist do you admire?
Filip Leu.
Which tattoo style do you like best?
Japanese.
Do you regret getting any of your tattoos, if so why?
Νο!
Have you done a cover up and if so what exactly?
No, never.
Have tattoos affected your life? If so, in what way?
My life is “within” tattoo, thereby tattoos definitely affect it, either directly or indirectly.
Do you have an activity of yours that you would like to mention?
BMX.
Photos by Ino Mei.
