It's all skin to him

MOSES LAKE — Tattoos have always appealed to Brad Payne.

He remembered being a little kid and seeing veteran military men with tattoos.

"I always thought that was really cool," he said. "I'd always look at it and be like, 'Oh, wow, I want to get one of those when I get older.' I did my first tattoo on myself when I was like 12 years old, I think."

Deadline Demographics, Payne's new tattoo business, located in the back of what is presently the Golden Pharoah (eventually to become Tattoo Zombie), located at 118 E. Third Ave.

Payne said he wanted to pursue the art side of tattooing.

"A lot of times, it's personal when you're tattooing somebody — they're getting something for a loved one that's passed away, or something like that," he said.

Growing up in Moses Lake, Payne followed his brothers in listening to punk rock music.

"I was always the weird kid in school," he said, adding with a chuckle, "I'd rather draw than do my homework, and stuff like that, but I wanted to keep on doing that. I didn't want to be a part of society that was just blah and mainstream, and I wanted to use a talent to make money for my family."

For Payne, a tattoo is that one thing on a person's body that the person chooses, think is beautiful, and can make them feel better. Several of his female customers have come in to get tattoos to cover their stretch marks, he said as an example, and a week later, they're showing off their stomachs to display the tattoo.

Payne moved away from Moses Lake for about two years to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he served an apprenticeship to become a tattoo artist.

"It's a really hard industry to get into," he shared. "There's a lot of people that kind of have that rock star mentality where they're better than everybody else and they don't want to let anybody in."

While the majority of Payne's customers are repeats or people who have gotten a tattoo before, Payne advised coming in and talking with the artist to come up with ideas, give a few days to think it over, and see the art beforehand.

"Sometimes I have customers that come in, sit down in the chair and they say, 'Do whatever you want to do,'" he said. "Once we have some sort of a theme that they're going with, then I can make it work for them."

For first-timers, Payne advised giving it some thought.

"It's going to be on your body for the rest of your life, so make sure it's something that you really want, and not just something that everybody else is doing," he said.

Placement is also important. Payne said one customer wanted tribal tattoos on his hand, and he sent him home, asking him to think it over for a week.

"You're not going to be a tattoo artist, so it's kind of hard to get a job when you've got tattoos on your hands, or face, or neck. It's getting better and better, as far as people realizing that you can still be a good worker and have tattoos."

They should also definitely check that the artist is using disposable needles only once and has an autoclave to sterlize. Payne has a certificate in blood-borne pathogens training, which assures that he knows what he's doing and is not spreading disease.

Payne's own tattoos mostly draw positive response from curious people. When he does get the negative response, he tries to defer that by explaining that he's a walking advertisement for his tattoo art.

Payne chose to remain in Moses Lake for his customers, with good word of mouth being the primary source of his business, and to stay near his family and friends. He works from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and by appointment, the better to spend time with his wife of three years, Michelle, and their almost 2-year-old son, Chance Danger Payne.

"I'm not going to let anything ever take away from time with my family," he said.

As far as unusual requests, Payne noted that for a while he was tattooing on the inside of ears, such as little stars.

"I've seen it all, I've done it all," he said. "There's nothing unusual for me anymore. Just like a doctor's office, when someone goes into a physical or whatever.

"Whether they're tall, skinny or fat and short, I don't look at it any different. It's all skin to me. I try not to make anybody feel uncomfortable."

And the city has made him feel comfortable. Payne thanked Moses Lake for being open-minded and not shutting its doors to art.

"I think art is very important, it's a release for people, whether it's tattoos or music," he said. "Art's the only way to make it through life and be happy. If we didn't have those releases like music and art, I don't think our culture would be the same."