Tattoo artists on Costa del Sol are needled by proliferation of 'illegal' competition

Contrary to what it may seem, the tattoo sector is not at its best. Despite having evolved to become a universal practice (there is rarely a person who does not have a tattoo), businesses are going through a period of slowdown, caused solely and exclusively by unfair competition: tattooists with hardly any training who tattoo at home, without complying with the strict health regulations that govern this activity.

Without a studio to pay rent for, nor proper registration, which would require the materials used to comply with regulations, illegal 'artists' offer their services at much lower prices and their clientele grows. Of course, the risks for the clients are much greater in this case.

Miguel Ángel Gálvez, artistically known as 'McCoy', is the president of the national union of professional tattooists and piercers (Untap). He is also the founder and owner of Tattoo Stone - the oldest studio in Malaga, which opened its doors in 1994.

"When we opened, there was only one foreigner tattooing in Torremolinos and no one else. We were the first Spaniards to open a studio," he said. "It is true that the market has grown a lot: companies have been doing very well for a few years, but now the income is going down. All costs have gone up and we have a serious problem with illegal tattooists," he said. Untap has recently drawn up a report on this issue, concluding that in Malaga, for every legal studio that is open, there are five tattooists operating illegally in flats that do not meet the health and hygiene conditions required by the regulations. "This is very similar to the situation in Seville, while the one in Madrid is even worse," McCoy said.

It is a problem that starts at the grassroots. The oldest-serving tattoo professionals got a licence after a long training process, achieved through extensive courses that included teaching about the health regulations they must respect. All of them also went through an apprenticeship, guided by a more senior master, with at least two years of professional experience. In addition, all of them are people who have always been interested in drawing and who have demonstrated excellent skills in the field.

"Now they do courses of just a few days and are told that it is not necessary to be able to draw in order to tattoo, that everything is done with a tablet. When they go out into the world of work, some try to open studios and see that they can't do it, so they go to flats. In a shop open to the public, everything has to be legal and it is compulsory to use sterilised products with every client. In a legal business, every time we sit down to tattoo, we certainly spend 40 euros on average in fixed costs, if everything is done correctly. In a flat, you depend on the ethics and knowledge of the tattooist. If they charge you a quarter, they are not using the materials that the Junta de Andalucía has determined as safe. The problem is that, in addition, those who work in flats promote themselves on social media and have the same marketing as any legal studio," said McCoy.

The president of Untap also said that the professional organisation has brought this issue to the attention of local councils and regional authorities, but "they continue to operate with total impunity", while "those who are open to the public are still the ones undergoing health inspections".

He also said that, by striving to save a few euros, a client could face a serious health problem. "Hepatitis can remain on the surface of the skin for up to 15 days or a month," he said, insisting on the importance of thorough disinfection after each client.

Alberto Ramírez 'Fido' is the manager of Fido Tattoo - a studio that has been open in Mijas for 24 years. At the moment, there are three tattoo artists working there. "We have had better times, with more staff and more work. Now we have a reduced staff. It's true that we are considered a reference in this area, but there are many clients who don't think it through and get tattooed in an illegal flat to save money," he said.

Fido stated that people who work from their home are people with hardly any training. "They are being told that they can become superstars after a quick course, which is actually just an initiation into the craft. You can't learn a profession in a week."

He said that there are more and more such courses and less and less vocational training, which is offered by Untap. "There are different proper courses every year and the people who do them are serious - people who have been in the sector for years, going to conventions, seminars, giving conferences, very prestigious tattooists."

Fido also took the opportunity to clarify the misinformation regarding the negative consequences of tattoos that appears from time to time. "In my 24 years of work, I have never met anyone who has had problems with pigments, and I have done 16,000 tattoos."

Tomy Loeb is the manager of TNT Marbella - a studio opened in 1999, where he arrived as an apprentice 15 years ago. He spent two years there, simply learning from a strict teacher. He barely earned any money during his training, but he knew the objective he was pursuing and always moved forward with conviction. "The apprentice phase has been lost, now kids want to know everything in a month," he said.

TNT's clientele has a somewhat particular profile compared to the clients of the rest of the studios in Malaga province. "They are clients with very high purchasing power, who are not usually in Spain all year round. They tend to have a house here and book their appointments for the day before they return home, because it is much more expensive to get a tattoo in their country than here."

One of the areas of this business that has experienced significant growth is tattoo removal. Tomy said that social media, fads and illegal artists have done a lot of damage and that there are many people who want to remove a tattoo they got years ago and now don't feel comfortable with.