Check Out David Groth’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to David Groth.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is David Groth, I’m a tattoo artist based in Saint Louis, Missouri. My dad used to drive me around the and city, we’d often stop to take photos of old hand-painted signage. That along with seeing graffiti in the city and on freight trains made me fall in love with lettering at an early age.

I took on a tattoo apprenticeship at the early age of 19, working to eventually get my license in 2014. I love to travel the country and work at conventions, but st. Louis is always home. I’m constantly studying and learning new things about lettering and I strive to apply everything I learn to give my clients the best tattoo.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Learning to tattoo was far from a smooth road.

I was initially offered an apprenticeship shortly after painting a mural for a local shop in exchange for my first tattoo. I was in the shop constantly and grew a relationship with the artists there.

The situation was pretty complicated, and I left that studio to follow my original mentor to a new shop. Things didn’t work out there initially, and I had to chase down my dream of becoming an artist before I ever had the chance to tattoo. I worked in 5 studios, hours apart from each other, dealing with all walks of tattooers from drug-fueled biker shops to professional appointment-only studios.

Balancing a full-time unpaid job as an apprentice, while trying to make money to live and buy my equipment was a challenge. I remember working at the shop 11 am-9 pm, then going to stock shelves 11 pm-6 is for months. I was completely immersed in it, spending any bit of extra time drawing and learning all I could. It was all worth it in the pursuit of my dream of becoming a Tattoo Artist.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m known for my custom freehand lettering, and I do black and grey tattoos as well. I enjoy doing larger scale lettering, taking up an entire area to accentuate the client’s body. I love the satisfaction my clients and I get from seeing a whole body part tattooed with a loved one’s name or a special phrase.

I work in a lot of styles of lettering and like to emphasize the overall feeling of the word/phrase with the style of letter/shading I choose. I believe this, along with my composition makes my work recognizable.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Continuing to learn and grow as an artist is very important to me. I always strive to be better than yesterday, for myself and for my clients. One of the best compliments I’ve received is “I’ve never thought of getting lettering tattooed until I saw what you can do with it.”

Being the best artist I can be and showing clients that their tattoo doesn’t have to look like “just some lettering” is what I strive for.

Pricing:

• $200/Hr

Contact Info:

• Email: dgroth314@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/thealphabetaddict
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thealphabetaddict