Spiritual Journey Tattoo

"Me and my partner finally came in for an appointment for a tattoo, which we booked months out and traveled many hours to attend. When we got to the appointment, the front of house was very nice and welcoming. However, my artist (Elle) was late to the appointment, and it seemed as if he didn't want to be there and was foisting as much work onto the other artists or apprentices as possible. I was upfront from the beginning on how much money I had, due to the fact we were traveling and we only could get so much out of ATMs, and we felt uncomfortable traveling with large amounts of cash. The apprentice was very kind, but the drawing of the tattoo took hours before it even got to the tattooing stage, which keep in mind I just got the basic design because we knew of the time and money constraints. She began hand poking the tattoo, and I let her know I'm staying with friends and have to drive several hours back. She then put away the hand poking, and the other artist began. He was kind at first, but then people came, and he said, 'I'm letting him finish this part while I handle some business.' He then made another tattoo artist (Joseph) finish the outlines, and the other artist was very kind. He was fine with me asking a lot of questions and kept me updated on what things were looking like and what he was doing and how far along we were, which made things a lot more bearable. After he finished up the framing, I was faint and not feeling too well. We took five, and the main artist began again. He was kind at first, but when I asked several times 'how are we looking,' not in an effort to upset, pressure, or make him feel rushed (because this was my first big tattoo, and I was in a lot of pain and felt a bit dizzy, which I tried to explain to him), he flipped out on me in a pretty angry voice and stormed out to smoke a cigarette, saying 'I killed the vibe' and that I was rushing him. I immediately apologized because this was completely not my intent. I felt horrible about the situation and just wanted to leave. I felt very bad and uncomfortable. When he came back in, my partner tried to defuse the situation by saying she got where he was coming from, but she didn't think he meant it that way and he was just in pain. He then got upset again and took another break. He finished a few more panels, but the attitude towards me made me mentally feel I couldn't do it and couldn't be there anymore. He then offered to finish the rest of the piece for free so he could get pictures of the piece finished, but I only had enough money for what I had done and didn't want to cheap him out of his work, so me and my partner paid and left. I felt horrible about the situation, but the artist didn't make me feel safe or comfortable with the situation. I kept apologizing while the apprentice cleaned me up, and she was very kind and understanding. I wish I would've experienced more of that from the artist I worked with. Overall, what could've been a very pleasant experience left me feeling traumatized and upset. Now every time I look at my tattoo I’m reminded of this upsetting experience. This has soured my opinions on tattoos in general, and I'm unsure if I will ever get another after this."

"Amazing tattoo shop specializing in Filipino and Polynesian Tribal tattoos. Great skills and work. I always recommend them to family and friends considering Tribal tattoos."

"This shop is responsible for founding the Philippine traditional/tribal tattoo movement since over 20 years ago. They were given the blessing of Whang-od, and their methods give honorable respect to the ancient ways. They trained various indigenous tattooists globally. Most indigenous tattooists today were trained by this community. I can confidently say you likely won’t get better traditional/tribal tattoo anywhere else. I personally had my “chart of patterns” prepared, which is a service the shop provides for those who want as authentic of an experience as possible. It includes in-depth research of your ancestry and life experience so the patterns you get for your tattoos are most true to what you’d have as an indigenous person. It was an extremely moving process and I cannot recommend it enough!"

"Never thought I would see this shop...this home is so rich with cultural value and what appears to be a tight knit family, it was a blessing to have experienced seeing/being there with my own eyes. There is so much to learn and be grateful for. Hopefully this is the first of many times I cross into the threshold of this establishment. It was an honor to have met you all. 10/10"

"AMAZING! My first tattoo experience = all around amazing experience due to the friendly and super talented artists at Spiritual Journey Tattoo! Zel is a fantastic artist, she was so patient answering all my questions. Zel didn't rush and kept checking in with me to make sure I was comfortable or whether I needed a break. It's amazing how much she did in less than five hours. I also appreciated how she warned me ahead of time of the more "delicate/painful" sections, like the armpit area. This was all freehand and I honestly don't know how Zel was able to keep things so aligned, but she did. She has freakin' awesome skills!! It's a total family vibe at this place! Everyone there was super friendly, each checked in to make sure I was good (several times during the process). Joseph did all my family history research and went over the self-care stuff (dos/donts). Elle was super cool and quite the funny guy, it was a treat to chat with him. I also appreciated the decorations and ambiance of Spiritual Journey, loved the numerous wooden carvings, masks, and other art pieces and weapons that littered the walls. Elle even gave me some good tips on some best/legit sources to buy a Panabas and Kampilan! I can't wait to come back in a couple of months to finish the rest of my right arm and to get another left armband done. Maraming Salamat, Spiritual Journey!"