​Ink and iron at Scheels Arena

Motorcycles and tattoos seem to go together. I say this as someone who has never so much as ridden a motorcycle and is too much of a sissy to get ink done (but has always admired the craft when done well and has his own fair share of inked friends). And of course I realize that not every person with tattoos rides a motorcycle, just as you don’t always necessarily have milk with your cookies. But when they come together, it seems like a match that just belongs together, doesn’t it?

That is definitely the case at the Roughrider Ink & Iron Expo presented by Sailor Jerry’s at Scheels Arena. The event is a three-day celebration of tattoos, motorcycles, and fashion, found in the Kustom Kulture movement where all ages are welcome. The third year of this event boasts a gallery of the top tattoo and body modification artists from the region and motorcycles galore both from collections and fabricators.

That is far from the only thing you can expect at the event, however. There will be on-site tattooing, tattoo contests, custom motorcycles, entertainment from Sailor Jerry’s Hula Girls and Blue Belles Burlesque and a helmet painting contest. Sickie’s Garage proudly sponsors a custom-painted helmet gallery donated by Bitwell. The helmets, all decorated by local artists, will be put up for silent auction, with all the proceeds going to Make-a-Wish North Dakota. The event will also will also host local shops Golden Needle and Amarok Tattoos, names which any local tattoo enthusiast will recognize.

The special guest artist this year is Shane Wallin, owner of both Twilight Tattoo in Minneapolis and Garnet Tattoo in San Diego, who came to the event committee’s attention through the recommendation of Amarok’s Athena Funk. Fortunately, I had the pleasure of interviewing such a talented tattoo artist and his wife before the big event, and asked him about his craft.

With 23 years in the business, Wallin is certainly no newcomer to the art of tattooing. Although he has gotten recognition for all sorts of tattoo work over the entire canvas of the human body, where Wallin has really carved out a niche for himself is tattooing over the mastectomy scars of breast cancer survivors. The surgeries to remove cancerous growths, combined with possible radiation treatments, expanders for the insertion of breast implants, and eventual scar tissue, do not leave the breasts looking the same as before, a cause of consternation and anxiety for victims of the harrowing disease.

By offering this service, which draws people who have never been tattooed, Wallin gives these women the opportunity to “leave the last mark. It’s a reinvention. You get to decide for yourself what to do with it and people find that liberating,” he said. Many survivors have used this as a way to assert their victory over the life-threatening illness.

Wallin found this niche back in 2012, when a breast cancer survivor named Shari walked into his studio. She wanted to have a lace bra pattern tattooed over her mastectomy scars. While at first he treated it like any other tattoo, as the project continued and he got to know Shari and her story of survival, he realized that this tattoo was so much more, and his and her lives changed forever.

Since then, Wallin has taken part in the P.Ink Event on several occasions, a national event that specializes in giving tattoos to cancer survivors. His San Diego shop Garnet Tattoo specializes tattooing breast cancer survivors. He said that a lot of people who have never had tattoo work done (which includes many survivors), form preconceived notions of what a tattoo parlor is like, and Wallin seeks to dispel that with private consultations about the tattooing as well as private spaces there for these tattoos to be done.

Shane’s wife Toni can also vouch for his services. She mentioned that one area in which her husband greatly excells is 3D dimple areola tattooing. Many victims of breast cancer lose one or both of their nipples in the mastectomy procedure, and this type of tattooing is meant to resemble a new one. While many hospitals offer the procedure using vegetable pigment, women often have to return three or four times to have the work redone.

Toni differentiates Shane from the many people who try to cash in on it. Her husband does this kind of tattooing at the highest level, and there are only about ten reputable artists who do this in the U.S. and Canada.

If cost is a problem, this particular kind of work is covered by NPI, which offers credits for many different kinds of insurance.

Whether you’re passionate about motorcycles and tattoos or you just want to learn more, there is hardly a better opportunity in Fargo than this event.

IF YOU GO

2016 Rough Rider Ink and Iron Expo 

October 21, 2pm-12am, Oct 22 & 23, 10am-12am 

Scheels Arena, 5225 31st Ave S, Fargo