- Yo Ben, what's up dude?
- What's up?
- So I'm shooting a tattoo video today, worth it style,
wanted you to help me out.
- What do you need?
- I need you to get three tattoos on your body today.
- You're out of your mind.
- I heard yes.
I don't know where that came from but somebody said yes,
from back there, for you.
We are going--
- It's not we, it's me.
- You are on your way right now
to get three different tattoos
at three drastically different price points
to find out which one is the most worth it at its price.
So my thinking is you have 100 bucks, where do you go?
- So we're not getting a cheap tattoo,
we're getting a quality tattoo that's under 100 bucks.
- Exactly.
- Is this, honestly, is this a good idea,
what we're doing right now?
- In the previous video, you did say you wanted a sleeve.
I'll roll the clip right now for people out there,
you did say that.
- I'm ready to get a full sleeve now.
- Oh, Jesus.
- I need to get something that complements the moon,
maybe stick with the space theme.
- Space Jam.
- Thinking it should be related to Peter Pan.
I want all these tattoos to mean something.
The book is just a classic piece of literature.
It helped me get through a rough time in my life.
So what simple thing can I get that's related to Peter Pan?
- You could get Peter Pan's face.
- No.
- Get a clock.
- Wait, that's not a bad idea.
That sounds detailed though.
There's the classic line second to the right,
straight on till morning.
The two stars, that's where Neverland is located.
- Oh, that's cool. - Oh, I like that.
- And it goes with the space theme and it's not Space Jam.
- Hey I'm telling you, Michael Jordan, Bugs Bunny.
- Hey, my name's Patrick, we're at Tattoo Lounge in Venice.
One of the original shops in Venice, almost 23 years.
- we have 100 bucks,
we wanna get a tattoo for that much money,
can we do that here?
- Yeah, easily, our minimum is $80.
- Do you have a particular style?
- I do watercolor work but I do a lot of black work style.
So a lot of illustrative stuff,
get a lot of good texturing in it.
- What makes it a good tattoo?
- A tattoo is gonna hold well or not hold well.
And that's all in the craftsmanship,
on how you handle your tools, how you put lines in,
all those things go into the actual tattoo
standing the test of time.
- So I wanna get the two stars that Peter refers to
when he's telling Wendy where Neverland is located.
- We can keep that idea
but maybe dress it up just a touch.
And that way, you get something
with a little bit more character, a little bit more flair,
really feel like you're spending your money
in the right place.
- I like the sound of that, yeah.
- Yeah, let's do it.
(rock music)
- All right, so I'm facetiming Annie now.
I'm getting the stencils.
- [Annie] I dig it.
- This is the master behind it.
- [Annie] Hi, please make him look good, please.
- All right, enough.
There's a subtle pain the whole time,
it's like a two out of 10.
Gentlest hands on the boulevard,
is that what they call them?
- That's right.
Honestly, my clients made it up.
- That is exactly what I was going for.
Dude thank you so much. - My pleasure.
- I could not be happier with how this turned out,
you killed it.
Jared, what do you think?
Do you have any desire to get a tattoo now?
- [Jared] Yeah, I'd do it.
I wanna get my daughter's name on me.
- Do you have time to give another tattoo?
- Yeah, I got time.
(rock music)
- Boom.
- Yeah. - Got it.
- You looked extremely happy getting that tattoo.
- I can't imagine
having a better tattoo experience than that.
- Feel this bad boy up.
Tattoo fact.
Mandy Moore, she has a tattoo of sperm
in commemoration of her male band mates 10 years ago.
I'm just gonna say hopefully she lost a bet.
- Maybe I'll have a sperm swimming into the moon.
- All right, to the next spot then.
- Let's do it.
- We're five minutes away from Body Electric.
- I wanna do something else that was inspiring.
The classic Gene Wilder Willy Wonka.
And I'm thinking of getting the elevator
that they crash through the ceiling at the end in
soaring through outer space.
- That's so cool.
- It's cool but it sounds big and painful.
- Worth it.
- Body Electric's been here about 25 years
and I have been here five of those years.
- How do you tell a good tattoo from a bad tattoo?
- Not enough people trust.
That is the number one element of getting an amazing tattoo.
The moment somebody stops trusting or puts doubt in my head,
then the doubt festers.
- You had some ideas, though, about what you wanted to do.
- In the end of the movie,
the elevator shoots through the glass ceiling
and I wanted this to be
like the elevator making its way into space.
- Sounds like a great idea.
- So let's say it takes like two hours.
- It would work out to about $400, give or take,
just depending on where the time lies
with me actually executing everything.
It is gonna take a little bit of preparation.
- That's perfect.
And then we're gonna build some space galaxy elements
around that.
God, what am I doing?
Holy shit.
Looks freakin' awesome.
Holy--
Are we done?
- We're done.
- Dude this is unbelievable.
Check this out.
I'm on cloud nine right now.
My girlfriend's facetiming right now.
- It looks awesome, you're so badass.
- Look at that.
- $400 put to very good use.
- Dude, I'm not gonna be able to hide this from my grandma.
- I kinda feel bad, this thing is on your arm
for the rest of your life.
- Stop feeling bad
or you're gonna make me doubt that it's cool.
- It is cool, it's just, what are you doing?
- What the fu--
it was your idea.
- I know, but I didn't think you would go for it.
- What the fuck am I doing here then?
- I don't know, dude, why are we here?
Tattoo fact.
Four out of 10 millennials have gotten a tattoo.
- Yeah, that doesn't surprise me.
- Okay, so the last place we're going to,
we're actually not gonna go to today.
Here's the thing.
This last place,
the highest end tattoo you could possibly get.
There was a very, very, very large waiting list.
Fortunately, I was able to squeeze you into their schedule
but we can't get it today.
- Good.
Let's take our time with this.
Thank you, Steven, I never thought I would say that today
but thank you.
All right, where the hell are you taking me?
- We're going to the final spot here.
It's a private studio, invite only,
his wait list is up to a year long.
- Damn.
- Yeah, and he managed to squeeze us into his schedule.
So we're going to the consultation right now
where he's gonna decide if he wants to work with you or not.
- I'm game.
Hi. - Hi.
- How are you?
- Hello, how are you.
Steven.
- Steven, nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
- How's it going, Ben. - Ben, nice to meet you.
You guys want a drink, you can make up an old fashioned.
We're not tattooing today, obviously, so cheers, man.
- Cheers.
- to start the night.
- How would you describe your style.
- I hand draw every single person's tattoo that I do.
I do like to create a tattoo that looks like a piece of art
or a painting and it's just translated onto the skin.
- [Steven] What is your process?
- I'm only gonna be really willing to work with
a project that I'm really stoked about,
just for the benefit of the client.
- After looking around, this seems to me like the place
I would like to get my next piece done.
- Once we get inside, we'll be able to talk
and hash out things.
Let's go ahead and start it up.
Generally, I only allow the client in with the consultation.
- I would prefer to just talk with Scott one on one,
no offense.
- Okay, cool.
Yeah, come on in. - Thank you.
- you had this moon already, correct?
That's why they have placed this here.
- Right, exactly.
- There's open space up there and that way,
it will feel like a complete almost half sleeve.
You got a lot of free-flowing stuff.
There's some really structured things in here
but it would be good
to have some really strong structure up there,
with some open skin, maybe aspect of time.
- The time aspect goes in with the Peter Pan element.
- Is there anything else,
I mean, when you're digging down in,
that's super impactful in your life.
- My aunt passed away unexpectedly last year,
if I was to give you images of her eyes--
- Awesome.
- And we could build the eyes into the centerpiece
with a clock somehow--
- Now we're getting somewhere.
- A lot of people
try to talk you out of pursuing a creative field
but she was like "Ben, listen to yourself",
she was the human embodiment of joy,
and if we were to use my aunt as that centerpiece.
- Yes, that's what I've been waiting to hear.
This is something I would be totally willing to create.
I'm stoked. - Me too.
- You'll get a drawing in your email box
at least three days prior to your appointment.
- [Steven] He emailed you his design?
- Yeah, he did. - I'm ready to see it.
- oh my god.
He's got space in the background, keeping with the--
I'm gonna like, cry right now.
That is fucking spectacular.
- Yeah, I'm just looking to make sure
everything is solid in the design.
'Cause I'm about to execute this piece of artwork.
'Cause I did the drawing
and then I have Jane do the stencil.
That is now a 2D flat dimensional piece of paper
and we're wrapping that around a cylinder or a cone.
In your case, a deltoid.
Wait.
Straight from there.
Oh yeah, dude, this is gonna be good.
- Yeah?
- It's working well.
- Holy shit, what do you think Steven?
- [Steven] I'll give you an honest opinion.
Yeah, this is awesome.
- Oh shit.
- It's very cool.
- Got the girlfriend's approval, which is always nice.
It's big, it's badass, let's do this thing, I'm in 100%.
The painful part has not begun,
I'm just here trying to meditate through the process.
- I'm making stuff up as I go.
- Oh yeah, any new additions I should know about?
- Maybe, you'll see.
- It's also nice
that there's these musical notes incorporated
because my brother's best friend, Johnny, was a DJ.
He was at that fire in the Oakland warehouse
and he passed away.
So I'm taking one of these musical notes,
placing his meaning into that note,
so it's like I'll have Johnny with me as well as my aunt.
- I ended up getting this eye finished here,
this section's gonna be the bulk
and we'll be done in a couple hours.
- I see myself the way the tattoo is.
It's like my insides are now visible
on the outside of my body.
- Coming on the last few marks here, buddy.
All right, done dude.
- Right about at the six hour mark.
It's amazing, I have my aunt with me forever on my arm now.
I didn't think it was possible but you did it,
thank you so much.
- [Scott] It's there, man.
- How much does this tattoo cost?
- The price of that piece comes out to $875 out the door.
- I'll take it.
I guess I don't really have any choice at this point.
- No, you do not.
- Which tattoo at its given price point
was worth it the most?
- Body electric, we had Mike, who did an amazing job
of bringing the wonka-vator onto my arm.
- It deserves to be
one of the truly classic tattoo parlors in L.A.
They give you a pretty affordable price.
- And you can walk in there, day of,
and get that done sometimes.
- That's amazing.
- My experience with Speakeasy Tattoo stands out.
The piece of art is just so original
and we took so much time
and this piece happens to also be the most impactful to me,
I have to say that that's the most worth it.
You can't put a price tag on a permanent shirt
that I just got put on.
- That kind of passion, it did for a second make me think
should I get a tattoo and then I was like no, no tattoo.
But the only place that made me think that
was Speakeasy Tattoo.
- So that's your winner?
- No. - No?
- It's not. - Oh, shoot.
- My worth it winner actually goes to Tattoo Lounge.
- I'm a wimp,
that guy has the gentlest hands on the boulevard,
I would go there.
I'm not getting a tattoo by the way,
I'm never getting a tattoo.
- We get it, we get it.
- Have fun with your tattoos.
- Thank you for this.
- What, no, no, I'm not gonna take that.
- All right, don't, 'cause I don't mean it.
- All right, get out of my car.
- A tattoo this size is usually something
that I try to do in a couple of sessions
but I mean, you didn't wanna do that so here we are, man.