EZRAH DORMON: I really love that I can help commemorate that moment in their life.
That they get to share their story with me and I get to share it with the world.
COMM: 12-year-old Ezrah Dormon is amongst
the youngest traditional tattoo artist in the world. He has only been studying the traditional
style for six months and has already tattooed 25 people.
EZRAH DORMON: When I started to tattoo, I
felt like this was something that I was really going to love and this was something that
I was going to be able to dedicate myself to.
EZRAH DORMON: My first tattoo was on my mom,
so it’s a very special moment that I, that I got to do.
WYNTER DORMON: Getting tattooed by Ezrah first
was a surprise. That wasn’t a plan so, it was one of those moments where I was like,
“All right, let’s try it.” I was looking at his little tiny hand and I thought, “Wow,
I will never forget this moment. Here is my little boy who just turned 12, tattooing me."
It was, it’s very strange the whole plethora of emotions that you go
through with something like that.
COMM: Today, Ezrah and his mentor Ali have arranged a consultation to help a client decide
what tattoo she wants to get.
ALI GARCIA: So, it will be something like this.
DOMINIC RIOS: Okay, I think so, yeah. ALI GARCIA: Okay then.
DOMINIC RIOS: I want to get this little rose button right here.
EZRAH DORMON: Okay. ALI GARCIA: You can do that, right?
EZRAH DORMON: I can do that. ALI GARCIA: Okay, I want you to sit and draw this.
EZRAH DORMON: No, no, wait I have a question.
ALI GARCIA: Where are you going to get it? You can get it here.
EZRAH DORMON: And how big is it going to be? ALI GARCIA: That big.
EZRAH DORMON: But, is it just this? ALI GARCIA: Just this, with one leaf.
EZRAH DORMON: Well, the way that I started
training as a tattoo artist is that my mentor Ali, she would tell me that I would have to
draw every day and I would have to practise tattooing on fruits, mostly grapefruits.
WYNTER DORMON: Ali has spent many, many, many
hours with him while they draw, while they paint, teaching him about the hygiene, teaching
him how to put the machine together, teaching him how to set up the studio and take pride
in his face and everything that it’s going to take for him to be a great tattoo artist one day.
EZRAH DORMON: She is very strict with me and I think that helps me a lot because I make
sure that, like, I stay on task and she wants to, for me to be able to do it correctly.
DOMINIC RIOS: I heard about Ezrah, I saw that
he was tattooing, you know on Instagram and social media. I think he is going places.
I think the passion he has for what he is doing is amazing. I think I’m going to get
a rose, a rose button tattooed. But I’m still talking with him, I’m still, you know,
we’re still... we’re still checking it out.
WYNTER DORMON: I am trying to keep Ezrah’s
tattooing, his school work and his childhood all in a place that is balanced and that he
is having fun with.
WYNTER DORMON: A lot of tattoo artists believe that you can’t call yourself a tattoo artist
until you get a tattoo. But you’re in a real conundrum because first of all, in most
places it is illegal for him to have a tattoo.
DOMINIC RIOS: Yeah. WYNTER DORMON: Second of all, he is too little
to have a tattoo. So what is the right medium?
LADY: Do you like tattoos? EZRAH DORMON: Oh yeah.
LADY: For you? EZRAH DORMON: Maybe when I’m older. Maybe,
like, when I’m 21. LADY: That’s cool.
EZRAH DORMON: Yeah.
BRIAN SMITH: I heard about Ezrah through my son and I wasn’t nervous because I knew,
based on the reports that this young man is very talented.
EZRAH DORMON: I don’t really have a style
right now. I just stick with traditional. Maybe over the years as I keep tattooing,
I’ll develop my own style that will actually become unique.
BRIAN SMITH: Starting at this young age, he has nowhere to go
but up and at the level he is right now, watch out world, here comes Ezrah.
EZRAH DORMON: Ali? ALI GARCIA: You did a great job today. I’m very proud.