I was going to join the navy the military seemed to be where the opportunities were and I didn't want to be stuck in Waiouru for five years so I sat the (navy) exams and passed, got accepted, and there were a few months before the final medical. I was working in a footwear company punching out soles with "Made in New Zealand" on them and decided to get a tattoo. I'd seen my Samoan uncles' tattoos and always wanted one. It was a really big deal - cost me half my week's wages. I went up to K'Rd and didn't think about the pain then when it started I was like "holy hell". That was it. I wanted to be a tattooist.
3. Were you artistic?
I loved drawing. It started with my neighbour. He and I would be running around or whatever and his mum would slap a big roll of newsprint on the table with a box of crayons to keep us quiet. I loved it, and won the ASB competition for drawing at school. Got a book voucher. No one else in my family was an artist or anything. My kids aren't into it. I saw my old neighbour recently though. He's an architect now, in London, and has been doing big developments in China.
4. How did you get your first job?
I asked the guy who'd done my tattoo how I could get into it and he just said "go for it". I wasn't sure what that meant. But there was another shop in Mt Albert and I went and got a couple done there then pestered the owner. One night the guy drawing his stencils was away and there were people queuing so I said I could do it for him. Next day he asked if I wanted to be an apprentice. I think it depends how determined you are. I was already working out how to build the machine so I could start up for myself.
5. You look very Chinese: what's that heritage?
Ah yeah. I'm starting to look a bit Fu Manchu. I trim it like that. My grandfather originally was a plantation worker, brought to Samoa by the Germans to work. I remember my grandfather when I was a kid, he used to chef in Pitt St and I would hang off his apron strings in the back of the Chinese restaurants. I can remember the clang of the woks and the mahjong and my grandfather used to smoke opium. I can remember his stained handkerchiefs from the opium residue.
6. Have you ever tried opium?
I don't do drugs of any kind. Never really have. I smoked a bit of pot when I was a kid but I stopped because I couldn't concentrate on the tattooing. One customer got me stoned and I'd just forget what I was doing. My career's more important to me. I've seen a lot of tattooists come and go through drugs, or crashing their motors when they're off their faces.
7. What about your children?
They aren't really into that either. They drink but that's about it. My older son Steven is 24 and a lawyer in a firm in Shortland St. He got a double major in commerce and law at university. Then I've got Millen who's 18 and Tenneal who's 16. I'm still with their mum Annette. I split from Steven's mum when he was 3. I'd seen my parents fight and didn't think that would be a good thing for him. I used to pick him up every Sunday though, and take him for drives or out somewhere.
8. How did you meet Annette?
She was a customer. From memory - she'll kick my arse if I get this wrong - I did a butterfly on the top of her thigh. Well, not that high up. You see a lot of chicks in this trade. When I worked in the city, the old Queen St markets, you'd get all the office girls and that. Nowadays, I hardly do women because I'm doing more traditional Pacific tattoos.
9. Has it been a hard business to be in?
It was really good then the Wall St crash happened. I'd been doing a lot of construction workers and office people. We'd have people queuing up at lunchtime. The owner of the Queen St markets went bankrupt and I had to go and work for someone else. I've always worked six days a week. Over the past 20 years, since I've had this studio in New Lynn, only four times have I had five days off in a row. I live comfortably. I've got a nice Dodge Challenger out there. I used to build hotrods and old school cars but I recently closed my workshop. I'm getting too old - my body feels it rolling around under cars. I've bought a boat instead. Yeah, for fishing, but I'm like "hurry up and catch the fish so I can drive the boat".
10. Are you a proud Westie?
For sure. I'm into V8s. I always wear black. Everything I've got is black except for my wife and my boat. I've got a black dog. Black cars. I can talk to anyone though. You get all walks of life through here. Lawyers. Doctors. Guys who work on the rigs. You can spend 12 hours a day with them, depending on what they're having done. I had a mortician once. The stories he told.
11. You're known for tattooing Sonny Bill Williams: got other celebrity clients?
I don't know really. I don't follow league or rugby. If sport comes on TV I change the channel so others tell me people are celebrities but I never know. My mate brought Sonny Bill in here and I did his sleeve, then when he came back to book his sisters in another client said "he's just signed a contract for $2 million" and I thought "oh shit". If I had known that I would have charged him more. Ha!
12. When and where are you happiest?
I'm always pretty good. But I'll tell you what, receiving that award [the Senior Artist Award at the Creative New Zealand Arts Pasifika Awards last week] was right up there. I've won trophies overseas but nothing like this. It was being acknowledged for your achievements [in reviving cultural tattooing] as opposed to just one piece. I'm not happy when I'm tattooing - I'm happy when I've finished it. It's like a car painter. He's not going "I love this" when he's preparing the car and sanding it down but when he sprays on that last coat of gloss then it's wow. That's how I feel when I've done a really good job.
