Tattoo pioneer departs in style

Friends say Phil Matthias, who died after a motor accident, stepped on plenty of toes but had a heart of gold.

They stood in the middle of College Hill, rain falling on their tattoos and mokos, and stopped traffic so Phill Matthias could make a last journey along Ponsonby Rd in a hearse led by Harley-Davidson and Triumph motorcycles.

For 21 years, in a villa that time has passed by in the gentrified suburb, the tattooist made his mark, turning a stigma into an art form.

Family and friends yesterday gathered at the Dermagraphic Tattoo Studio to pay their respects to the 48-year-old, who died after a motor accident.

Moko artist Colin said his close friend was bad mannered, stepped on plenty of toes but had a heart of gold. He shocked the Ponsonby Business Association when he turned up in his leathers, sporting tattoos and riding a bike, but his intellect won the day and he went on to become president for 10 years.

The former Auckland Grammar boy, who began his career as a commercial artist, formed the Tattoo Association of New Zealand with Colin, published a tattoo and body art magazine, set up his own graphic design company, Sphere, organised entertainment for the Anglo American Motorcycle Clubs' Easter Run, and helped the Auckland City Council to draft skin-piercing regulations. In 1998, he stood for the Auckland mayoralty.

He was also chairman of the Arahura Charitable Trust, which provides support for people with mental health difficulties.

Mark Whyman said of his close friend: "He just loved everybody. He was a forgiving man and would always take his shirt off his back and help without hesitation. He has fed many families and bought heaps of houses for people who have worked for him."

Darryn Watkins, one of four tattooists at Dermagraphic, said, "Phill gave everyone a second and third chance, but the fourth chance came with a punch in the head."

Colin said he resisted being a tattooist and strove to be an artist first and foremost. His style was to try anything new and grab artistic opportunities. He detested the way art society looked down on the tattoo industry.

Tattooist and artist Otis Frizzell got his second tattoo from Phill Matthias and later worked at Dermagraphic for nearly seven years.

"He taught me the only trade I have ever had. How to be a tattooist and how to be a hustler. How to take on the establishment from the inside, and I have been doing it ever since."

He credited his friend with spearheading a new generation of tattooists and promoting traditional and contemporary Maori moko.

"He liked the idea of artists becoming tattooists, not drunken bikers ... he helped to legitimise the whole world of tattooing, which was in a dark tunnel for a long time."

Phill Matthias is survived by his wife, Sherilyn, and four daughters, whom he tattooed with the stylised fleur de lis family crest.

"He is an icon of Ponsonby and he has touched a lot of people in so many ways," said his eldest daughter Kelly, aged 24. "All he wanted to do was change the world and make an impact."