When Justin Bieber debuted a tattoo across his abdomen that read "Son of God" during a concert in Italy in November, the ink elicited screams and all-caps Instagram captions from fans. It would seem that Bieber's ever-expanding list of tattoos has become something of an obsession among his fans, and, like any accessory worth obsessing over in 2016, its primary author has become something of a celebrity himself. A closer look at Bieber's ink over the years leads back to the name of Keith "Bang Bang" McCurdy, the frequent Bieber-inker who—with his 1.5 million Instagram followers— has become as famous, in some circles, as his A-list clients. The rise of the power stylist led to everything from clothing lines to reality-TV shows; is the power tattoo artist next?
McCurdy has many tales to tell about his time inking the stars. He once tattooed Bieber on a plane, and recently, he's had client sessions on the top of the Empire State Building and in a helicopter. "I get bored," he said, as he recounted the sessions in a recent phone call. McCurdy remembered his early inking days, when he said he "lived under a rock" and didn't know of the young recording artist who had just released her hit single "Umbrella." Since then, Rihanna has become a repeat customer.
The New York–based artist has also worked with Cara Delevingne and Drake, among others, and he's just one of a few highly prized artists with devoted famous clientele. Kendall Jenner boasted a new lip tattoo in September; the handiwork of artist JonBoy. Zoe Kravitz, Drake, and Ellie Goulding have designs by the famed artist Dr. Woo.
In 2016, celebrities' tattoo artists are part of their social-media-broadcast sagas, adding drama to the already heightened lifestyles of the rich and famous. The artists have made it into their clients' carefully curated inner circles, being trusted not just with their bodies, but also with their secrets. They frequently pop up on celebrities' Instagram feeds, and their famous clientele in turn show up on theirs.
McCurdy knows that his is a service industry: once people, especially those who are constantly in the spotlight, know they can trust their artist, they come back for more. "I have shot down many ideas from some of the most famous people in the world who people don't usually say no to," he said. "I do that on every single tattoo."
Just like any of his clients, McCurdy's celebrity clientele trust him to know the kind of the art they want, although the requests may come at odd hours. For some, this means after nightfall—he said he recently tattooed Delevingne at a house party at one A.M. But no matter the time of day, McCurdy wants to be sure he can connect with his clients—in both the lighthearted and the heavy moments.
"I handle myself really professionally," he said. "I've been in environments where anything you can imagine is happening. I've been in dressing rooms before shows, I've seen them cry over loved ones."
U.K.-based tattoo artist Kevin Paul, who has nearly 14,000 followers, said that social media is "everything" in the business now—visibility means business, no matter how famous the client. Paul said that before he was given the label, there was no such thing as a "celebrity tattoo artist" in his part of the world. But once he gave Harry Styles a tattoo five years ago, things changed—quickly.
"As soon as I did him, my Twitter followers shot up 20,000 and press from all over the world wanted to do interviews," he said in an e-mail. The next day everybody labeled me a 'celebrity tattooist.' "
Paul said that he sometimes misses the art he was able to do before he got some more notable names, which has famously included Ed Sheeran and his lion chest tattoo, on his client list.
"I don't mind it, but before any of that started I was a multi-award-winning tattooist doing realism art work and dark art . . . but after the celeb thing, it really watered that side of my work down and everybody just wanted a tattoo from the guy who tattoos all the famous people."
In the end, Paul said, he has been able to enjoy the perks and the opportunities presented to him through his work—including an invitation to Parliament, a spot in an upcoming music video by Deadtime Philharmonic, a scene in the film Bonded by Blood 2, out in February, and his own autobiography, A Sketchy Life.
No matter where these artists show up—whether on a bumpy airplane ride with Justin Bieber or on the shelves of bookstores, their names appear along the A-Listers nearly as much as Rachel Zoe appears on a stylist sheet. After all, as McCurdy said, it's their job:
"I'm not their fan when they're getting tattooed. I'm their tattoo artist."
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