We’re looking forward to introducing you to Adam Rose. Check out our conversation below.
Adam , really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
If I’m not in the shop, I’m outside. Moved to Colorado for the winters but stayed for the summers. I spend most my summer on the lake wakeboarding or in the mountains Jeeping and hiking. My winters are filled with backcountry snowboarding and travel. Growing up in Santa Cruz, Ca as a surf and skate rat action sports were the norm. I was a skydiver and BASE jumper for awhile as well. I love pretty much anything that makes my heart pump a little faster. No matter where I am, my dog is usually pretty close by my side.
Traveling and experiencing new places and cultures always puts a smile on my face. In the last year I’ve been lucky enough to visit Switzerland, Portugal, Mexico and most recently Ecuador. Traveling always reminds me that most people are good. It’s amazing how helpful other cultures can be as long as you show respect and remember your please and thank you’s.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Adam Rose, I’m an artist and owner of Fallen Owl Tattoo Studio. I opened FOT in January 2010, we are a small custom tattoo studio, stacked with award winning artists. Between our 4 artists, we collectively have around 85 years experience.
Good tattoos are our priority, but giving back to the community has always been a big part of the business model. Fallen Owl does multiple charity events annually, ranging from helping at risk kids, to women’s health, and nature preservation. We are currently ramping up to do our 15th annual Tattoos for Toys benefitting the JEFFCO Action Center.
On a personal level, tattooing is my trade & my main art form. Tattooing has opened doors and taken me places I never thought possible. I had a signature line of clothing with American Hat Makers that were worn by people like Jamie Foxx and Alice Cooper, they even ended up on the runway for NY Fashion Week… I’m a skate shoes and T-shirt kind of guy. Over the years I’ve also been able to work with other amazing companies such as Never Summer Snowboards and B.A.F Wax.
I was fortunate to be an adviser with the Skin Cancer institute, working on a program to teach tattooers how to recognize and minimize skin cancer exposure on clients.
Tattooing has literally taken me around the world. I’ve tattooed across the USA and as far as Vietnam. Most recently I’ve spent time tattooing through Central and South America.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I grew up in Santa Cruz, Ca, a hippy surf town in Northern Ca. It was a great place to grow up. We didn’t have a lot of money but there was always plenty of things to do outside. Took huge influence from surf and skate culture. If I did have to be inside, my Mom always made sure I had plenty of art supplies to keep me occupied. I remember spending hours trying to redraw and replicate my favorite surf companies stickers. This was back in the days of “latch key kids” so we were allowed to run pretty wild, with minimal supervision and no cameras… was a good time to be a kid
As a young adult I never felt like I fit in the box. You’re supposed to go to college, get a job with good health care and a pension, 2.5 kids and a white picket fence. Every time I tried to conform to that model I was miserable. As a kid I did well in school but was always squirming in my seat and making teachers mad. I worked grocery for several years where, “the customer is always right!”… Just so you know… they usually aren’t. Had a problem of pointing that out on occasion which never ended well. From there I started bartending and eventually managing a busy neighborhood bar. Bartending was a blast! I probably enjoyed it to much but that’s where I started doing more art again. A good friend Mike, set up my first art show through a bar customer. From there I did a few more art shows and eventually earned an apprenticeship.
As much as I disliked the grocery industry, I learned valuable lessons that I still use today. Albertsons put me through their Career Advancement Program. It taught me things like how to read a profit and loss report, do inventory, deal with vendors, basically a business degree without having to pay for the college education. I believe strongly, education and information are extremely important but there’s more than one way to gain it. College isn’t the answer for everyone, there are several trades that will teach you for free while you get paid.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Tattoo apprenticeships have changed a lot since I started. There were way less shops and it was a lot harder to get an apprenticeship back then. If you were lucky enough to get one the expectation was you would be there full time which in tattooing meant every day and working for free. At the time I was married and also working another full time job to pay the bills.
After 2 years of that I was officially a “professional tattooer”. My first December as a professional I made $75….. the whole month… I only made $75. I had invested so much time, had already quit my other job. This was the dream job that I wanted and I was sinking. At that point I made a promise to myself I’d never let that happen again.
A goal of mine has always been to work the solution, not the problem. It’s easy to identify a problem “there’s to many shops, economy is bad, what ever…” Once you’ve identified the problem, the hard part is working a solution. I started pounding pavement, doing what I knew how to do. Talk to people hand out cards, do art shows. I made flyers and was sticking them in all the “Things to do on vacation racks’, slipping cards into ads above urinals, what ever it took. I remember getting kicked out of the mall for harassing customers. The vacation racks are supposed to be paid placement, the owners of the racks would show up or call the shop complaining about me. Myspace was a thing but facebook, IG, and snapchat didn’t exist yet. Back then print magazines were the thing to be in, that’s how you got national exposure. You had to send in an envelope of photos hoping to get noticed, I was relentless.
Within a year I had my first magazine spread. One snowballed into several & my books filled up. I’ll never forget my first print spread, was a proud moment. Times change, now with internet the reach is a lot bigger but I feel like it’s also easier to get lost. Glad there are places like Voyage’s, focusing on small business and promoting artists.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That we are more important than we are. I see a lot of super cool guys treating clients like shit because they think they are rock stars. It makes us all look bad.
When I started tattooing there was no Tattoo TV. Shows like Miami Ink didn’t exist yet. The old guys I learned from taught me to tattoo as a trade, like plumbing or electrical. You didn’t get into tattooing to be super cool, you got tattooed because you loved tattoos.
We are permanently altering peoples appearance with our artwork, I take that responsibility heavy. As tattooers, I feel like we should be thankful for people allowing that. I see a lot of tattooer with this attitude that the client is lucky to have their work, they’ve got it backwards.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people would say I lived life on my terms and with integrity. I know people will have stories but most of those aren’t for print
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fallenowltattoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fallenowltattoo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fallenowltattoo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNTq7M7zQo52VRYIAPdzGA
