CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM The smiling Mike Hatfield has been a tattoo artist with Aloha Tattoo in Waikiki for almost eight years. Above, he shows off some of his favorite portrait tattoos.

Creating art that
sticks with you

Mike Hatfield has made a lasting
impression on thousands of people

Mike Hatfield Title: Tattoo artist Job: Runs Waikiki outlet of Aloha Tattoo Co. as manager and artist.

Mike Hatfield is one of those lucky people who has been able to turn a passion into a career. He's always enjoyed drawing, and these days he applies that talent as a tattoo artist working out of the Waikiki outlet of Aloha Tattoo Co, which also has a Kailua office. Hatfield also has the good fortune to live in Hawaii, where he can pursue another of his passions: surfing. He moved here in 1980 while serving in the U.S. Air Force, which he joined at age 17 in South Florida. After a year in Korea, he was posted to Hawaii, at Wheeler Army Air Field. "And then, basically," he said, "I just bought a surfboard and never left." Hatfield, who says he is "43 going on 16," is single and lives in Waikiki, not far from where he creates his works of art.

Question: How long been working at Aloha Tattoo Co.?

Answer: I've been working at this shop almost eight years.

Q: How long have you been working as a tattoo artist?

A: Probably about 10, 11 years now.

Q: How many people do you work with?

A: I'm the only artist here.

Q: What are your hours?

A: 2 to 10. And I let myself take one day off a week, on Monday. And then if there's good waves, I take a long lunch break.

Q: How did you learn to be a tattoo artist?

A: Well, I used to airbrush T-shirts in Waikiki. And then kind of one thing led to another. I used to live behind a tattoo shop in Waikiki, and I was good friends with everyone there, and I just kind of got my foot in the door.

Q: How many tattoos do you do a day?

A: It really varies. I used to do a lot more. Business is not what it used to be, because of the oversaturation of the market. There used to be two shops in Waikiki, and now there's anywhere from seven to 10 shops. So it's just saturated. But I do good work and I've got a good reputation, so I stay pretty busy. I do anywhere from one big one to two to four smaller ones a day. I used to do more. It all depends.

Q: When are people mostly coming in for these things?

A: Well, seasonally speaking, summer's good. It's the peak tourism season. There's more kids in town.

Q: What I really meant was, what time of day do the people mostly come in for tattoos?

A: Oh -- afternoon and evening. There are other shops that open up at 9 or 10 in the morning, but for me, noon is a hardship. And in the evenings, everybody's off the beach and the locals are off work.

Q: When you say locals, are you talking about people who live here, rather than Hawaiians specifically?

A: Yeah. I do a lot of Hawaiians, but Hawaiians are a subset of locals, so I just generalize it by saying locals.

Q: What kind of people mostly come in to have tattoos done?

A: My business is a good mixture of locals, tourists and military. The locals keep me alive; they're the ones that keep me going.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Hatfield creates a tattoo for Georgette Revero, who wanted "Sugar Plum" written in the small of her back.

A: No. I think they force themselves into liking it. Most of them are pretty mentally prepared, and once they get it, it makes them even stronger about it. They might have been tentative at first, but after getting it, they seem more assured of their choice. But also nowadays it's a different market. Everybody's more tattoo conscious. Even grandmas have tattoos now. In the old days it used to be rock stars and bikers. Now everybody's getting them, so they're making more intelligent choices. They're bringing in their own artwork, instead of just picking a design off the wall.

Q: What are some of the most popular tattoo designs these days?

A: Nowadays, the honu is really popular -- the Hawaiian turtle. A lot of people want the polynesian-oriented stuff. But in 10 years I've seen it cycle dramatically. It used to be Tasmanian devils and tribal tattoos, and then it was that biomechanical stuff, like from "The Alien," stuff of that nature. And now, traditional sailor and old-school tattoos are really popular with the young kids now, because it lends itself to tattooing well. It's got bold outlines and stays in the skin good. So nowadays it's a little bit of everything.

One of my fortes is portraiture. People bring in their photographs, of their children, their dogs. I also do a lot of musicians, like Jimi Hendrix.

Q: Do you have any tattoos yourself?

A: Oh yeah. I've got a full back piece, and half sleeves. It's an all Asian-, Japanese-style body suit, but with short sleeves instead of long sleeves.

Q: Are there any tattoo artists that don't have a tattoo?

A: There's some that I've heard of, but they don't get no respect. As it is, I get a hard time sometimes because I don't have a full sleeve. But my line is, once you get one, you become a work in progress.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Mike Hatfield pursues his passion for art through his career as a tattoo artist. Above, Hatfield created a tattoo on Thursday for Georgette Revero, who wanted "Sugar Plum" written on her back. His own tattoos were done by Mike Ledger.

A: There's some discomfort but it's not as bad as people think.

Q: Is it like a bleeding thing?

A: I get some blood. That's another aspect of the job, which is the fact that we're dealing with questions of cross contamination and communicable diseases. We have to be very aware of that, and that's why it has to be done in a very professional environment. We're regulated and inspected by the Board of Health. And we have to be licensed, too.

Q: What kind of equipment do you use?

A: A lot of stuff actually. It's a cross between surgery and engraving almost. The tattoo machine itself is basically from a patent that's about a hundred years old. And there's a lot of supportive equipment, a lot of medical supplies. Everything is medical quality.

Q: Do you ever do tattoo removal?

A: No. That's a medical process done with a laser.

Q: How did you learn to draw at all?

A: I just been drawing my whole life. I'm basically self-taught. So I feel lucky to do tattoos.

Q: Why?

A: Because it allows me to do art for a living.

Q: Are there any tattoo artists that you admire?

A: There's a guy from the mainland called Wes Grimm. And there's a guy in town who does my work, Mike Ledger; he's world famous. But every tattoo artist owes a debt to the old timers, the guys who were doing it before tattoos were cool.