Golden Rule Tattoo is a Phoenix-favorite shop that works to preach and practice just what the name suggests — to treat everyone who walks through its doors with mutual respect.
Owner and co-founder Jason Anthony, who is an active 18-year veteran of the tattoo industry, said he recognized the need for a shift in the attitudes surrounding tattoo culture, and opened the shop only five years into his career.
“The name was very intentional … I based my whole shop on being friendly and accommodating, including everybody from the clients to the artists to the reception staff,” said Anthony. “At one point that was a groundbreaking idea. Tattoo shops had, and sometimes still do, have this intimidation factor putting tattooers on a weird pedestal,” he said. “Everything we do here is to negate that.”
He says a level of entitlement that has historically allowed artists to act unprofessionally without consequences, sometimes going as far as hate speech, racism, sexism, homophobia– the list goes on. An article from Allure shares experience on the subject from Kandace Layne, a black, woman tattoo artist, who is based out of a black-owned shop that works to combat those damaging practices.
Allure reporter Angelina Ruiz stated: “Layne reflects on the behavior of many artists who may have previously participated in racist or culturally appropriative practices, saying that although she was offended, she realized it was simply ignorance.” This is another major component of their efforts – education. “[She] feels that the hours that artists spend with their clients could be used to open the conversation.”
Anthony’s vision for tattooing in Phoenix was to operate outside of those “old school standards” that have dominated the reputation of the practice. “There was this very strong conservative, hateful undercurrent in tattooing” Anthony said often got carried away. Golden Rule openly condemns anything to do with agendas rooted in hate or superiority, including prejudice against racial and ethnic minority communities, those with disabilities, etc.
Anthony says this extends to the right to refuse tattooing white nationalist or culturally offensive iconography, and avoiding appropriative artwork. “There’s a line between appreciating aspects of culture and appropriating it,” says Anthony, that needs to be approached with the right details and attention.
He also addressed gender equity in the tattoo industry, explaining that it is still common for women artists to be taken less seriously as professionals. “It’s absolutely bonkers to me, because of how many women are absolutely killing the game,” he said. A majority of his apprentices in the past have been female artists: “It wasn’t on purpose but it happened to work out that way, because they are the ones working so much harder to get an apprenticeship.”
The same principles are recognized by an organization called Still Not Asking For It (SNAFI), which combines the efforts of artists and advocates who fundraise “to promote a safer standard of practice within the tattoo community.” Still, these standards of operation can be considered unprecedented and uncommon, partially due to the origins of American tattooing.
One prominent figure, Norman Keith Collins, nicknamed “Sailor Jerry” for his popular navy sailor tattooing, was monumental in the foundation of the industry as it emerged into the idea we have of tattooing today. “For all the good he did for tattooing as a profession, things like developing inks and artwork, sanitation techniques, even needle configurations, he was a known racist,” said Anthony, “and it sent that message from the beginning.”
One of Jerry’s many pupils throughout his lifetime was Ed Hardy, who mentions his mentor’s troublesome viewpoints in his book “Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos.”
He wrote that Sailor Jerry’s accolades came with baggage: “A healthy dose of Jerry’s fanatic right-wing obsession that included the hated liberals, the international Jewish banking conspiracy, and various racist paranoia.”
Still, the social standing of tattoos continues to develop to this day, and the perspectives surrounding that are as dynamic as ever. Data from a national study conducted by Ipsos revealed that about 30% of Americans today have at least one tattoo, and that number is rising, with a 21% increase since 2012. And in a business-focused economy in the United States, stigmatization of tattoos in the workplace may not be as big of an issue.
“It’s a chicken or the egg situation,” said Anthony, “more people are getting tattooed than ever, and there’s also a high demand for workers. If you ignore them, you might as well be cutting your potential workforce in half.”
Beyond aesthetics, tattoos have deep-rooted meanings in creativity and self-expression. and have carried unique significance for different cultures for thousands of years, including Indigenous peoples, Africans, Indians, Vikings and more, dating back as far as 3370 BC.
“A lot of ancient tattoos that were found were specific symbols they put over certain parts of their body, over joints that had undergone trauma,” said Andrew Raffield, another artist at Golden Rule, “sometimes for spiritual or ritualistic reasons.” It is believed they were often used to either aid or signify healing, according to Raffield. Other cultural tattoos include familial and tribal markings, and markers of age or achievement.
No matter the variety of the tattoo in question, Anthony says his work can also be fun, frivolous and surface-level in the ways that some art is meant to be appreciated. While some pieces are deeply-personal, he affirms in verbose passion that “sometimes it just f*ckin’ looks cool.”
Named Arizona’s best tattoo shop by Phoenix Magazine in 2017, 2018 and 2020, Golden Rule Tattoo has two locations, one of which lies in the heart of downtown on Roosevelt Street. Their cumulative 19 renowned artists see many walk-ins and inquiries during Phoenix’s famed First Friday street fair, garnering the attention of thousands of passersby on a monthly basis. “You can’t pay for that kind of exposure,” Anthony said.
The shop’s work ranges from highly detailed commissioned artwork, to simple Pinterest-inspired and script tattoos.
“It all has to do with people,” Anthony said, “I think art never stops developing. Everything can have a new spin or a different format, and people are always at the center of that.”
Contact the reporter at screvelt@asu.edu.
Sophia Crevelt is a staff reporter at Downtown Devil, pursuing a degree in journalism and mass communication at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School and Barrett, The Honors College. She works in public relations and reporting, with strong interests in arts and entertainment, community, poetry, music and film.
