Ned Burwell: Chatting with "Neo Retro" Tattooer Connor Garritty on the evolving world of tattooing

Connor Garritty has over three decades of experience in tattooing. He started in Edmonton,

Alberta and is now living and working in Los Angeles, California. Along the way, he has

developed his own unique style, which we will get into here. I reached out to Conner Garity

to do a short blog post about what he is up to these days. For the last while, I have been

seeing some really great videos on his Instagram.

When he first started posting videos other than his tattoo work, they were a way for his clients to get to know him a bit more and for him to help the general public make better decisions about how to find a reputable tattoo artist. However, his content began catching the attention of tattoo artists. His posts are not only entertaining but also informative. Conner has a great perspective and offers some fantastic advice for tattooists of all ages to consider. Ned Burwell interviews Connor Garritty

Ned Burwell: Let's start with how long you've been tattooing, and where did you learn.

Connor Garritty: I started in 1996. I made a homemade tattoo machine. A friend of mine knew how to make one after spending some time in jail, doing tattoos inside, and then continuing to tattoo some of the local kids in the bands we were playing with. I was kind of interested, because I always wanted tattoos. So, I tried out his little homemade tattoo machine on my bass player at the time. And my 1rst tattoo, it was already better than what this other guy was doing. So I borrowed his homemade machine. And copied it. The machine was made from an old spoon, the boombox motor. He was reusing the same pen for a grip and changing his needle, but I thought that was super gross. So I figured out I could buy a bunch of those Bick mechanical pencils and have disposable tubes and needles. Eventually, I bought some of the old Spalding and Roger's stay glow pigment from Studio One. I got that stuff and did that for about a year. My parents were pushing me to go back to school or do something. So, I told them that I wanted an apprenticeship in tattooing, and my dad said, yeah, we'll make it happen. Figure it out, and I'll help you. I pounded the pavement and ended up at Raptor Tattoo, where I spoke with Glenn Warawa. Glenn was super nice to me. I think he liked me because, like him, I was left-handed as well. He was like, "Yeah, so come back with your dad and let's talk money." I went back with my father, 2 days later, and they worked out a deal. From the moment I met Glenn till my rst day as an apprentice was maybe 5 days.

NB: Yeah, Glenn had brought a few people into tattooing over the years.

CG: He did, Glenn apprenticed Danny Gordey, before me. But anyway, that was it. Once I started my apprenticeship, I was fucking hooked, really quick, and in love with it. I knew early on that it was going to be what I was going to probably do for the rest of my life.

Glenn Warawa of Raptor Tattoo

Glenn Warawa of Raptor Tattoo

NB: There are many of us who are “meant” to tattoo. You're one of them; tattooing gets into us, and we can't shake the idea. So, you know, we can't blame the younger generations for wanting to step into the arena. Conner, your work is incredible. I haven't really seen many doing your style. I know the guys at Tech Noir Tattoo in Victoria, Vancouver Island, are doing some super rad 80s retro tattoos. @technoirtattoo Those guys are cranking out some super neat stuff, and they are awesome guys.

What would you call your style, and how did it come about?

CG: I kind of like kind of coined it, “Neo Retro.” There's a guy in Australia who goes by the name @theleisurebanditleisure, his name is Brodie Leisure. I began seeing a bunch of his work after I had already started kind of adding those 80s elements in my original way. I was like, super inspired by the old flash from the 80s and 90s because that's what was on the tattoo shop wall when I started tattooing. We had the old JD Crow Tattoo brand flash, Cherry Creek stuff, Judy Parker, you know, the old wizards and castles and dragons medieval kind of 80s biker flash. I remember back when I started tattooing. It was like, oh I don't want to do any that stuff, it's so cringy. But one day I started messing around with a lot of that old stuff and I thought, oh, I can kind of revamp them and add in those 80s elements like squiggly lines, triangles and the weird shapes. It's been fun for sure. I'm very fortunate that people still seem to want that stuff. I've noticed that in Canada, that style was more popular there than it has been down here in L.A.

NB: The last part I really wanted to discuss is what you're currently up to. I have a

tremendous amount of respect for you. With the videos you are putting out, you are

bringing some old-school rules into a new-school world. You had said before the interview

that your impetus at first was to help educate your clients on how to find a good tattooist

and to let people get a feel for who you are as a person. So, they could put a face to your

name when they were looking at your work.

CB: After spending a bunch of time in Canada after COVID, when I got back to LA at the

beginning of 2025, tattooing was just super slow. I think the industry in general had

experienced a bit of a slowdown, but especially in California. It has been a steady decline

since about 2023. There's been this big shift in how people shop for tattoos. The problem I

noticed right off the bat was my social media. I had about 7800 followers and was posting

all the time. I was just posting my work. But people aren't shopping the way they used to.

They're shopping on their phones, searching for artists, and they want to connect with the

tattooer before they go into the shop, because they can see how the person is.

I think it saves them from having to go into tattoo shops because, at times, shops are

intimidating. And so now they're like, oh, okay, they find somebody they like on their phone,

and they watch them for 6 months or 2 months, or whatever, before they even think about going in.

So when they do go into the shop, they already feel connected to that tattooer, and that's

what my social media was lacking. I needed to figure out a way for my potential clients and

my clients to see how I am outside of my shop. Everyone knows I do nice work, with clean

line work and colour. I have literally posted photos on Instagram for the last 10 years. So, I

started brainstorming ideas of how I can integrate myself into my videos more without 

looking like a douche bag. I'm not into doing dances and funny skits. No disrespect to the

people that are doing that, if that's their angle, and what they want to do, that's fine, but

that’s not me.  

I put out a couple of videos of me talking about what rules, like, I miss this thing, or what 

used to rule, like waiting in line to buy a CD. I was just messing around, and I just thought it

was funny, and so I did another one about it, really ruled when tattoo shops had flash on

the wall. They had cool art, and it looked rad.

I thought, you know what, I walk my dog every day, 3 times a day. I'm just going to walk and

film myself talking about stuff that I think about in the tattoo industry, about things that 

clients should look out for and just try to put myself out there. I was mostly just trying to

educate clients on what to look for. My goal was to help clients make the right choices and

find the right place to get tattooed, whether or not it was me doing it.

I started to get more traction and more engagement from my videos. And then, when I did

the one about the tattoo flash and shops, it went pretty well. It was mostly tattooers who

were commenting and sharing, and all of a sudden, it went from me trying to connect with

clients to having a ton of tattoo artists following me.

I think my generation, or maybe just after me, was the last generation of proper

apprenticeships and learning the rules of tattooing. I was taught to make needles and build

machines, and it wasn't long after me that it kind of stopped. I think maybe the early 2000s

is when people stopped making needles.

NB: It's interesting, when speaking with tattooists of our generation, often we talk about or

rant about how the young tattooists didn’t have to do all these things we did, but we didn't

have social media. And that, to me, takes up just as much, if not more time than making

needles or mixing ink.

CG: 100% man, I am spending an ungodly amount of time with this stuff now. Not because

I love it, because I don't, I actually don't like doing it at all. Especially the editing part of

making the videos. I think I might rather make needles. There was something therapeutic

about the process. You put some tunes on, and you sit down, and you make needles.

Sometimes you were doing it with a couple of other people in the shop, and it was just part

of your day.  You were also in the shop, where I'm doing most of my videos at home before I

leave for work or at night when I get home.

However, with the videos, I was either going to get on board or get left behind. Because I

kind of felt like I was getting left behind. I'm 48 years old, and I've been tattooing for almost 

30 years. And like, let's be honest, a lot of young clients don't want to get tattooed by the

old guy at the shop.

NB: Well, I think you have done a great job of keeping yourself in the mix. I also appreciate

all the effort you have put into your videos. They not only help the clients, but they are also

a way for the next generation to learn about tattoo history and the rules of the craft that

were in place long before they were even born.

Thanks, Connor, for sharing some of your time with me today. 

instagram: @connorcade

Studio: Timeless Tattoo & Piercing

738 Vine St. Los Angeles, California