Tattoo Shop Tango - Ink Different Tattoos

The Training Secret Behind Black Flamingo Collective: How Jordi Pla Turns Apprentices Into Top Earners

Episode Summary

Jordi Pla, a 150-time award winner, Ink Master alum, and owner of Black Flamingo Collective, joins Paul Anthony and Chico Cortez to share his path from aerospace engineering student to award-winning tattooer and the neochromatic style he developed. He also explains how he trains apprentices, teaches artists to hustle for their own clients, and builds a shop team that lasts.

Episode Notes

This week on Tattoo Shop Tango, presented by Ink Different, Paul Anthony and Chico Cortez sit down with Jordi Pla. He is a 150-time award winner, an Ink Master alum, and the owner of Black Flamingo Collective in Bethesda, Maryland.

Jordi was a year from graduating in aerospace engineering at UCF when he switched his major to art. Tattooing started as an accident and a hobby. A DM from Chico led to a shop interview, and three months later Jordi was at his first convention, where he won his first award. He went on to do 25 to 40 conventions a year for a decade. Chico calls him proof that hard work beats talent any day.

In this episode, Jordi covers:

• How he got on Ink Master, and how close he came before landing a spot on season 13.
• Why conventions were the biggest accelerator of his career, from learning by watching artists up close to landing his first sponsor.
• Neochromatic tattooing, the style he developed from contrasting ideas, textures and colors. It’s built on bold outlines and complementary colors, like reds blending into teals.
• How he became a shop owner, and why his fraternity brother and business partner Miguel Denari handles the paperwork while he leads the art.
• His training system: monthly seminars on topics like color theory and professionalism, and why he invests in apprentices.
• How to teach artists to hustle instead of waiting for walk-ins, from complimenting people’s tattoos and handing out cards to having apprentices start an Instagram before they tattoo.
• Why a bad hire can drag down a whole shop, why he’s scaling a 19-station shop down to a smaller team, and how to find the right shop size for you.
• Why he cut back to four or five conventions this year after burning out, and how he plans to bring his team to shows.

Connect with Jordi:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordi_bfc/ 

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