The life of a tattoo artist is a dynamic series where every session brings a new plot: from comedy to pure action. Maksym Yanko has traveled the path from childhood drawing experiments and his first “homemade” tattoo to professional studios, where every day challenges one’s nerves and sense of humor. In this collection, Maksym shares the brightest facts from his practice. These are stories about curious “fuck-ups,” amazing clients, and professional taboos that clearly show: in the world of tattoos, anything is possible—from an escaping tarantula to the eight-month healing of a single clover.
The Roots of Talent: Art Passed Down Through Inheritance
It all began not with galleries or the internet, but with home comfort and childhood curiosity.
Maksym: “When I was in school, I once saw my mom’s posters and wall newspapers that she used to draw. That was the real trigger for me. I realized that drawing was what I was truly interested in, and I began to develop this skill on my own.”
The First Tattoo Attempt: Wolf, Geometry, and a Homemade Machine
This story resembles a movie plot about youth: friends, an evening, and adventurous decisions.
Maksym: “A friend called me over and asked me to draw a geometric wolf on his forearm with a pen. I was the only one who drew well and, honestly, the only sober person in the company. Half of the drawing turned out poorly, so I erased it, but my friend got fired up by the idea: ‘That’s it, let’s do this as a real tattoo with my homemade machine.’ I did it without any understanding of technique, just intuitively. And you know, I surprisingly liked the result.”
The Path to Professionalism: From a "Chinese Machine" to Courses
After his first success, Maksym realized he wanted to do this seriously, but the path to professional education took time.
Maksym: “Three months after that incident, I saved up some money and bought my first Chinese machine—it was my first real tool. I practiced, gained experience, and only three years later, already having some background, did I go to my first official tattoo courses to systematize my knowledge.”
Clover for Eight Months: A Story of Hyper-Responsibility
Sometimes clients take the artist’s advice too literally, leading to incredible results.
Maksym: “At the beginning of my career, I had a client; we were doing a clover. I gave him the standard aftercare recommendations: keep the tattoo wrapped in a bandage for two weeks (meaning, of course, changing the dressing periodically). Eight months passed. He comes back and asks quite seriously: ‘Is it okay to stop wrapping it now?’ I was in shock. But the client followed the advice so strictly that I have never in my life seen such a perfectly healed tattoo.”
Hello, I’m Maksym, and I Stained Your Floor
This case taught Maksym that even total control can fail at the most inconvenient moment.
Maksym: “I arrived at a new guest studio. It was perfectly clean: white walls, white floor—like an operating room. I started setting out the inks, which I usually wrap tightly in napkins because they can leak. I’m unwrapping one such bottle over the trash can, I see it has leaked. I think: ‘I’ll do everything carefully now, the floor will stay clean.’ And right then, the plastic wrap just slips out of my hands… The next three hours, I was scrubbing that perfect floor and introducing myself to new colleagues as ‘that guy who managed to stain the studio on his very first day.'”
The Law of the Couch: Why You Can’t Look Away
In a studio, there are technical nuances, and ignoring them is a risky business.
Maksym: “I always know which couches are unstable. Therefore, I always warn the clients and hold the furniture myself. But one time, I stepped away from the client for literally 10 seconds just to grab some napkins. I turn back… and the first thing I see are the client’s legs sticking straight up, because he is already calmly lying on the floor since the couch flipped over. From that day on, I realized one thing: you can’t leave clients alone for even a second.”
The Escaping Tarantula: A New Studio Rule
Working in a team sometimes brings surprises from colleagues that not everyone enjoys.
Maksym: “Another artist brought a terrarium with a tarantula to the studio as decor. While a session was going on in the next room, the spider escaped and started slowly crawling across the wall. At first, everyone thought it was a joke or a toy, but when they realized the spider was alive and had already crossed half the studio, the laughter vanished instantly. The scream of the client who noticed it was incredible. After that, we introduced an unspoken rule: no pets with eight legs.”
11 years of professional experience
more than 15 victories in professional competitions
over 3000 tattoos
Portraits of Lovers: Why the Artist Says "No"
Maksym has a principled stance regarding tattoos that can become a painful reminder.
Maksym: “I don’t do portraits of clients’ partners. Once, I was actually talked into it; they kept convincing me that their love was forever and a wedding was coming soon. I gave in and made an exception. In the end, two weeks after getting the tattoo, they broke up. This only confirmed my rule—it’s better not to do such tattoos.”
The Transformer Tattoo: "Move it by a Centimeter"
A request that causes both a smile and a slight shock for artists at the same time.
Maksym: “Once in a studio where I worked, a colleague had a client. She just finished the tattoo, went home, and already 4 hours later called with a question: ‘Is it possible to move the tattoo 1 cm to the side?’ Apparently, people sometimes forget that this isn’t a sticker.”
The Real Secret to a Strong Relationship
Sometimes a language barrier in the studio reveals unexpected truths about life.
Maksym: “There was a client who knew neither Ukrainian nor English. From English, he only had three words: ‘tattoos,’ ‘complect,’ ‘understand.’ He was angry that we didn’t understand him, so we called his Ukrainian wife to translate. She listened to him and said: ‘I don’t know what he wants either—I don’t understand him.’ And yet they already have three children! It seems that is the real secret to a long and strong relationship—you just don’t need to talk too much.”
