IVANA BELAKOVA

There are an infinite number of colors in our universe, and Ivana Belakova is on a mission to use all of them in her tattoos. Born and raised in a small town in Slovakia, Belakova grew up in a country where tattooing was almost nonexistent. Yet, despite her upbringing, she’s made tattooing her life’s work and her career has taken her around the world. Today she calls Los Angeles home and has attracted some of the biggest stars in Hollywood into her tattoo chair—from rappers to world-renowned adult entertainers. We chatted with Ivana to learn about her unique signature style, her first celebrity client and what sets her apart from the pack.

Take us through your upbringing and how you were first exposed to tattooing. I grew up in a tiny village called Kostolné in Slovakia. It had around 200 people and it's in the middle of nowhere—you need a car to access anything. I grew up surrounded by nature, playing soccer every day, playing and dreaming big. I also grew up in communism, which was a very interesting time for me.

The first time I was exposed to tattooing was through watching MTV and seeing all of these heavily tattooed musicians. I was fascinated with Guns N’ Roses and I used to draw Axl’s tattoos on myself and my brother.

When I was 16 I got my first tattoo at a bar in Slovakia. We didn’t really have tattoo shops in the entire country and I was also underage, so this was the way to go. At the time it didn’t even occur to me that this was something I was going to do with my life.

What made you decide to become a tattoo artist and how did you go about learning? When I finished college, I moved to a little town called Trenčín where I started to tattoo. One day my friend asked me if I would like to try to tattoo and I agreed. From the first time I held the tattoo machine in my hand and the needle touched the skin, I was hooked. I knew right there that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

I started by tattooing my brother and friends without gloves or any professional equipment. My friend got me a tattoo machine from Canada and I found out after some time it was’'t even a real tattoo machine. It was a machine for cosmetic tattooing, but I could do small ornamental tattoos with it.