If you find yourself near Düsseldorf, Germany Max is a must visit artist for bold American traditional tattooing that’s meant to last. Read on to get to know Max and get a taste of his work.

1. What got you into tattooing and where do you work? “Hey, my name is Max (rroott.tattoo). I’m 35 and I’ve been tattooing for 8 years. I live and work in Düsseldorf Germany. I was drawing and creating my whole life and did a lot of graffiti too. I also went to punk and hardcore shows at least every other week when I was younger.
I think seeing all the tattoos is where I developed an interest in the craft. And when I got my first tattoo and saw all the hand painted flash on the walls, that was key moment.”

2. What drew you specifically to American traditional/Western style tattoos? “I think live music and the scene around it was predominantly what drew me towards traditional tattoos.
As well as the influence of the American bands and the pop punk wave from the early 2000‘s.”

3. Do you see the recent boom in the tattoo industry of the last 10-20 years as an overall good or bad thing? Any thoughts on tattoo “schools?”

“I’m part of that boom (lol).

In my opinion the biggest shift was at that moment when you could buy machines and needles without working at a tattoo shop. And then when Covid started.
I think it is a good thing that more people got into tattooing. By more I mean more than there were in the 90s and 2000s not the the amount we have today.
And the sad thing is that in my opinion, most people nowadays get into tattooing for the wrong reasons.
It took me almost 10 years from trying to get an apprenticeship to finally get a foot in the door. Life got in the way.
But nowadays you can buy a machine online and start destroying your friends the next day.
Whereas for me the history and all the guys that came before me were almost more interesting than tattooing itself.

But when I started getting tattooed, most of the shops where owned by Motorcycle Clubs and the vibe was definitely different. I try to give a little bit back by painting flash as much as I can.
And I only buy stuff from tattooers and people/supply companies that support the craft. Shoutout to krautz ironz for bringing the goods to Germany/Europe.

My thoughts on tattoo schools, it’s a scam!
If you really want to learn to tattoo you will find someone to teach you the right way.
If you can’t find someone maybe you don’t want it enough. There is no fast and easy way.”

4. Who are some artists, tattooers or other, living or dead who inspire you? “As someone who does traditional tattoos there are the obvious people that were an inspiration. But I don’t want to list all the names you already know ;).

For the past few years I’m more drawn to the abstract and weird stuff and the people that are the most inspiring are for sure Chad Koeplinger, Greg Christian, Saltywalt, Jeff Davis that guy is a wizard and Kooleecool .”

5. Have you tattooed or been tattooed outside of Germany? Can you talk about any differences in tattoo scenes in Germany and other parts of Europe or anywhere else you’ve been? ” I feel like tattooing within Germany is a bit stiff. In Spain or Italy or even the Netherlands it’s more loose. The people are more open and enjoy the process both tattooer and customer. I don’t want to hate on the German tattoo scene but if you go to a convention and you get disapproving looks it’s the Germans most of the time and for example a guy like Paul Dobleman or Austin Maples is standing there smiling and trying to give you a good time even if you are just looking.”

6. Any funny or crazy stories from your time tattooing? “There are so many funny stories.
I had a client years ago and she was moaning through the whole tattoo and it was so uncomfortable for me and everybody in the shop. And she kept coming back and we tried to keep her away by raising the prices from appointment to appointment.
Or a client that was afraid to admit that he was a police officer because he thought we would kick him out.”

7. Anything else you would like to add? “I want to thank you for your contribution to tattooing. And the fact that you give people like me a platform and don’t only post and talk about the big names is not common these days.”

Thanks Max for your great interview, take care and keep ripping sick tattoos!