Disruptive Ink Brings Depth and Introspection to the Tattoo Community

Tattoos are absolutely a right of passage, not just for queer folks but for millenials, Gen Z, and all who come after us (at least as far in the future as I’m willing to project on a Wednesday afternoon). But despite the fact that we’re all plastered head-to-toe with tattoos that hold meaning for us, so many of us are still slinking into tattoo parlors full of toxic, cis, straight energy to get our ink and get out, without outing ourselves. Disruptive Ink thinks it’s high time to stop all that. 

“I’d been tattooing for almost six years, and full time for the last three years,” says shop founder Sandra Lin, who started the business with her business and life partner Holly Cue. “So it was just me subletting this little space, and then when COVID hit, I had to shut down. Holly and I had wanted to open a tattoo shop for a while, but thought it was a few years down the road. Then we started really looking and decided to just go for it.” 

Lin and Cue already knew the space would be different, since it would be LGBTQ- and women-owned, but when they connected with MateoLuis Ruiz-Williams, CRMT, it became clear that reiki healing was the one final touch that was going to make the studio really special. Although she wasn’t completely familiar with reiki when she met Ruiz-Williams, his energy immediately made Lin feel they were both in the right space. 

“I’m a certified reiki master teacher and an energy medicine intuitive, and I’ve been doing various types of healing modalities for the past 25 years,” he explains. “As far as reiki itself, I’ve been practicing as a master teacher now for almost eight years. When my mother passed, the first Mother’s Day after I went in and got a tattoo. It was the only way I could deal with that huge loss. Then the second Mother’s Day, I was in India, and I was working and living there. I went in and sat for a tattoo for nine hours and really felt how powerful that was. So when I was approached about working with Disruptive, it felt like a great fit.” 

Established with an inclusive, caring experience in mind, Disruptive Ink opened its doors with the goal of being completely accepting to anyone who walks in the door, regardless of disability, size, gender, orientation, or any other marginalized identities. 

“I have had a lot of personal experiences going into tattoo shops and being in the tattoo community, being a female, being gay, and also being a thicker woman,” Lin says. “You feel that energy when you don’t feel as comfortable in those spaces, so I really go out of my way to make sure that everyone who walks in feels completely comfortable in their own skin and has an amazing time from beginning to end.” 

In addition to a culture of acceptance, Disruptive Ink aims to make things inclusive for disabled folks. Ruiz-Williams comes from a family of deaf, immigrant parents and offers sign language services to those who need them. 

“We’ve had deaf clients come in and say they didn’t even know what kind of conversations were happening in a tattoo parlor, about color, the size of needles, the same things you and I can ask, things that people in mainstream society take for granted, and it means so much to them,” he says. 

The team also makes it a point to provide a holistic experience through reiki healing. While reiki is certainly not a requirement for those getting tattooed, it is offered as an option. Ruiz-Williams is great about asking for permission before any physical touch or before bringing up certain pats of spiritual healing. 

“When you get a tattoo, you do it for whatever reason, whether it is to commemorate something, whether it is therapy, or to blow off steam,” he explains. “So you have that experience on the physical body during and after, that release. As a reiki practitioner, I know the physical body is only one of four, and healing also needs to take place on the emotional body, the mental body, the spiritual body. When we incorporate reiki, you are working with all four bodies, and that is very powerful and empowering. It allows you to actually step up and fully integrate that experience on all of the bodies. That’s the beauty of reiki and spiritual and healing work; you have something physical to remind you of what you went through.” 

“For the client, it really takes the tattoo experience to a whole new level because now, you’re releasing those emotions,” Lin says. “We do a lot of tattoos for clients who are memorializing a loved one or a dog, or who are covering up self-harm scars. So that experience, combined with reiki, really helps that healing process and that closure come from the client. It’s just beautiful.” 

To get more info or schedule a consultation, contact Disruptive Ink at disruptiveinktattoos.com.