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    True Blue Tattoo

    4.3 (47 reviews)
    ModerateTattoo
    Closed 12:00 pm - 10:00 PM

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    My fully healed tattoo from Krtnz, nearly 2 months later
    D C.

    Not atrocious for a walk-in but not good by any stretch. I had communicated to Krtnz twice in the consult that I had fractured my T3 vertebrae earlier this year. When I sat down for the tattoo, I reminded him a third time that I literally broke my back this year. This was news to him. Having claimed several times that he'd been tattooing for nearly two decades, I made the mistake of assuming that this man had the experience, if not the common sense, to infer that tattooing over a literal broken spine wasn't going to be a walk in the park for either of us. He made comments periodically about how most people don't struggle so much with having their spine tattooed. (Most people don't have line work over a literal broken spine ) He was needlessly rough, his irritation showing. He quite sloppily rushed through it and it shows. Unfortunately I now need to choose between laser or having it blacked out. Over a fractured vertebrae. But hey, cheap tattoos aren't good and good tattoos aren't cheap. I'll take it as a painful life lesson.

    Latest tattoo by Batty
    Jason B.

    If I could give 6 stars I would. I'm a repeat client for Batty and couldn't be more pleased. She's sweet, does great line work and I look forward to getting more work done.

    My first tattoo, done by Mike. This is right after he finished, so you can see the redness/inflammation.
    Cassidy S.

    I got my first tattoo from Mike at True Blue. It was a fantastic experience. I didn't have an appointment, so I just walked in and Mike helped me as soon as he arrived (I got there about 20 minutes before his shift started). I went in having an idea of what I wanted, and Mike quickly helped me create the design, happily tinkering with anything I asked him to change. The shop is very clean, and Mike made me feel very comfortable before, during, and after. When I was in pain, he talked me through it and always kept me updated with things like "okay, almost done, just breathe" and the like. His bedside manner is phenomenal, and he's a hilarious, interesting, and smart guy. It was an excellent couple of hours in his chair. Once the tattoo was finished, I was able to look at it and take pictures before he cleaned and covered it. The line work was incredibly precise and wonderfully crisp (which is saying something, because my tattoo has a fair amount of small, thin lines). It healed up beautifully as I followed the instructions Mike gave me, and rarely even caused much pain or itching. Now, three or four months later, the image is still very crisp and gorgeous. I couldn't recommend Mike more as an artist and a person.

    Key with butterfly and Sanskrit symbol tattoo by Cody at True Blue
    Laura R.

    I went to True Blue with my best friend for us both to get a tattoo at the same time--my artist was Cody, hers was Curtnz. (Yes, Curtnz. He was amazing.) Because I'm a planner and this was my first tattoo, I wanted everything to be perfect. I emailed with Cody a couple times, sending him the image I was playing with; he was not very responsive email-wise but once we had our appointments on the books, I didn't stress too much over it. I'd checked out all the portfolios and knew once I got there and we discussed the image, we'd be good to go. Sure enough, it all went as easy as could be. My friend went over several sessions, because hers was a larger image and on her ribcage--a painful spot so she didn't want to deal with all that in one sitting. This being her last session, her tattoo only took a little bit and looked great. Cody did my drawing and it looked perfect, so we got started. He wasn't very chatty, but frankly who cares? I'd rather a beautiful tattoo from a quieter artist than a wobbly one from someone who gets distracted. Sure, it hurt, but about what I expected. The tattoo (pictured) is a key with a Sanskrit symbol with a butterfly resting on it, and came out just as I hoped it would. Cody's rate ($100/hour) was very reasonable, and he answered all my questions on tattoo after-care. Check out these guys! Some beautiful work done here.

    My new work!
    Katharine L.

    Love it! Got my favorite tattoo yet with Sara (Tank Girl). It is so creative and such a quality piece. Everyone in the shop is so nice!

    Done by Tank Girl.
    Julia M.

    Before showing up at True Blue I emailed Tank Girl back and forth for months. I sent her the image file of what I wanted done and she played with it until I had what I really wanted. She offered her opinion on a couple of ideas, and that's what we ultimately went with. She was very reasonably priced, and only charged me for time when the needle was actually touching my skin. I'm definitely going back there to finish up my sleeve.

    By Tank Girl
    Rachel R.

    I got my first tattoo here! Tank Girl was excellent all throughout the process, from us designing the tattoo together, to talking to me while she tattooed me which helped me stay calm, and then being very thorough in explaining how to take care of it. I love it; it's unique and beautiful.

    Thanks for my tattoo, Jim. I love it!
    Delia S.

    It had been about 15 years since I got my first, and up until now, only tattoo, but I was finally ready to add another. I visited the fine folks at True Blue and Jim worked with me to make my little safety pin tattoo my own. He was very knowledgeable and took the time to explain which of my ideas would work and hold up over time. He was honest and let me know what wouldn't work and helped me to modify an image so that I would be happy with the results. On top of all that, he was fun to talk to and did a fantastic job. I didn't get the most complicated tattoo and I realize that it was simple in design, but I am very pleased with the detail and the fine line work and would definitely come back the next time I want one. Thanks, Jim!

    Love the tattoo Tank Girl did!

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    4 years ago

    Charley is a god -- be sure to book him for your next ink. Also peep his band Dirty Charley

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    6 years ago

    Best place to get work done in Austin...the shop is clean, comfortable, and everyone is friendly. Very happy with my tattoo, thank you!

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    9 years ago

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    9 years ago

    True Blue was a great experience for my first tattoo. Jim was patient, friendly, and did a wonderful job on the tattoo. I will be back!

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - True Blue Tattoo

    Review Highlights - True Blue Tattoo

    I visited the fine folks at True Blue and Jim worked with me to make my little safety pin tattoo my own.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

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    Blind Side Tattoos

    Blind Side Tattoos

    4.2(41 reviews)
    4.8 miSo-Fi (S. 1st St. District), Bouldin Creek, 78704 (South Austin)
    $$

    Hands down the BEST place I have come across!! Pool is one of the best at watercolor tattoo's! You…read morewon't be disappointed going here.

    DO NOT GET A PIERCING HERE! More than happy to provide more detailed information about my purchase…read moreof the jewelry in store , the insertion of the jewelry, and the and the date of this interaction to prevent this from being taken down so I can help others. I came in to get a new fitted nose ring about a month ago I only needed a new fitted ring. I've had the piercing itself for 10 years now & I've never had an issue with changing jewelry and I've had it at a 18 gauge the full time. The piercer said he grabbed the right size jewelry after sizing . Showed it to me.. I said it looked kinda thick and he said it was standard size. I thought that was weird but trusted him since I told him the gauge size to begin with. Then I asked for help getting old nose ring out and this one in. He proceeded to gauge my nose with out my knowledge and when I pulled back and said "OWCH" he said it just needed lube because it wasn't going in and continue to force it in and was extremely aggressive about it and acted like I was stupid or didn't know what I was talking about when I voiced I've never felt pain like that changing a piercing. My nose bled and was so swollen the next day that I had to go to a different shop to get it taken out because I couldn't even sleep on that side of my face it hurt so bad. The next shop I saw said that he gauged my nose ring to a 16 and ripped it a little from gauging it so roughly.

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    Blind Side Tattoos
    Blind Side Tattoos
    Blind Side Tattoos

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    Zulu Tattoo

    Zulu Tattoo

    4.8(19 reviews)
    4.8 miTravis Heights, 78704 (South Austin)
    $$$

    This review is way past due. Last year, I was absolutely devastated over the loss of Prince, and I…read moreneeded something to help me heal... something permanent... a tattoo! I wanted to have "him" with me in some way for the rest of my life... enter ZULU. I am a hairdresser, and a wonderful client of mine said to me one day as we were discussing tattoos, "there's nobody on earth I'd let tattoo me other than Zulu". This is HIGH praise coming from this particular woman, so I looked him up. As soon as I went to his website, I felt an energy that I can only describe as "this is it, this is my guy", I knew it immediately. Browsing through his work, I was blown away. His meticulous attention to detail is unmatched. He is an ARTIST of the highest degree. His website images don't do justice to the work- I don't think any picture of his work can do his art justice. You *have* to see it to believe it. I had a consultation with him, and shared with him images of things I liked, and things I'm drawn to, but mostly I wanted him to create it. Several days later, he sent me an image of what he came up with, and it was a slam dunk, just as I knew it would be. It took 3 sessions to complete, and it is a MASTERPIECE. I love the art on my forearm so much it's stupid. I get so much attention because it's so incredible. I even met Prince's band The Revolution, and they were blown away! Wendy and Lisa couldn't stop touching it! Anyway, you get my point, right? So here's another thing... Zulu himself is an amazing human being. He and I had the most wonderful conversations and now he's my friend forever. Choose Zulu as your artist and you'll have more than just a tattoo, you'll have a masterpiece.

    So this past weekend was my first experience directly under the hand of Zulu. Since we visited a…read morefew months ago for him to work on my wife's back, he and I have been in contact about what I've had planned for the remainder of the sleeve on my right arm. Because I travel for 6 months of the year the remainder of our conversations have been via email and also a 30 minute FaceTime consultation while I was overseas in place of a telephone call. Khani (shop mgr/wife) has done a wonderful job throughout of keeping the flow going and making sure that Zulu was available to discuss issues with me as needed. Zulu spent a considerable amount of time prepping for our arrival this trip as I had provided a number of different pieces of Tibetan art work to use for reference on my arm. After the FaceTime consult he fully understood what I wanted and that he was also given full artistic license to do what looked right and would flow with what I already had on my arm. He is only the second artist I've aver talked to that immediately got my concept and was genuinely excited about doing the work I was requesting. This was first obvious to me when we originally visited, but once we had talked and he started the work on the final design, the true light came out in Zulu. I arrived about 15 minutes early to the studio and just sat while he continued to collect his thoughts and worked to get the various pieces setup. We started with a fitting of the largest piece that would be done which was a full incarnation of Mara in demon form. Zulu only needed to resize it once and then worked on the angle and layout on my forearm (which is not big in any way) however, he laid it out to allow for the rest of the piece around and on the back of my arm. Once we had it fully laid out he applied the initial stencil for Mara and then he got to work. Zulu uses a rotary gun to apply his tattoos (as does Pinky which makes for a soothing sound in the small space). The beauty of this style of application is that unlike a normal gun that basically hammers you throughout the process, the rotary is more like a smooth flowing motion. When you add this to the extremely delicate touch that Zulu has while tattooing it makes for the absolute most pleasurable experience I've had to date. There was literally no pain until about the last 10 minutes of the session. We took a total of 4.5 hours to do all of the outline work for my arm, the detail in person looks unlike any I previously thought possible from a tattoo. His classical art training comes out when he works and his chair side manor is beyond reproach. The music in the studio is also spot on allowing Zulu to get into his groove and produce the beginnings of a masterpiece. I say beginnings because I can't wait to come back to finish the color and shading in November. Bottom line: if you want something that is truly a masterpiece on you as the canvas...than Zulu is the person to do it for you. There is no longer a need for me to search out an artist for my other projects, Zulu has a client for life.

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    Zulu Tattoo
    Zulu Tattoo
    Zulu Tattoo

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    True Blue Tattoo - tattoo - Updated May 2026

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