We Interview The Man Behind The Biggest Show Ever!

World Renowned and celebrity tattoo artist Mario Barth is the owner and chief tattoo artist at Starlight Tattoo, the premier international tattoo organization with six high-end tattoo studios and the online tattoo supply company called, The Tattoo Super Store. Barth also invents cutting-edge products for the industry. He is the creator and manufacturer of the first-ever sterile single dose inks (Singlez ™) which contain his world renowned Intenze Ink Tattoo Colors. Known in the tattoo industry as the foremost innovator and trendsetter, Barth is the winner of over 200 international awards and has an extraordinary celebrity clientele, including Sylvester Stallone, Tommy Lee, Lenny Kravitz, Ja Rule, and so many more! Names one of the most influential artists in the history of tattooing, Barth hosts the annual Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth, a tattoo and piercing expo which draws crowds in excess of 25,000—the largest collection of tattoo artists in the world. Barth's expertise and fame has given countless national and international media cause to seek him out. Barth has been featured on the cover of countless trade publications, including Inked, Skinart, International Tattoo Art, Outlaw Biker Tattoo Review, Tattoo magazine and Tattoo Planet. Barth wrote the foreword and is featured in The Keibunsha Institute’s upcoming book on the history of tattooing.

We recently got to do a brief interview with Mario about the show and what to expect at it this year. read on below.

Tattoos.com - What will the fans get out of this years event after attending the show? What will the artists get out of it?
Mario Barth: - The fans will get out of this show the largest arrangement of tattoo artists from around the world ever under one roof, the newest techniques, the newest supplies and merchandise, and vendors that are currently entering the tattoo lifestyle. The fans will also experience specific areas where we display the history of tattooing, where we not only display the history of tattooing, but they can also see the tattoo masters from Samoa, Japan, China, etc, tattooing "traditional" live in action. We believe that the fans of this year's show will be part of the era of new tattoo shows, which we like to call "TATTOO LIFESTYLE CONFERENCE." The artists will have the chance to interact with all different artists to see the techniques and discuss the biggest challenges in this ever-changing industry. I tried for the past 30 years to stay open and resourceful for every artist who ever asked me any questions about the industry and techniques that they would like to learn. We believe that this will be the first tattoo conference with tons of seminars where learning experiences can be taken to the next level, which goes as far as one-on-one seminars and training lessons with some of the top leaders in the industry.

Tattoos.com - Will there be any new artists that we haven't seen attend the show before?
Mario Barth: - Absolutely! By a show in this magnitude, we have currently 500 confirmed tattoo, piercing and vendor booths that will be attending so there will be many names which are new in the industry, but also some of the biggest names of the past 50 years will be attending.

Tattoos.com - As the host of the Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth, what do you see happening in the next 5 years that would make it bigger and better than it is today?
Mario Barth: - That's a really good question. We keep working on that every single day and trying to think really hard and out of the box, but the one thing we know for sure is that it has to make sense for the artists and the visitors to get an experience out of one weekend that should last for the rest of the year.

Tattoos.com - What are the newest features that you are most anticipating for this years show?
Mario Barth: - There are so many new features that it will take two hours of writing to put it down on paper, but one of the most exciting one is that we will have specific contests and events before the show where we will be giving away 100,000 free Weekend Passes to visitors throughout the United States. We believe that it is all about the artists and the visitors, which means we have to provide a great service for both of them - for the artist, we have to have a packed house with a great environment and great parties; and for the visitors, it is for them to spend the least amount of money to get to the show so that they may spend the money on getting tattooed or pierced.

Tattoos.com - What impact do you think the change in location, from New Jersey to Las Vegas, will have on this years event?
Mario Barth: - We believe that it'll have a great impact because it was a 10 year plan to bring our tattoo show to the convention capital of the world, Las Vegas. We did not settle for any small hotels or any side streets, we're right on the strip at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, the most prestigious convention center in the world! To see the tattoo industry coming from the dark side alley to the bright lights of Las Vegas, it'll be a historic moment in itself.

Tattoos.com - You are obviously a big part of the celebrity explosion that's caused the tidal wave all around the world, do you see any end in sight, or will the whole world soon be covered in sleeves?
Mario Barth: - After 40,000 years, how can there be an end in sight in my lifetime? I believe there will always be people who do not join the lifestyle of tattooing and that's OK. Do I believe that the whole world will be covered in sleeves? I do not think so because I think that everyone will be covered in body suits because people will not stop when they get their sleeves covered already.

Tattoos.com - Thanks so much for your time Mario and we will see you all at the show!