Today we’d like to introduce you to Mik Miller.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Mik. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started my tattooing career when I was 15 years old. I had no formal training so I simply tattooed. Most of the tattoos that I did during that part of my life were ones I’m not exactly proud of. Three weeks before my 18th birthday I joined the Marines. (Fake ID) and was shipped over to Vietnam. So my tattoo career was put on hold. But I did get a chance to pierce while I was there as my entire platoon were required to get their left ear pierced and I was the one to do it. After I came home from Vietnam I moved to San Francisco and got a job at a 24 hour tattoo parlor. That’s when my real training began. I trained under a couple of tough old bikers who were no-nonsense teachers. I can’t count the times I got smacked in the back of the head because I didn’t work fast enough, or was screwing around when I should have been working. But they were excellent teachers and I learned my trade well.
From there I went to Thailand to learn how to tattoo with rods. I spent six months outside of Chaing Mai with the monks of the Karen Hilltribe. I then returned to the United States and moved to Massachusetts. As tattooing was illegal in this state I was forced to ply my trade underground. That’s when I decided that I would also add body piercing to my art and decided to find someone to apprentice me. As there were very few Body Piercers in the U.S. I was forced to search abroad. I met a teacher by the name of Tom Harley in London and he decided to take me under his wing. So I moved to London (Picadilly Circus To be exact). After spending the better part of a year learning from Tom I moved back to Massachusetts and began my piercing career. Since there were only two other body piercers in the U.S. my art was in high demand. I traveled all over the U.S. performing body piercings in many different ritualistic atmospheres. Traveling was taking a toll on my health, not to mention my love and social life so I opened a small shop in Boston on Cambridge Street. I tattooed in the back room, Pierced in a side room and made and sold Leather clothing and accessories in the front of the shop.
The day before Mothers day I was approached by my landlord and was informed that Starbucks had purchased the block and I had one day to vacate the premises. from there I moved to Dedham but was very displeased with the atmosphere of the shop and area so I decided to look for a new place. I was driving down Hancock Street in North Quincy and spotted a for rent sign on an old store. I stopped in and spoke to the landlord and was told that he would let me have the place for $400.00 a month. That was a great deal. So even though the shop was a mess I decided to rent it. Renovations took about two weeks but on May 31st I opened “Body Xtremes Piercing Salon”. The city of Quincy was less than pleasant when they realized that I was sticking needles in their residents so they decided to try and shut me down. After a series of meetings and court cases and a judge informing them that I was doing nothing illegal they finally realized that I was there to stay. Through all of this I had been attempting to overthrow the ban on tattooing. That was a downhill fight but I never gave up.
Finally in 2000 in the midst of me once again fighting with the city over some Halloween decorations in my shop windows I was contacted by a supreme court justice who informed me that she had been following my fight and had decided to overthrow the ban on Tattooing. So I contacted the newspapers and the state went wild. There were tattoo shops opening everywhere. many of them had no training or no regard for sterile procedures. So once again I spoke with the judge and we decided to put a stay on allowing the tattoo shops to open until we promulgated a set of regulations making sure that the places that did open could only do so if they were sterile and followed all of the health codes. Unfortunately these were only model regulations as the Commonwealth didn’t want anything yo do with regulating the tattoo art. So I began working with the city of Quincy drafting a set of regulations that would be offered to every city and town that allowed tattoos into their city.
I traveled to 351 cities and towns speaking with their health departments. Asking that they adopt the regulations or at least part of the regulations. Upsettingly enough quite a few cities refused to adopt any regulations thus opening the doors to shops that were both unregulated and unsafe. After doing what I could I decided that it was time to focus on my own shop and work with state reps and senators in trying to get the state to let me write regulations that encompassed every city. I’m still in the process of doing this. My shop has been open for 21 years now we are the oldest in the state. We are also one of the most unique shops in the U.S. and probably the world. We also talk at health fairs, High Schools and other organizations about the perils of illegal tattooing and having them done on individuals. If you need more information please don’t hesitate to contact me.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been a smooth road as beating the city has been a tough road to hoe. They have tried on several occasions to set me up so they could shut me down. One such incident involved a seven-hour mock court trial set up in city hall in an attempt to close my shop down. As I had done nothing wrong they were unsuccessful. But they still try. It’s become sort of a game now. They try to find something wrong and I make sure that I don’t do anything wrong.
After I made Tattooing Legal in the state I had numerous threats against my life. Most came from the surrounding state of Rhode Island. And a few from New Hampshire. But through it all, I persevered and am still here.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Body Xtremes – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Body Xtremes is the first and oldest Tattoo and Piercing salon in Massachusetts. We specialize in custom tattooing and body piercing at a reasonable rate. We cater to the middle class working people and make sure that they get the very best for a decent price. I pride myself on running a no attitude company. We treat our clients like they are family. I think the fact that we offer quality work at an affordable price sets us apart from most other shops in the state. Also, I have my oddities museum as part of the shop and this offers hours of entertainment to the people that come in. To my knowledge, I am the only shop that offers anything like this in the entire country and possibly even the world.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My future plans include the possibility of expanding into a much larger space that will offer not only tattooing and body piercing but also laser tattoo removal. I also plan on expanding my museum and offering custom-made jewelry and other items from around the world.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 617 471-5836.
- Facebook: Body Xtremes, Mik Miller
- Website: bodyxtremes.com
Image Credit:
Wall Street Journal
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