Marco Hengst – Skin-A-Matic Tattoo
By Travelin’ Mick
It is never too late: When Dutch Marco Hengst from Nijmegen found his calling as a tattoo artist, he was already thirty-two years old. Now, ten years later, Skin-a-Matic, the studio he runs with his wife, Kim, is first-class address in Europe for fans of Old School and Asian tattoos. Respect and hard work are the founding principles of the highly disciplined artist of Skin-a-Matic
When at the Stockholm Convention in September 2009, the backpiece of a young woman won second place in the category of Best Japanese (leaving, among many others, a beautiful piece by Danish master Henning Jorgensen behind). Hengst must have know it: he had made it in the tattoo world! The long, hard way had finally paid off! But, if you think that enjoying his own triumph is the way that Marco Hengst thinks, you do not know the forty-two-year-old artist.
“I am so happy for my client,” he says, slightly out of breath right after the trophy-giving. “She came here from Holland, for the contest, and her smile now is my greatest reward! You know, the contests are mainly for the visitors anyway, I don’t take it so seriously.” He played down the fact that an illustrous jury just favoured his koi backpiece over an incredibly detailed sleeve by one of Europe’s most illustrious masters of Japanese tattooing. “It’s much more important to show respect for the other artsits,” he adds, immediately congratulating politely the other contestants.
Respect and humility are essential for Marco Hengst, a man who bent his knees so many times, when working as a construction carpenter, that his joints were shot by the time he reached his late twenties. More out of boredom, he started hanging out at a friend’s tattoo shop, where his then girlfriend (and now wife) Kim had been working as a bodypiercer for years.
He quickly proved so useful, because of his dilligence, that Tattoo Wolf, German owner of the studio, offered him an apprenticeship as a tattooist. “Wolf was a true old-schooler, who was a whole-hearted tattooist and did really solid work. There were no touch-ups in his shop. Everything was tight the first time!” For several months, Marco used this unique opportunity, worked hard on himself and was allowed—in the true old-school spirit—to color in the linework of the boss, using a seven-round needle!
“That was such hard work. Wolf was always looking over my shoulder. I sweated like a pig, while I did my little circles with this small needle.” But the tough schooling did the trick… and it soon proved necessary. Four months after Marco first lifted a tattoo 
machine, Tattoo Wolf, who had been riddled with depression for a long time, decided to take his own life. Marco and Kim, who Wolf destined to be his successors in a last note, where on their own.
Without ever having completed a single tattoo and without any financial backing, the young couple opened Skin-a-Matic in March 1999, right opposite the old address. A few months later, they had to move again, this time to the a much more roomy location, where the shop is today.
“When I did my first tattoo there, my hand was shaking harder than the machine. The pressure was nearly killing me. But maybe that was good. It meant that we had to succeed!”
At first, Marco did what he could do best: work hard. Slowly it started paying off. At a small Dutch convention, he won Best of Day, with a tattoo he copied off a magazine. Then he had to face the questions from other artists: “Ah, the shading is so smooth, what kind of Magnum are you using?” someone enquired. Marco had no idea what to say. “I thought, What the fuck is a Magnum?
Despite his helplessness in the beginning, Marco did what all aspiring artists should do: Get out of their shell, ask questions and face criticism from people who know what they are talking about. He now says, “It doesn’t mean anything if your friends all tell you you’re good. Thatۥs why they are your friends! That way you never learn anything.”
Marco made the decisive step, when he introduced himself to none other than Theo Jak. The American, living in Stockholm, is well known for not holding back his own opinion:
“I got tattooed by Theo a lot, because I like his work. When I showed him my tattoos, he told me where I fucked up. Actually, those were his exact words! He doesn’t blow feathers up your behind,” Marco remembers. “But he tells you exactly WHERE you fucked up and WHY, and that is helpful.”
Theo, now a close friend of Marco and Kim, has extensively tatooed both of them and certainly supports the efforts of his “disciple,” who he also taught his well-known strong ethics.
One of the things, Marco also learned was how important it is to get to know his clients, not only to listen to their wishes but also how to sense them. Also, a tattoo artist should always be able to offer some insight. “Building a large and varied portfolio is important,” Marco advises newcomers to the trade. For larger assignments, Marco draws the main elements first on paper, but adds background and details later, when working on the human body. This leaves him more freedom to react to creative impulses.
“Kim is my best critic,” he lovingly says about his wife. “She has such a good eye for aesthetics and is also my voice of reason.” At the moment, Marco spends every free minute studying the arts of Asia, draws like a maniac and reads as many books as possible about the topic He has even started memorizing Japanese vocabulary. He has the strong intention to study this part of the tattoo world as much as possible.
As we have seen in Stockholm, Marco Hengst is making tremendous progress, and his success might just mean that we will see a lot more of this dynamic couple in the future. We are certainly looking forward to that!
Marco Hengst
Skin-a-Matic
Van Welderenstraat 127
6511MJ Nijmegen, Netherlands
Ph.: +31-24 – 3226910
