Let me be perfectly clear: Zulu Tattoo is one of the best tattoo studios in the United States, if not the world. I say this based on many years of study about tattooing, permanent marks and their role in society. There is no place I trust more than Zulu and his incredibly thoughtful, creative, and soulful tribe of artists.
I've received three tattoos from the amazing Zulu himself, and have known him for more than a decade. His custom artwork is unparalleled, as is his line work and tribal designs. My tattoos happen to all be extensively in color and their radiance many years later is still as strong as on the day I received them. Zulu has an incredible knowledge of cultures, faiths and symbols from around the world, and he uses this knowledge with his outstanding skill to realize anyone's vision onto the skin. You don't come to Zulu to pick a piece off the wall (there are none). You come for a one-of-a-kind creation that matches your heart and soul.
Recently I also received a tattoo from King Afa, one of Zulu's talented artists. Though Afa is reknowned around the world for his Polynesian traditional work, he helped me translate an antique Mexican silver bracelet given by my grandmother into a phenomenal tattoo bracelet. Just sitting with Afa and learning about the traditional tattoo style and culture of Tonga (his homeland) was inspirational. I'm already on his schedule for a companion bracelet on my other wrist.
Zulu and his team sets the bar for any permanent mark, and in today's times, they do something even more important. They remind us of our distant heritage, traditions, and the many cultures around the world that brought tattooing here in the first place. When you get a Zulu tattoo, you feel connected to the journeys that men and women have taken for millennia in order to mark their spiritual and personal transformations in a lifetime.
If I could give six stars, I'd do so proudly and gratefully in honor of Zulu Tattoo.
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