Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicholaus Young.
Hi Nicholaus, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started as a tattoo artist over 15 years ago, specializing in cover-ups and reworks. Over time, I recognized the need for an apprenticeship that wasn’t exploitative. So, I founded Learn to Ink – a structured, state-compliant tattoo and piercing program right here in Kansas City. Today, I operate both my personal client work and a premium apprenticeship pipeline, turning aspiring artists into licensed professionals who operate at the highest standard.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. I built my career in an industry that can be extremely guarded, where information is often withheld and people are expected to struggle silently in order to “earn” their place. I had to learn a lot through experience, mistakes, long hours, and situations that forced me to become more resourceful than comfortable.
One of the biggest challenges has been learning how to grow beyond being a talented artist and become a serious business owner, educator, and leader. Creating great work is one thing. Building systems, managing people, staying compliant with state requirements, maintaining a studio, marketing the business, and creating a program that students can actually trust is an entirely different responsibility.
There have also been financial setbacks, personal obstacles, criticism, and moments when it would have been easier to scale back or quit. Instead, I used those experiences to identify what was broken in the traditional tattoo apprenticeship model. That became the foundation for Learn to Ink.
My goal was never just to teach people how to tattoo. I wanted to create the kind of structured, transparent, professional opportunity that I wish had existed when I was starting. The difficult parts of my journey are a major reason the program exists today.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a Missouri-licensed tattoo artist, body piercer, educator, and the founder of Learn to Ink, a structured tattoo and body piercing apprenticeship program based in Kansas City.
As an artist, I’m best known for cover-ups, reworks, and helping people transform tattoos they no longer feel connected to. A lot of my clients come to me with work that is unfinished, poorly executed, outdated, or attached to a part of their life they are ready to move past. My job is not simply to place a new image over an old one. It is to understand what is realistically possible, design around the existing tattoo, and create something the client can finally feel proud to wear.
What sets my work apart is my ability to see potential where other artists may only see limitations. Cover-up work requires technical skill, patience, honesty, and strong problem-solving. You have to understand contrast, saturation, composition, placement, and how a tattoo will heal—not just how it looks immediately after the appointment.
Over time, my career expanded beyond tattooing clients. I became increasingly focused on education and on improving the way new artists enter the industry. Traditional tattoo apprenticeships can be unstructured, secretive, and difficult to navigate. I created Learn to Ink to offer a more professional alternative built around documented education, supervised procedures, accountability, safety, and Missouri licensing requirements.
What I am most proud of is that my work now creates opportunities for other people. I still get to help clients regain confidence through tattooing, but I also get to help aspiring artists develop real skills, build professional habits, and create careers of their own.
I do not see tattooing as a hobby or just a creative outlet. It is a skilled trade, a profession, and a responsibility. Whether I am working with a client or mentoring an apprentice, my goal is the same: produce work that is intentional, honest, and built to last.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I believe risk is unavoidable when you are trying to build something meaningful. The question is not whether you take risks. It is whether the risk is calculated, whether you understand what is at stake, and whether the potential outcome is worth the responsibility that comes with it.
One of the biggest risks I have taken was expanding beyond working solely as a tattoo artist and building Learn to Ink, a structured tattoo and body piercing apprenticeship program in Kansas City. It required me to invest my own money, time, reputation, and professional experience into an idea that challenged a lot of the traditions within the tattoo industry.
Traditional apprenticeships are often informal, inconsistent, and heavily dependent on who someone happens to know. I believed there was room for a more transparent and professional model built around structured coursework, supervised procedures, safety, accountability, and state licensing requirements. Turning that belief into an actual program meant taking on far more than teaching. I had to become responsible for curriculum development, compliance, operations, student progress, facility expenses, marketing, and the long-term outcomes of the people who trusted me with their careers.
That was a major risk because failure would not have affected only me. It could have affected my students, my business, and the reputation I had spent years building as an artist. That responsibility forced me to approach the program carefully and continue improving it as it grew.
I have also taken risks throughout my career by specializing in cover-ups and tattoo reworks. Those projects come with technical limitations and a greater possibility of complications than starting on untouched skin. You have to be honest about what can be achieved, confident in your decisions, and willing to decline work when the outcome would not serve the client. Taking those projects taught me that confidence should come from preparation, not ego.
I would describe myself as a calculated risk-taker. I do not believe in taking risks simply to appear bold. I look at the possible downside, determine what I can control, and decide whether the opportunity moves me closer to the larger goal. Some of my best professional decisions have been uncomfortable, expensive, and uncertain at the beginning, but they also created the most growth.
For me, risk is often the price of building something that did not exist before.
Pricing:
- Standard Tattoo Session — $200
- Extended Tattoo Session — $380
- Half-Day Tattoo Session — $600
- Missouri Tattoo Apprenticeship Program — starting at $5,900
- Gold Standard Tattoo Apprenticeship Program — $8,900
Contact Info:
- Website: https://learntoink.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/nickyoungtattoos
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/nyounginkc
- Twitter: https://x.com/goodtattoosonly
