Chris 51's Interview With Lawless Media
ME: So I'm sitting down with Chris 51 of the hit TV show Epic Ink at the FieldHouse Sports bar just across the street from the Convention Center in Center City Philadelphia, where the two of us will be busting our ass all weekend, and by busting our ass I mean having a blast. Right, Chris?
CHRIS: Oh I'm having a ball already, you a sportscaster? You should be that was great. (Laugh)
ME: No politics, I actually spend far more time snooping and photographing, it's actually been quite a while since I've interviewed anyone in this fashion, usually it's looking for a few quick quotes from an activist or politician, and you?
CHRIS: (Laugh)
ME: Alright let's get serious for a minute here, at least as serious as we can be having found out I was doing this interview only 10 minutes or so ago. (laugh)
ME: Alright, here we go, serious, you serious? As far as your literary work who inspires you?
CHRIS: I don't know, it sounds cheesy but I'm not much of a reader I prefer to spend my time creating rather than reading someone else's work but I think that's because I'm an artist. You know being a tattoo artist I just like to create and put something new out there. So as far as inspiration, you know what it is, it's what I've done in Business and my family. I think my children inspire a lot of things you want for the children's books, I like that so I take those little life lessons and turn them into words on a page, you know my life with them next week, beyond that what can I say other than the world around me.
ME:You were a lit major in school what made you get into art and tattooing?
CHRIS: Like I said I'm inspired by the world around me, I very visually orientated so you can say I was just born this way, you know it was just already in me. In the end, my folks helped me out a lot by just supporting me as I grew into myself as an artist, as a creator.
ME: I only found out about this interview about ten minutes ago and I'm not much of a TV watcher, so I think we're going to wing a lot of this. You've described yourself as a bit of a nerd, what got you into sci-fi and comics?
CHRIS: I was born into the world of Star Wars and Saturday morning cartoons.
ME: I feel yah, we watched cartoons right up until we left for Karate and Judo practice. Star Wars or Star Trek which do you prefer?
CHRIS:I'd have to say Star Wars, I love the aliens I think they're just way cooler.
ME: Really, I think Star Treks Aliens are by far cooler?
CHRIS: The Borg are probably the coolest of all the aliens, and I loved the loyalty of both Cpt. Picard and Kirk, but it was the loyalty of Commander William Riker, he was loyal to a fault, yes he was loyal to the Federation but he was loyal to his captain and crew first. In the end, he would always choose his crew over the rules of the Federation, and I took that sort of loyalty to heart.
ME: Star Trek tends to contain a lot of intellectualism, so it has quite a bit of socio-political commentary, who do you think the Borg represent in society?
CHRIS: The Media.
ME: The media? You know I'm a journalist right, are you looking to blow this interview? No, I'm just kidding, I definitely see where you're coming from often time it seems like they just follow their marching orders and can't think or act for themselves. I find the police to be the same way, often times.
CHRIS: have you ever seen those people walking on the sidewalk with their heads down, staring at their phones, zombies I tell you.
(We Both Laugh)
ME: So, are you a Donald Trump fan? I heard you were. It seems odd to me that you would be, sort of at odds with who you seem to be as a person.
CHRIS: Not at all, in fact, I'm Very (A) political, I just don't have tome for it between work and my kids, I don't have time for a lot of bull shit, I don't think there's a single politician worth listening to because there aren't any that even know the meaning of honesty, much less have my interest or that of my family in mind.
ME: Great answer, in the end, it always comes back to that, family. So I have to ask as a dad myself, how do you balance work and family time?
CHRIS: It's simple when I'm home, I'm home. Everything I do is for my kids, to leave them something, a legacy, so they'll have a better life than I did, I think that's what all of us want.
ME: I think I'm often the fun one at home, at least when I'm not working or trying to make sure things are running smoothly, you know that actual parenting of parenting. I love getting down on the floor with John and letting go, it reminds me of what all of this is about, life and love. You ever get down there on the floor with the kids and just you know act like one of them?
CHRIS: Absolutely, almost every night I get down on the floor bust our the cars, and the superheroes and just have a blast, hell I even bring the sound effects for it all. On the weekends we get out and throw the ball around and everyone kinda gets in on the action. That's the best part of being a parent getting to actually be there for it all whether it's at home or take them to ball practice.
ME: My wife is a mixed media artist, and she thought about learning to tattoo at one point, so which was it for you? Tattooing or fine arts which came first?
CHRIS: Tattooing, I started tattooing kind of out necessity, then as I went along I started putting my work on other sorts of canvases.
ME: I know you said you weren't political per se, but aren't you afraid there won't be a real future for our kids if we keep heading down a path of unsustainability even in the face of real viable solutions to social problems, like poverty, the environment and everything else?
CHRIS: Oh I'm very afraid for the chances of my kids when they get older and of future generations, I just don't have the room in my life to focus on that, I would rather prepare them as best as I can and focus my time and energy on them.
ME:Do you have anything in the works, anything coming down the pipeline you can talk about?
CHRIS: Yeah I'm pitching some Ideas around, trying to see what sticks, I think you could see another TV show in the next year or two.
ME:You like doing TV?
CHRIS: It's like a bug, once you do it once, it's in you and it's just a lot of fun.
ME: Alright I know you have a few other people who want to talk to you tonight and honestly I need another beer, it's going to be a long weekend for all of us I think.
CHRIS: Great talking with you, I'll see you over the weekend, I have a real fun tattoo I'm doing on Saturday you may want to shoot.
ME: A second date already?
CHRIS: (Laugh) It's gonna be a large thigh tattoo of the Road Warriors, I loved those guys as a kid.
ME: I think I was a Jake the Snake kid myself, but those guys were great too, I'll see you then.
RIS: Great talking with you, I'll see you over the weekend, I have a real fun tattoo I'm doing on Saturday you may want to shoot.
ME: A second date already?
CHRIS: (Laugh) It's gonna be a large thigh tattoo of the Road Warriors, I loved those guys as a kid. ME: I think I was a Jake the Snake kid myself, but those guys were great too, I'll see you then.
