Longtime tattoo artists see success through pop culture specialty shop

When presented with the news that Sioux Falls is now home to a tattoo shop whose artists specialize in pop culture, a natural question may arise: Can a midsized Midwestern city sustain such an operation?

Not by itself, perhaps. But it can be the host to a regional or national hub. Particularly with artists whose decades of experience is and has been in demand for a customer base well beyond the city’s borders.

For proof of the Atomic Robot Tattoo concept, one can look to Ando Inthisian. The Minnesota native and current Fargo resident first connected with 13-year veteran tattooist and Atomic Robot co-founder Ryan Swier at a tattoo convention in the Twin Cities.

Inthisian, 33, had spent 20 years thinking about what his first tattoo would look like. He’s picky, he said, and it wasn’t until he met Swier that he felt ready to pull the trigger on the in-progress piece that soon will cover his left arm.

He liked Swier’s use of lines and color, but it was Swier and Inthisian’s shared love of anime that sealed the deal.

That, and seeing Swier’s work on his sister and brother-in-law, both of whom also live in Fargo and don’t mind making the drive south.

“Ryan and I vibed right away. We like the same kind of anime, the same kinds of art,” Inthisian said. “I was kind of hesitant to make the drive out to Ryan (at first), but seeing what he did for my sister, I was ready.”

“Vibing” with an artist is always a plus in a process that could involve multiple 8- to 10-hour sessions in an artist’s chair. Inthisian has had three with Swier so far and hopes to connect with him on another over the summer.

The pop culture decor in Atomic Robot’s Sioux Falls shop was just a bonus.

The walls are covered with anime and Star Wars characters and Nintendo ephemera, with helmets, figurines and horror movie icons on display behind glass cases.

“If I had a man cave, it would look exactly like their shop,” Inthisian said.

‘We wanted to make sure the quality was there’

Swier and Atomic Robot’s fellow co-founder, Cody Tweedy, had a combined 23 years of experience in tattooing when they threw open the doors of their shop at 111 S. Main Ave. in downtown Sioux Falls. They deliberately picked an opening on Friday the 13th – of October, in this case – which coincided with SiouxperCon, a Sioux Falls festival designed to appeal to the kinds of people who might want pop culture tattoos. 

“We definitely planned a flash event for that day,” Swier said.

Swier dipped a toe in as an apprentice after a few years in the restaurant business, one he joined for a decade after learning that his graphic design degree set him up to compete in a saturated job market. He showed some of his art to a tattoo artist in 2011, nabbed an apprenticeship and hasn’t looked back.

Tweedy started around the same time, though he first inked skin in Spearfish. His inspiration?

“I’m embarrassed to say it, but it was those corny shows like ‘Miami Ink’ and ‘LA Ink,’” Tweedy said. “I was watching those when I was really young.”

He wrote to some artists, got some advice and slowly began to turn the art bug that bit him as a kid at his kitchen table into a career.

Around 2020, Tweedy and Swier found themselves – and their lifelong interest in comic books and nerd culture – working in the same shop: Sioux Falls’ Red Arbor Tattoo. They both knew they wanted to zero in on pop culture art at some point, and they knew there was a market for it based on the number of tattoo requests in that arena that they saw each week. 

Last year, they were ready to hit go. 

“We waited till 13 years before we even felt comfortable even opening up a tattoo shop because we wanted to make sure that the quality was there,” Tweedy said. “We didn’t try to skip a step because we love tattooing. We took our time.”

Working on a living canvas with different properties from person to person is a big part of the learning curve for any tattoo artist, they said. People move, easels don’t. Skin can be sensitive, lighter, darker or take colors differently. Stretch marks can force an artist to adjust.

Swier loves that part of the process, which he calls critical to being able to deliver for clients every time.

“Our job is to make this thing fit around your body in a way that’s complimentary,” Swier said. “That’s my favorite part about it.”

Swier and Tweedy have taken on one apprentice since October. Sara Rubright is a Sioux Falls native and graduate of the Minneapolis Art Institute who, like Tweedy and Swier, specializes in the pop culture and video game art that inspired her as a kid. Her work often hews more closely to cute cartoon and video game characters, and her portfolio includes images of Pokemon characters and Vault Boy from the post-apocalyptic video game series Fallout.

Rubright is a bit younger than Tweedy and Swier, who “grew up in a big comic book and video game culture.” The “niche” adjective often applied to pop culture has started to fade, she said.

“Pop and game culture is way more accepted than it used to be,” Rubright said. “A lot of the niche is starting to flood out into the regular areas of the world.”

Tweedy and Swier have been impressed by Rubright. Her commitment to quality squares with their own, and her style also has begun to draw attention from afar.

Rubright has pulled in clients through word of mouth and occasionally through the digital version of it.

“We’ve definitely had people reach out to us and say ‘I found your shop through like Instagram and heard you do kind of nerdy stuff,’” Rubright said. “I’ve had a couple of people come in and let us know that, which is awesome.”

The next apprentice at Atomic Robot is now the shop’s manager. Mik Throntveit has been surrounded by artists for years, people like filmmakers, musicians and comedians. While getting a tattoo, the artist suggested that he ought to get involved. The suggestion, which came seven years ago, cemented his interest in the industry.

“After like a week, I was like, I don’t want to do anything else,” Throntveit said. “You can really speak freely in a tattoo shop, which is huge for me because I have a hard time doing corporate-speak.”

‘These guys are right up there’

All four Atomic Robots artists have been plenty busy since the shop opened. Sioux Falls residents and people from around the region with an interest in comic books have flocked to the shop, some after running into the artists at SiouxperCon.

But there are also plenty of clients with stories like the one from Inthisian, the Fargo man who chose Swier over other local and nearby artists. Mike Richie met Tweedy at the Villain Arts Tattoo Convention in Minneapolis and has made multiple trips from his Twin Cities-area home for ink from Tweedy. His brother has made trips to work with Swier. 

Richie’s right arm is now adorned with Star Wars imagery. The work started at a convention but has continued in Sioux Falls. Tweedy calls himself “a generational Star Wars nerd” whose family pulled him into fandom. 

They didn’t prepare him to keep up with Tweedy in the Star Wars lore department, though.

“He’ll mention things from Star Wars, and I’m like, I had no idea,” Richie said. 

The artists are “friendly and fun to work with,” which is part of the point for the shop owners. Hanging out with people who share their interests is a bonus. 

Not that a keen interest in pop culture trivia wars is a prerequisite to working with the artists at Atomic Robot. It’s a walk-in shop, Throntveit stresses, meaning anyone can come by and request just about any type of tattoo. 

Throntveit also just wants people to know how talented his co-workers are. He’s a huge fan of the people who sign his checks. 

“These guys are incredible artists, and I want people in this area to know that,” he said. “I’m talking on a national level, these two guys are right up there with the quote-unquote famous people from ‘Ink Master’ and stuff like that. I honestly kind of don’t think people know this (level of artist) is available.”