The Summit Invitational is returning, and there is a distinct electricity in the air this year. Alongside the Real Gone Crew, I am incredibly proud to help bring Darl Gnau’s vision to life once again. If you have ever been to a standard tattoo convention, you know the typical drill—the overwhelming noise, the chaotic foot traffic, the sideshow circus atmosphere. The Summit is an entirely different beast. This is a curated sanctuary driven purely by the art and the artists. It is a space deliberately designed to honor the deep-rooted culture, the tight-knit community, and the profound legacy of the tattooing craft.
We are laying the foundation with two intensive days of masterclass seminars led by four phenomenal artists. Education, shared technique, and true collaboration are the beating heart of this endeavor. When dedicated artists gather to dissect their process and push one another’s creative boundaries, the entire room elevates. Following that educational groundwork, we dive straight into three full days of focused, epic tattooing. The environment at The Summit has been meticulously crafted to strip away the usual distractions, allowing us to produce a truly elevated collection of work.
This brings me to my favorite part of the process—and where you come in. For this year’s show, I want to push my own limits. I am currently looking for one highly dedicated person to sit with me for up to three full days. I don’t just want to execute a standard tattoo; I want to build a living, breathing piece of fine art engineered specifically for the intense, creative energy of this event. Whether it leans into surrealism, hyper-realism, or something entirely unique, I want to create a showstopper.
If you feel like you are that person, I want to hear from you. Send me a direct message with a core theme, a mood, or an imaginative concept that deeply resonates with you. Give me the seed of an idea, and allow me the complete creative freedom to run with it. Let’s collaborate, trust the artistic process, and build something undeniably inspiring together.