Fire of Truth
As a tattoo artist and trauma informed coach, James takes his perspective on the tattoo industry and life in general and shares it with you. His guests are varied in range from tattoo practitioners, life and career coaches, and friends and family. Some of those roles overlap each other! There will be conversations about trauma and how to deal with it, spirituality and creativity, and death and dying. All the hard things to talk about sprinkled in with some humorous relief.
- Average duration
- 22 minutes
- Episodes
- 34
- Years Active
- 2025
Episode 14 - Life, Death and Tattooing Part 1 of 2
We have a deep conversation with Alex Marks’ apprentice, Cassandra “M’Kay” Johnson of NorCal Tattoo about life as an apprentice. We get a bit of insight on what she’s learned so far and…
What is Religious Trauma?
One of the types of trauma I didn’t realize existed is religious trauma. This was brought to my attention while studying more about trauma and trauma recovery. The conversation I had wi…
Episode 12 - Stabbie Darling Part 2 of 2
In this episode the conversation with Charlie Darling and Abbie Rosales of NorCal Tattoo continues as we go into detail on their brushes with death and experiences of connection with th…
Episode 11 - Stabbie Darling - Part 1 of 2
We have an awesome conversation with Tattoo artist, Charlie Darling and Piercer, Abbie Rosales both of NorCal Tattoo. Our conversation starts with stories of where they lived and what b…
Episode 10 - The Only Way Out is Through
I review my conversation with Alex Marks and expand on my own experiences with watching my father struggle in his life. I also go into detail about having panic attacks while driving ba…
Episode 9 - Apprenticeships and Chili Peppers - Part 2 of 2
Our conversation with Alex Marks continues. We continue our chat about apprenticeships and the changing landscape of our industry in tattooing. We then touch on the story of “Chili Pepp…
Episode 8 - Apprenticeships and Chilipeppers - Part 1 of 2
We have an awesome chat with NorCal Tattoo’s own Alex Marks, son of Ted and Amy Marks. We get a little bit of his version of the story of their family’s adventures in Las Vegas, Nevada …
Episode 7 - Knowing the Darkness to See the Light
I reflect on my main takeaways from my conversation with my friend Ted Marks. One of the main points I believe is that we often go through dark times and can’t always see how its all wo…
Episode 6 - Ted Talks and Shoutouts - Part 4 of 4
This final installment we talk about a wild night in the history of our friendship before either of us had anything to do with being an apprentice in the tattoo industry. Something invo…
Episode 5 - Ted Talks and Shoutouts - Part 3 of 4
In the third installment of our conversation with tattoo veteran Ted Marks, we go into who his major inspiration and influences in the tattoo industry are and how they were part of the …
Episode 4 - Ted Talks and Shoutouts - Part 2 of 4
This is the second part of the 4 part series with my good friend and veteran tattoo artist, Ted Marks of Nor Cal Tattoo. We take a deep dive into his journey into becoming a tattoo appr…
Episode 3 - Ted Talks and Shoutouts - Part 1 of 4
I interview my good friend and co worker, Ted Marks. I ask him about his journey to becoming a tattoo artist and bringing his family into the business by establishing his shop, NorCal T…
Episode 2 - Therapy
In this episode, I take a deep dive into my experiences with therapy and therapists in general. My first experience with this was my school counselor, when I was 12, informing me that I…
Introduction Episode
I talk a bit about what this podcast is about, and a little bit of my history with trauma and trauma recovery. I show a clip of my father talking to me over the phone during the pandemi…