Field Dispatch
Hello Stranger / Goodbye Friend A Day At Revival Tattoo Company Hendersonville NC
Walking into Revival Tattoo wasn’t just about adding another piece to my arm — it was about stepping into somebody else’s world and letting them run wild. Josh showed me the design — a zombie skull wrapped in a rose — and he was grinning like a kid on Christmas. I didn’t question it. I just told him, “You’re the artist. Do your thing.”
Three and a half hours later, I walked out with a Josh McDowell original burned into my arm. No flash sheet. No Pinterest knock-off. Just his imagination, my trust, and enough color to stop traffic. I’ve got plenty of ink already, but this one feels different. Heavier. Louder. It didn’t feel like a tattoo session — it felt like a jam session. Josh riffing, another artist tossing in a suggestion, both of them cracking up when the right green finally hit.
That’s Revival. The energy isn’t sterile or stiff. It’s like hanging at your buddy’s house, music loud, everyone giving each other hell but with trust underneath it. The banter and the laughter are as much a part of the room as the buzzing of the machines. You walk in a stranger, but the floor mat spells it out: Hello Stranger. You walk out, and the mat on the flip side says it plain: Goodbye Friend.
This wasn’t just another tattoo. It was a joint venture. Off The Streets Productions and Revival Tattoo Company came together to make something bigger: his art on my skin, my lens capturing the process, and a story that stretches past the shop walls. The upcoming Dispatch video will live on YouTube once the final edits are locked in — tightened transitions, maybe a re-record here or there. Like the tattoo itself, the video won’t be done until it feels right.
And then, in the middle of it all, I caught a sign on the wall. A simple line that hit harder than the needle:
“No one cares what your last tattoo cost.”
That’s it. That’s the mantra. Doesn’t matter if we’re talking tattoos, t-shirts, advertising, or life in general. Nobody cares what you paid last time. The only thing that matters is what it’s worth right now. Prices change. Life changes. Art changes. You either pay it, respect it, and wear it — or you don’t.
Everything else?
Just noise.
Josh McDowell at work on a traditional tattoo style eagle
