The Bristol Tattoo Club (or 'BTC' for short) was the brainchild of Les Skuse, Champion Tattoo Artist of All Great Britain.
LES HAD THE original idea in 1951, but it wasn't until 1953 that the Club was formally started. Les wanted to heighten the awareness of the good in tattooing, in the process getting away from the general misconception that only 'bad people' or armed forces wore tattoos.
Les Skuse ran the BTC until his death in 1973, when his Son Danny (Les Skuse Jr) took over the Presidency. Danny handed the over the reigns to the latest President Jimmie Skuse, who has started to transform the Bristol Tattoo Club back to its glory days.
In 2013, Jimmie and the Bristol Tattoo Club was invited over to the States by Troy Timpel, who runs the Philadelphia convention, to have a booth and to create the first large get together of Bristol Tattoo Club members since the last trip in 1956. Over 100 members attended, and in the process the BTC made it to CBS News and was featured in lots of publications, keeping the tradition alive.
On returning to England, Jimmie received a great deal of enquiries from fans and fellow tattoo artists, all keen to join the Bristol Tattoo Club.
Joining the Bristol Tattoo Club today is very easy. You can pay for membership and receive the Club certificate and sticker online via PayPal. See the
'Join/Merch' page for full details.
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