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Occult Vibrations
@occultvibrations.com
110 followers 19 following 74 posts
Exploring tattoo culture through the mysteries of history.
occultvibrations.com
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Lyle Tuttle, traditional Samoan tattooing, 1970s.
Photo by Robin Ryan
sacreddebbris.com
Tattoo Artist Lyle Tuttle being tattooed in the traditional Samoan way, 1970s. Photo by Robin Ryan
December 13, 2025 at 4:28 AM
occultvibrations.com
Underground queer tattoo shop, 1970s. The artist was likely Ken Meyer (also seen spelled Meyers) and the client Bobby Mack. Filmed by Sailor Sid Diller.

sacreddebris.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:55 AM
occultvibrations.com
Larry Copeland hosted a gathering of tattoo and piercing fans at his Hoboken, NJ residence in 1974/5.

In attendance was Emil Gundelach who continued getting tattooed into his 90s, Tatu Scotty, Spider Webb, Dave Slack, Mary, and Ken Meyer (among other unnamed friends)
October 21, 2025 at 3:50 PM
occultvibrations.com
Dave Slack was a queer tattoo artist who worked in NYC in the 1970s/80s. He appeared in the legendary gay xxx video "NYC INFERNO" (playing a tattoo artist).

This clip, recorded in approx 1974/5, also features Emil Gundelach, Larry Copeland, Key Meyer, and Spider Webb.

sacreddebris.com
October 21, 2025 at 11:48 AM
occultvibrations.com
This is the length (heh) I go to to not get banned on Instagram again. Leg tattoos by Raven

sacreddebris.com
A fully tattooed body with a banner blurring his penis reading NSFMeta
October 7, 2025 at 3:23 PM
occultvibrations.com
Underground queer tattoo shop, 1975. Ken Meyer (Florida) working on a homoerotic back tattoo. Screenshot from video.

sacreddebris.com
a red screen that reads UNDERGROUND, FLORIDA USA 1975 blurry screen shot of a man tattooing another man, 1970s homoerotic tattoo, 1970s
September 10, 2025 at 4:57 AM
occultvibrations.com
Robert E. Roberts - Maddog Tattoo - 1990s.
Slide building is going well on the Indelible Identities lecture on Queer Tattoo History.
Screen shot of a lecture slide; a bearded man with a t-shirt that says MADDOG TATTOO is being interviewed by a possibly drunk woman in a leather hat A letter from Robert Roberts to Shawn Porter, 1997. The letter talks about their meeting at a tattoo convention, and a desire to talk via phone.
August 2, 2025 at 4:18 AM
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Every time.
A greedy cat holding a churu
August 1, 2025 at 12:18 PM
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it's something.
"featuring the mutual tattooed penis admiration society"
July 24, 2025 at 4:16 AM
occultvibrations.com
Proof copy of our lecture guide arrived with a friend. PFIQ ceased publication with issue 50 but there was one last issue cued up. Jim Ward was finally able to complete the run. So exciting.
Two books.
July 22, 2025 at 6:26 PM
occultvibrations.com
Our friend @savagesal.bsky.social was kind enough to reimagine a Cliff Raven design to add a little razzle dazzle to my latest book - a visual companion to the lecture I’ll be giving on #queertattoo history in less than a month!
Cover of a book titled INDELIBLE IDENTITIES A QUEER HISTORY OF TATTOOING 01: John Dagion by archivist Shawn Porter The cover feature a traditional tattoo design of a swallow and heart with a banner reading QUEER, designed by Savage Sal.
July 17, 2025 at 2:55 PM
occultvibrations.com
Along with Ed Hardy & Don Nolan, Cliff Raven was one of a handful of Western artists responsible for popularizing Japanese influenced large scale tattooing to America. He was also an out gay man. Screenshot from 50+ year old video at an underground queer tattoo shop.

Sacreddebris.com
A smiling bearded man tattooing a naked friend.
June 23, 2025 at 7:01 PM
occultvibrations.com
I feel like a one-trick pony lately. All of my archival energy is going towards the first lecture in the Indelible Identities series. This page is from the introduction essay on the history of Queer tattooing- the final image is from NYC's TRON - part of the future of queer representation in tattoo.
Page from INDELIBLE IDENTITIES 01: John Dagion
June 22, 2025 at 4:02 AM
occultvibrations.com
1981 REAL PEOPLE episode excerpt. I for one think that tattoos + perversion is a rad combo.

Full video is on our Patreon:
Sacreddebris.com
June 16, 2025 at 2:53 PM
occultvibrations.com
Fired up the VCR today for some conversion. This cassette is likely from 1981 and features Bill Mokry.

Sacreddebris.com
June 15, 2025 at 10:39 PM
occultvibrations.com
Little rough teaser - still working on dropping some text in it any trying to work Cliff Raven in somehow- for my August lecture on queer tattooing history.

Sacreddebris.com
June 10, 2025 at 6:04 PM
occultvibrations.com
Capturing 50 year old tattoo video…
A screen capture of a letter board reading FEATURING THE MUTUAL TATTOOED PENIS ADMIRATION SOCIETY
June 8, 2025 at 4:28 PM
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Still tweaking an essay for the Indelible Identities lecture companion book. I’m not a good writer, by any means, but I do what I can.

#queertattoo history!
Tattooing was an outlaw subculture, and the queer community, particularly pre-Stonewall, were outlaws, too. They—we—were also at the forefront of self-expression, fashion, liberation, art, culture, and freedom from sexual hangups. That opened the door for tattoo clients who were up for larger, more adventurous, artistic pieces—and, more importantly, could afford to get them. It only makes sense that tattooing would find a welcome home in queer spaces, even when we weren’t welcome in tattoo culture at large. That led to certain choices: stay in the closet and get tattooed by a straight tattooer, or find an artist who was either an ally or part of the family. That was, until fairly recently, easier said than done. While we have significant documentation of LGBTQ+ clients wearing work by legendary tattooers like Coleman, Sailor Jerry Collins, Bert Grimm, and Paul Rogers, the footprint of queer artists before the 1980s remains much smaller. Collectively, historians Paul R. King, Dr. Matt Lodder, and I have been able to come up with a list of around fifteen known queer tattooers active before tattooing exploded into mainstream culture in the late 1980s. The pater familias was Samuel Steward, who tattooed under the name Phil Sparrow. Steward
June 3, 2025 at 12:28 PM
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Dennis Avner (Stalking Cat) and Bob Shaw, 1980s.
There was a time where facial tattooing was banned at most tattoo conventions; exceptions were made.

#tattoo #tattoohistory #bobshaw
Dennis and Bob. A man tattooed like a tiger.
April 30, 2025 at 3:36 AM
occultvibrations.com
Another 35mm negative scan from photographer Robin Ryan; Houston 1976. Peter Polous (left) and Dale Grande and friend.

#tattoo #traditionaltattoo #occultvibrations #35mm

sacreddebris.com
Three people in a black and white photo; two men, one woman. The foreground couple are both tattooed.
April 28, 2025 at 3:18 PM
occultvibrations.com
Val Watson at the 1976 Houston Tattoo Convention. Val is the subject of a recent zine from tattoo historian/tattooer Sharky Pitts- thought to be the first professional female African American tattoo artist, Val was a fixture at early tattoo convention. This photo is by Robin Ryan, scanned from 35mm
A tattooed African American woman, she's holding a cup and is wearing a name tag- from the 1976 convention.
April 28, 2025 at 2:55 PM
occultvibrations.com
Can't remember when I photographed this piece or who it was on. Getting old is fun.

Paul Rogers, 1988.
A traditional tattoo of a ship by tattoo artist Paul Rogers
April 28, 2025 at 1:33 PM
occultvibrations.com
When the subject of LGBTQ+ tattooers comes up, I’m usually greeted with calls of “Cliff Raven was amazing!” - and so he was.

But there were a lot of trailblazers, folks who never rose to the level of acclaim Cliff received, whose stories need to be told.

I look forward to adding to the series.
Fliers for the lecture series INDELIBLE IDENTITIES: a queer history of tattooing. One features a black and white portrait of a young man, the other features the same man twenty years later tattooing flames on the ass crack of a bent over man.
April 27, 2025 at 8:19 PM
occultvibrations.com
Photographed this gent at the Mad Hatters Tea Party- late 1980s.

At the time, some tattoo conventions wouldn’t allow guests with facial tattooing.
Man with a fully tattooed face - black spiky non representational “tribal” imagery. He’s also pierced
April 27, 2025 at 5:55 PM
occultvibrations.com
(Not from our Archives)

Filmmaker Werner Herzog showing off his Ed Hardy tattoo.
Filmmaker Werner Herzog showing off a tattoo of a skull.
April 27, 2025 at 5:48 PM