Las Vegas tattoo artist builds business by prioritizing art over price

As one of Las Vegas’ longtime tattoo artists, Josh “King Ruck” Glover has seen the industry evolve over the course of his career.

He’s appeared on several television shows, including “Tanked”, “The Real World” and “Ink Master,” the tattoo competition series that debuted on Spike TV in 2012.

Born in 1976 and raised throughout the Las Vegas Valley, Glover graduated from high school in Las Vegas in the mid-1990s and went on to study art. He has worked professionally as an artist since graduating from art school in the early 2000s, but his passion for drawing began long before that.

Glover now runs Black Spade, a tattoo shop be founded in 2009 at Container Park in downtown Las Vegas. But he considers himself an artist first and businessman second.

Glover recently sat down with the Las Vegas Review-Journal to talk about his craft, competition and his local roots. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

How did you first become an artist?

I am an illustrator first and my mother gave me the gift of seeing something in my brain and translating that to my hand. So being an artist, and not just a tattooer, means a lot to me. My mother was an artist herself and first noticed I had talent when I was about 4 or 5 years old.

She continued to encourage me to draw and develop my talent, and she gave me the gift of being an artist. Sadly, she passed away when I was 16 so her encouragement always meant a lot to me.

What has the growth of Container Park meant for Black Spade? Does the foot traffic translate into paying customers, or do most clients come specifically for your work?

I would say it’s a hybrid of both. Container Park does what it needs to do because it’s just a cool place. People are curious, so they’re going to come in. The fact that we’re in a train is something people find interesting. They’re like, “What, a tattoo shop in a train?” So we get a good number of people coming in just to check that out. Then the other half is people who already know my style, my brand, the shop and what we do. We get a good number of people coming specifically because they know our work.

What are the biggest challenges for small businesses operating downtown today beyond parking?

As a tattoo artist in this industry, I would say one of the biggest challenges is the number of other tattoo shops so close to us offering novelty tattoos for $10, $15 or $20. We get people coming in asking, “Hey, do you guys do $20 tattoos?” And we’re like, “No, we don’t,” and they leave. I don’t think it’s a huge challenge, but it’s definitely one of them outside of parking. It’s about trying to educate people that we’re not that type of shop. We’re not a novelty tattoo shop. We’re a genuine tattoo shop filled with artists who want to create artwork on people.

How has downtown’s evolution since Tony Hsieh’s investment era affected independent businesses? Has the area become easier or harder for small business owners to succeed in?

In my opinion, it has definitely become easier. Tony Hsieh did a wonderful thing, may he rest in peace. That man had an outstanding vision, and he worked to bring that vision to life. Everyone is still benefiting from his vision, and I think that’s awesome. He did a great job, and I truly believe businesses are still doing great because of what he did.

Las Vegas has a large number of tattoo shops. How do you distinguish Black Spade from competitors, and how much does competition affect pricing?

Competition definitely affects pricing because we’re surrounded by a bunch of novelty tattoo shops offering $10, $15 and $20 tattoos. We’re standing strong and charging what we feel is a fair price for what we do. We could do novelty tattoos, but we choose not to. We’d rather create artwork. Tattoos are something you’re marking your body with, and it’s the only thing you’re getting buried with, so we take that seriously. Our work costs more, and we’re proud of it. We’re not the most expensive, but we’re definitely not the cheapest.

What distinguishes Black Spade is our customer service and being attentive to our clients. We collaborate with someone’s vision. It’s not a one-way street. We have to work together, and I think the way we do that separates us from other shops. We’re genuinely interested in learning about our customers, their experiences and what brought them to us. We really appreciate that they trust us enough to work together and put artwork on their bodies.

How much of your business comes from tourists versus locals, and how has that changed?

The best way I can say it is that it fluctuates. Some seasons we get more tourists, and other seasons we get more locals. We love our tourists and the new energy they bring. But as someone who was born and mostly raised here in Las Vegas, I’m proud to be from here, and we love our locals.

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at [email protected].

Josh "King Ruck" Glover

Title: Owner, Black Spade tattoo shop

One tattoo you've never done that you want to? I really enjoy tattooing realistic animals, like giraffes and hyenas, but fish are my favorite.

Most painful spot to get a tattoo? It's subjective, but behind the knee, inside the elbow or in the armpit.

What is your favorite tattoo on yourself? The portrait of my mother.

If you weren't a tattoo artist, what would you be? I honestly doesn't know. I've dedicated over 18 years to tattooing and have never really thought about doing anything else.