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Charles Town native Matti Hixson is just one of the 17 tattoo artists from across the country currently competing for the title of "Ink Master" on Spike TV's tattoo reality-competition series, Ink Master.
The fourth season of the show started this Tuesday on the cable channel, and contestants on the show are competing against each other as they try to become the sole survivor of the reality show, which will last until May. The show airs every Tuesday night at 10 p.m. on Spike TV, the winner of the competition will get the reward prize money of $100,000, an interview in Inked magazine and the coveted title of Ink Master.
One of the tough contestants is a self-taught artist, Hixson, 29, has been in the tattoo industry for more than 10 years. Hixson should have been part of last season’s show, but something went wrong and they got somebody else to replace him. Now, he got invited as one of the contestant once again for the season four of the show.
Hixson confessed that his objective in the game is not to win the show as he just wants to represent his place, West Virginia. He wants to prove to the world that some people in his area aren’t a joke.
Hixson has it in his blood to become an artist since his mother attended art school, his father is a talented musician and his sister is a visual artist. Ever since he was a kid, art is something that he enjoyed.
He became a tattoo artist because he had too as he needs to support his family and art is the only thing that he knew. During that time, he was a dish washer, but the upcoming birth of his daughter, Jolie, motivated him to get a better paying job.
His first began his career at Cherry Bomb in Martinsburg. After two years as a tattoo artist there, he started attending tattoo conventions where he got his first big breaks.
Now, he is a guest tattoo artist for several tattoo shops. Hixson noted that he likes the idea of meeting different people and listening to their stories about why they love to have a tattoo.
This tattoo artist knew how tough this reality show is as every week there are different challenges that are designed to tests their artists' technical skills and creativity. Contestants are obligated to make an original tattoo based on what the producers want.
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