"How Tattoos saved my life"

Newton Omondi, 43 quit his job as a bank clerk to do tatoos and has been paying his bills for the last 14 years from his art. He tells us how he turns ink into money.

Hey, namesake, let’s dispense with introductions.

My name is Newton Omondi Wasonga. I am older than hip-hop ... or, to be precise, 43 years old.

Where did you go to school?

 I went to Lenana High School. I got a letter to join university, but instead I went to work straightaway. I was supposed to study Bachelor of Science.

 Why did you opt to go straight into employment?

I figured that I would be wasting my time in college. I felt that I would be a radical, and probably get into radical politics. I probably would be dead by now. I went to work at Barclays Bank, Upper Hill where I started as a clerk. But you can say that tattooing saved my life.

We’ll come to that drastic change; what’s your marital status?

I am married to a nail artist. We met in Mombasa. I have been with her for around 12 years, almost as long as I have been tattooing. We have twins, a girl and a boy, they are three years old.

Would love your kids to do tattoo art?

Not necessarily, but I’m pretty easy with whatever my kids decide to do. If they choose to follow in my footsteps, I will guide them.

You kept me waiting while you inked a client’s arm. You must be very busy.

Pretty much. I work seven days a week. If there’s work, I do it. I go with the flow of the work. I work overnight ... whenever there’s work.

That must be tough, what keeps you going?

 (Laughs). Of course, you want to escape poverty. But it is something I love doing. Love keeps me going.

Now, let’s talk about your transition from bank clerk to inking. How did that happen?

 I worked at Barclays for nine years. Let’s see, I’ve been inking for around 14 years. When I quit the banking profession, I didn’t know specifically what I wanted to do, but I knew that it would be something creative. I started as an apprentice hairdresser, before I stumbled into tattooing.

How did the apprenticeship happen?

I went to Pivot Point College to study hairdressing, but at some point I felt that I was not getting what I needed. I got this hairdresser from Greece who had a salon in Village Market. We made a deal, and I started working for her.

I am guessing that your parents were extremely thrilled when you quit a well-paying secure job to pursue your passion?

Ha! They were thrilled ... not! But my parents are the kind of people that can agree to disagree.

And how did you get into tattooing?

The Greek lady was also tattooing. I had tattoos but I had never thought I would get into it. One day, one of those light bulb moments, I was like; “This is exactly what I want to do”. That was around 2003 or 2004. I told my elder brother, who also tattoos.

 I bought books, videos and equipment. Prior to that, we had been poring over books on tattooing. Plus, my bro and I had always been drawing since we were kids. My bro set up shop in Nairobi and I moved to Mombasa almost immediately, where I knew nobody, and I started from scratch.

Do you practice – on your skin – or you practice on others’ skins?

I have plenty of tattoos. The best is my back piece, which was inked by my brother. It is a tribal design. Purely aesthetics. But I don’t have the name of my wife inked on my body. My wife has tattoos, but she does not have my name.

Why?

It’s a personal thing. In my opinion, I don’t think it’s a good idea to have your partner’s name tattooed on your body. Relationships are hard – even good relationships are hard – then you ink somebody’s name on your body.

When clients ask for names of their lovers, what do you do?

I discourage them for two hours. If they don’t listen, I take the money.

Tell us about the Cape Convention.

In 2012, I attended a tattoo art convention in Cape Town, South Africa. They were about 80-or-so artists from around the world, all of them white, except yours truly in his tee-shirt and shorts. Rolling Stone magazine did feature on me. It was pretty cool.