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I was born in the western suburbs of Sydney. I had a tough childhood so when the opportunity arose I came down to the South Coast around the age of 20 chasing the waves and have never left. I’ve now lived in Thirroul for about 25 years. I love the place. I started up Soul Expression in Thirroul 17 years ago. Just over a year ago we moved to our current premises, which are part of Anita’s Theatre. It’s a great building. Things are going well.
From a very young age I wanted to become a tattoo artist. It was something I was interested in from an early age. I remember going with my stepfather, who got tattooed regularly, to the iconic shop Dutchys [Dutchy & Son Tattoo Studio] out Liverpool way. I loved watching the artists create masterpieces. I loved drawing a lot as a kid, especially those cool pictures which made great tattoos. I just had to draw them. There’s no other field of art where you get to draw these cool images and earn a regular wage. Being from the old school, nowadays I’ll do a bit of everything. I love to do realism and neo trad but I’m happy to do a bit of everything. When I started you had to do everything. Apart from that I’d probably get bored doing one style. I like where the industry is at the moment. The tattoo lifestyle has changed for the better. When I started, having [tattoo] sleeves and that, people sort of looked at you a bit weird. Now it is just normal and people are interested in the art because they can see what can be done on these tattoo TV shows. These shows have been good for the tattooing industry and tattoos in general are accepted in the community.
I have tattooed thousands of people over the years, some more memorable than others. The tattoos I’ve done which have helped people get over something have been very rewarding. There have been some tattoos that have touched me. Just recently I did a tattoo of a young infant. The parents had lost that infant to SIDS. That was very touching. I’ve done a lot of family members and few portraits of the said infant...they were very touching, those pieces. It is amazing to see the person smile at the end of it because they come in quite sad. It is pretty touching and hard to do but it does become a happy time for the people and myself to see them smile again. A lot of people are worried about getting portraits, and when you can do a good one, especially of a lost one, they are very happy.
Surfing is another passion. I love surfing. These days being so busy with work and family, I don’t get as much time as I’d like to but every year I still take time off to travel to Sumatra and chase the waves over there. I’m also a keen BMX rider. I raced a lot when I was young but then really dedicated myself to surfing. Before too long I got into motocross. I had a bad accident racing motocross, had a few years off the bike then I grabbed the BMX again, fell in love with it and started training hard. I competed on the world stage, which didn’t end too well as I had another accident, fracturing and breaking both my wrists. It was a lot of time off work. As a tattooist they’re my tools of the trade, it wasn’t good and then unfortunately after nine months in my comeback on a national level, I come off again and fractured my sternum and hurt my wrists again. The fiancee has told me to hang up the helmet so to speak but we’ll see, I love riding for Southlakes BMX Club. It’s a great family club.
I’ve got a 13-year-old daughter named Akira and I recently got engaged to Vanessa. We hope to get married next year. Vanessa’s mother recently had a cancer scare which gave me the idea to do a charity event to raise funds for cancer research. The plan is to hold Tattoo for Cancer at Soul Expression in Thirroul on Sunday, August 31. A few of my tattoo artist mates will be on hand on the day and we will do some small [cancer] ribbons for customers, with all money raised donated to support cancer research. People interested can check out my Instagram at wayne_cartwright, my Facebook page or call Soul Expression on 4268 4155.