Meet AJ McGuire | Tattoo Artist/Tattoo Shop Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with AJ McGuire and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi AJ, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I started Dead Drift Tattoo my main goal was to enjoy going to work every day. I had worked at a few other shops and felt a lot of anxiety due to a variety of factors that were out of my control. I felt the best way to increase my happiness would be to take the reins myself and create a culture that encouraged positive attitudes and a welcoming, safe environment.

We’ve all had bad experiences in tattoo shops (including myself when I was younger and not yet a tattooer) and there’s really no reason for it. I’ve never understood why so many shops have an unwelcoming, cold, and/or elitist attitude toward customers when they come into the shop. As tattooers we love our job and the clients are excited to come and get tattooed, so I don’t get why you would be anything other than kind to them. It doesn’t benefit anyone to be rude!
With that being said, I’ve built Dead Drift around the idea of having a good day every day- for both the artists at the shop and the clients too.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
One word basically sums up the inspiration behind my art, tattoos, and business: FISHING

When I’m not at the tattoo shop or spending time with my wife and daughter, chances are I’m fishing. I got into fly fishing about eight years ago, and have been obsessed with fish ever since. Trout are the fish I target most, and each one is beautiful and unique.

It seemed natural for me to incorporate trout into my tattooing, since their patterns are a work of art. I currently do several trout tattoos a week, and also tattoo a lot of flies. I enjoy tying my own flies and love to tattoo zoomed in, large versions of flies. I’m pretty dang into carp too, and am never sad to tattoo one. In general, I’m game to tattoo any and all fish!

It was tough for me to get my feet wet as a fishing tattoo specialist, so it definitely took some time for me to be known for it and to attract the right type of clientele. I got to where I am by fishing a lot and posting fish on Instagram, drawing up fishing tattoos and offering them up, and meeting more people in the fishing community. Over time I started doing more and more fishing tattoos, and eventually I became known for fish tattoos around Denver.

I have to give a shout out to Trouts Fly Fishing, because those homies definitely helped me out by taking me fishing and writing up an article about me. That gave me a big push in the right direction. Thanks so much, dudes!!

As far as what I’ve learned, I’d have to say that I’ve learned that most people who fish and want a fishing tattoo are awesome. I love meeting people in the fishing community and talking fishing, and what better way to do that than to spend several hours with someone while you tattoo a fish on them? I’m beyond grateful for the clients I have and the chats I get to have with them while I’m working.

I love tattooing anything fishing-related, so please come and get a fishing tattoo from me! If you aren’t into fishing but want a nice tattoo, come to my shop Dead Drift Tattoo. Everyone who works here is a great artist who will treat you with kindness!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I bet it’s no surprise for me to say that I’d take them out fishing. We would go to Rocky Mountain National Park as early as possible, and start out with a hike to an alpine lake. You really can’t go wrong here- just about every lake is beautiful and loaded with fish. We would target some greenback cutthroats, and hopefully put a bunch in the net! We’d hike back, most definitely admiring some waterfalls on the way.

After that we’d hit some rivers and creeks in the park, targeting rainbows, browns, and brooks. In Colorado if you catch all four of the main trout in the state in one day, it’s called a Colorado Grand Slam. You know that would be the goal!

Once we had our fill of fishing we’d head over to Morraine Park to try and check out some elk, deer, and moose. In the fall, it’s basically a guarantee to at least see hundreds of elk in that area, along with some nice fall foliage.

Lastly, we’d roll out of the park and head back to down to the Denver area. I’d take us to Edgewater Marketplace where you can get a very large variety of food. I personally would order way too many items from Meta Burger and finish with some Hawaiian ice cream from Happy Cones.

Sounds like the perfect Colorado adventure to me!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I absolutely wouldn’t be where I am as a business owner without the support of my wife, Robbi. She’s been by my side through some very difficult times, ranging from having to move the shop twice, to dealing with issues with artists, to the entire Covid situation when we were shut down for seven weeks. She encourages me when I need it, reminds me that I’m strong, and points out how much I’ve already accomplished. She’s my rock! I also have to give a shout out to everyone who currently works at Dead Drift Tattoo, because they also make the shop what it is. Having a group of nice folks who do clean tattoos is what the shop is all about! I’m very happy with the current crew and the creative and fun environment we have going on these days. I couldn’t ask for better people to work with every day.

Website: Deaddrifttattoo.com

Instagram: @ajmcguiretattoos @deaddrifttattoodenverco

Yelp: https://yelp.to/jF9ZUYv6vtb

Other: https://deaddrifttattoo.bigcartel.com/