Meet Brandon | Tattoo Artist, Business owner, Day trader Entrepreneur

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

Hi Brandon, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think about risk through the lens of decision quality over outcome, a concept I learned from “Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke. In my career, especially in business ventures, I’ve used her framework to separate luck from skill and make more rational decisions under uncertainty. Taking calculated risks has opened up key opportunities, and by treating each decision like a bet, I focus on long-term thinking and probabilities, not just short-term wins.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
When my baseball career ended in 2013 I was a little lost in life. I didn’t really know what I was supposed to do. My whole life up to that point was baseball and being an athlete. Even though I had graduated college with a degree, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. I did a few sales jobs but quickly realized the corporate life was not for me. I left the corporate world in 2015 and haven’t looked back since. When I walked away from sales I went into coaching full time. I was a strength and conditioning coach that specialized in working with baseball players and also athletes of other sports. During that time I was also working as a pitching coach at a local HS here in Colorado. I don’t think there’s ever been a time that I haven’t worked multiple jobs lol. That’s kind of when I realized I was wired a little different. I would rather work multiple jobs for myself than work just 1 job for someone else. I worked in the baseball industry for almost 10 years. During that time, I continued to grow and expand my knowledge in other areas by reading countless business books, listening to podcasts and attending seminars. Then one day after talking with a close friend, I decide to make the biggest switch of all time. I walked away from a 10 year career in the baseball industry to start something completely new. I transitioned into being a tattoo artist. I packed everything up that would fit in my car, including my dog and made the trip from AZ to Colorado to start my new endeavor. I didn’t really have a strong art background so I knew going into this my back was up against the wall. I spent my first year as an apprentice, spending every day at the shop learning the in and outs of the tattoo shop. I worked the front desk 5-6 days a week, cleaning, doing inventory, managing the other artists schedules all while shadowing and working on my own art skills. After a year I was able to complete my apprenticeship and transitioned in to a role of a full time artist. I’ve now been a tattoo artist for almost 2 years not quite at the full 2 year mark but getting close. Now at this present time, I’ve grown my tattoo business and have started two new businesses. I co own a luxury rental car company and a day trading business. The biggest things I’ve learned so far is consistent inputs lead to consistent outputs. There are no short cuts and if it’s important, you make the time. My day starts at 4am, 7 days a week. There are no “weekends” when you work for yourself. I think what has also helped me the most is don’t expect anything from others. When you get into that mindset you leave yourself vulnerable to be let down.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Summertime:
A show at red rocks
Rockies game
Golf
Hiking through the mountains
Local breweries/ rooftop bars

Wintertime:
Ski/ snowboard trip
Nuggets/ Avalanche game

Venalonzos tacos

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Risk has always been part of my journey, both as an athlete and in business. I’m incredibly grateful to my family for their support- they’ve been my foundation through every high school and low. I’ve always been internally driven and competitive, using skepticism or doubt from others as fuel rather than discouragement. “The Power of Hanit” by Charles Duhigg helped me understand how building the right routines and systems turns motivation into consistent action, which has been crucial in managing risk and pushing forward, even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed.

Website: Titletattoostudios.com Titleluxury.com

Instagram: Brandon__monahan (tattoo page) title.luxury (car rental)

Image Credits
Arath Vargas