Meet Cami Thunder | Tattoo Artist

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

Hi Cami, how does your business help the community?
I started Reclamation Tattoo after a lot of personal healing that eventually led to a later-in-life neurospicy diagnosis. I desperately tried, but never really fit into standard tattoo environments. I’ve always hated copying flash off the wall or out of a book because it feels like plagiarism to me. I struggled with the constant noise, the hangout culture, the random walk-ins, and expectations that simply didn’t fit me. For years, I didn’t understand why that setting felt so uncomfortable. I just knew it wasn’t sustainable for me.

When I left my previous shop, I started exploring what an unconventional tattoo shop might look like. By building my own private studio, I created a calm, sensory-controlled space where I can feel at home in my body, mind, and creativity. That peace allows me to offer more intentional tattoos, pieces that focus on meaning, reclamation, and personal expression for others who might have also felt left out or overwhelmed by traditional shop culture.

Reclamation Tattoo is built on the idea of what I call “trauma-informed tattooing”. I respect boundaries, sensory sensitivities, pronouns, and the impact of my clients’ diverse past experiences. My goal is to hold space for them to reclaim their bodies on their own terms while also keeping my own boundaries safe and respected. It’s a relentlessly tough world out there. I hope to present my clients with a safe space to find joy in their own skin, while offering a different kind of healing.

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.
Woof. Ok.

So, tattooing is actually a second career for me. I got Photoshop at age twelve, an internship at sixteen, and started a graphic design career at eighteen. I worked with a variety of clients and employers and eventually came to own my own marketing and design agency in Salt Lake City. When I moved to Colorado, I sold that business and went back to working design jobs until I completely lost patience with corporate life.

When the pandemic hit, I was still working in that field as the Art Director for a medical company. But, as most of us did, I picked up a hobby to stay sane while isolated from the rest of the world. I started to dabble with woodburning/pyrography to pass the time. I was instantly hooked. This was a medium I could control, but that was challenging enough to not be boring. I used my graphic design skills throughout and started by recreating master works (though never taking credit for them as my own). From there my creativity just blossomed. A piece of me that I didn’t even know existed was nurtured and just exploded into being. By the time I left my design career, I was convinced that I needed to find some way to use this passion to build myself a future that I could truly love.

During my initial apprenticeship, I developed a habitual drawing routine. To this day, I can’t just sit and watch TV, my hands must be moving, doodling, creating. I learned to match different art styles, and craft thoughtful designs, while practicing tattooing techniques until they were perfected.

My biggest challenge came just 4 months after I completed my apprenticeship. I had been working in a shop when my dominant hand started experiencing pain and weakness. I could no longer create art without weakness, flaws, and pain. The following year was the hardest of my entire life. I had 2 major surgeries on my shoulder and had my dominant arm in a sling for nearly a year. It was devastating. I had just gotten this beautiful new career that I absolutely loved, and I saw it dissolve before my eyes. My doctors and I honestly didn’t know if it would ever be capable of that kind of precision work ever again.

But the drawing habit wasn’t about to go down without a fight. I started attempting to work with my left hand. It turned out to be surprisingly dextrous with abilities that I could never have imagined. So, as my right arm remained motionless in a sling, my left hand created more and more wood-burned art. I started calling lefty “Spiderhand” because it became a life and force all its own. As it grew stronger and the pain began to subside in my right side, I started toying with the idea of non-dominant tattooing. Maybe I didn’t have to lose my shiny new career after all, I just needed to adapt it.

For the first 6 months of my rehabilitation apprenticeships, I honed my left-handed tattooing skills. Eventually and surprisingly, my dominant hand began to heal and grow in its steadiness and strength. While my right arm still experiences limitations in positioning, pain, and fatigue, it has come back into use, and I am deeply grateful. Now, I consider myself fairly ambidextrous. When the right arm fatigues, Spiderhand jumps in to lend support.

From all this, I took away an awe and respect for the true power of the human mind and it’s shocking capabilities for neuro-plasticity. I also gained insight into myself. My mind was forever altered, emotionally, but also physically. This experience connected thoughts and experiences I had never understood before. I believe that the ADHD (possibly AuDHD) diagnosis would never have been possible were it not for this shift in my neural networks. The shift in handedness unlocked answers. The diagnosis itself was eye-opening and spectacular because treatment not only allowed me to see a side of myself I had never known, but gave me insight into how to structure my life and my new business: Reclamation Tattoo.

I tend to think of myself as a case-study of all that the human mind is capable of, but also a tale of finding “self” through experiences that are raw, painful, and powerful. Reclamation Tattoo grew from every lesson I’ve lived, creating a space where comfort, empathy, and personal reclamation come together through art.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My favorite places to show people in this area tend to center around Littleton and Lakewood.

I love taking people to RitualCravt. The aesthetic, vibe, and products there are just witchy perfection. Gorgeous art, elements, and books all tied to a tattoo shop (All Sacred) with amazingly talented artists? What could be better?

In Littleton, I have my favorite sushi restaurant, Fontana. Their food is amazing, prices are right, and staff is lovely and accommodating.

Like a true Coloradan, all tours must include a trip to a dispensary. Native Roots has and will always be my favorite.

Movies at the Alamo Drafthouse are delightful.

Finally, I really enjoy taking folks to Edgewater Market. While the space can sometimes be overwhelming for me, it offers unique food court-style choices without defaulting to the cliche food court chain restaurants. After the food, browsing the quirky shops and strolling around Sloans Lake is always a hit.

Bonus: When I’ve been feeling particularly extroverted on a particular tour day, I have been known to take my visiting guests to the Denver Art Museum and the Museum of Nature and Science. But…… I’m not usually one for driving downtown.

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?
While some relationships have had their ups and downs, I owe credit to a few people who guided my journey as a tattoo artist. Bobby Lee Black took me on as an apprentice right after I quit my graphic design job. At the time, I had no idea what I was getting into, but his willingness to gently teach gave me a foundation to build on.

Not long after completing that apprenticeship, a devastating shoulder injury interrupted my new career. During that difficult recovery, Sandra Lin at Disruptive Tattoo and Jesse Neumann at Memento Mori Gallery & Tattoo helped me figure out how to tattoo using my left hand while my dominant side was being rehabilitated.

Dr. James Johnson at Panorama Orthopedics deserves a major shoutout for treating that injury with kindness, honesty, and unbelievable wisdom. His work truly made all of this possible.

And above all, I would never be where I am now without the unwavering support of my husband, Dane. Through triumphs and disappointments, joy and despair, he has encouraged me, celebrated with me, and believed in me every step of the way. He’s a gem.

Website: https://www.reclamationtattoo.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/camithunderink

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/camithunderink

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@camithunder_ink