When Brian Whitcraft won a free tattoo from a giveaway on Facebook, his skin became the canvas for Derrick Young’s imagination to run wild.
Whitcraft wasn’t allowed to choose what the Hammer God Tattoos’ artist inked on his skin, but after two hours, the Viking and dragon etched onto his side made Whitcraft happy.
“He is the best in town,” Whitcraft said. “What he does doesn’t compare to anywhere else.”
Hammer God Tattoos, 26 W. Stimson Ave., is owned and operated by Young, his wife Morag, and his cousin Trevor Fisher. Young and Fisher both serve as tattoo artists, and Morag is the business’ piercer.
The parlor has been open since December.
Young, who has been in the tattoo business for 19 years, was an original founder of Art Apocalypse, 16 W. Union St., which was initially called Art Unlimited and located on Richland Avenue.
But in 2002, Young had to leave what he helped create when he headed to Scotland with his ex-wife and their son Liam.
“I dropped everything and followed (them) and took my business with me,” he said. “A lot of good ended up coming of it.”
During his nine-year stint in Scotland, Young set up a tattoo parlor, Yankee Tattoo, and met his current wife Morag.
Last year, Young and his family returned to Athens with the intention of opening a tattoo parlor — and he did.
Realism, Young’s specialty, is just one style of tattoo he offers on Stimson Avenue.
“My philosophy to tattooing is that, if I can see it, I can do it,” Young said.
Young said his time spent in Scotland helped develop his tattooing skills because the culture brought different forms of art to the table.
“Every country has its own style of tattooing,” he said. “The benefit of working abroad is that you are around different artists and you can spark off of each other.”
In the United States, tattoos have more of a cartoon element, while Scottish tattoos lean more toward realism.
Learning about realism helped Young shape his art into awards in five different categories.
While he was abroad, the Scottish Tattoo Convention awarded Young with Best Horror Tattoo two years in a row, Best Large Black-and-Grey Tattoo two years in a row, Best Small Black-and-Grey Tattoo, Best Dragon Tattoo, and Best Artist.
“The big one was the Best Artist award,” Young said. “That was unexpected and a big honor. It was a big deal for an outsider like myself to win that.”
Although Hammer God Tattoos is the fifth tattoo parlor in Athens, Morag said what makes them different is how they do business.
“The first thing you will notice when you walk in is that there are no pictures on the wall,” she said. “These cookie-cutter images throw people off sometimes. We like to talk to people. We deal one to one, artist to customer. Just talking, we can find out what you want.”
The business guarantees no fading or scabbing as long as the healing regimen is followed, she said. The price varies by piece, depending upon things such as size and level of complexity.
Panama Red, owner of Panama Red’s Tattoo & Body Piercing in Oxford, Ohio, was a previous employer of Young and spoke highly of his work.
“Derrick is a great guy,” Red said. “He worked for me for a while, and he is a hell of an artist.”
Although Scotland opened many doors for Young, both professionally and personally, he’s happy to be back in Athens with his wife and son, who is already showing signs of inheriting his father’s talent.
“He gave me a tattoo of a skull and crossbones on my leg when he was 6,” Young said. “Some people get their kids’ names or birthdates tattooed on them. I had my son give me a tattoo.”
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