Rebel Ink Magazine, Issue 5, "Mario Barth Presents The Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth"

Sin City, the Mecca of lust, gluttony and greed, a haven of uninhibited indulgences, hosted the Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth last fall at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Mario Barth of Starlight Tattoo and director/producer, Billy Burke, provided an opportunity for members of the skin and body modification community to indulge in needles and ink at this Vegas convention. RI was also in the mix, as this mega convention set out to fulfill its promise to be bigger and better than in previous years, by kicking the trip off with a live performance by Tommy Lee and DJ Aero.



We set up our booth in the midst of the debauchery and ink, cameras in hand and shot all the filth and fury surrounding us. As a mob of tattoo junkies burst through the doors, a tune of 1,000 artists, including notable staples Bob Tyrell, Jose Lopez, Roman, Tuff City, Starlight, Tat2 Joe and Carlos Torres, loaded up their guns with fresh needles to satisfy over 100,000 full-blown fanatics and the morbidly ink-curious. BTSOE's reputation as the ultimate, cutting edge and most influential forum on tattooing, body piercing, body modification, jewelry manufacturing, reconstructive tattooing, permanent cosmetics, laser removal and latest trends is manifest through our lenses.



BTSOE also featured a plethora of seminars. For badass, dedicated tattoo artists hanging up the latex gloves, there was a colloquium on 401K Retirement Plans. Anyone wanting to learn how to cut their flesh artistically or transform into snake-like creatures did, at the Body Hacking and Mutations classes. Intenze Products also conducted its first ever pigment exchange program. Our cameras were in high gear, capturing tattooing and piercing shows, as well as a slice of tattoo art history at the Historical Tattoo Museum. We exchanged love and tat info with hundreds of new friends and a host of our loyal readers, as artists and ink aficionados won trophies for best color tattoo, best black and white, best flash design, best back or chest piece and best overall tattooed individual.