Pepe Vazquez

I\'m Jose Vazquez from Anaheim California. Growing up in a neighborhood populated by gang members I was surrounded by a lot of negativity. Shooting, police raids, drugs and fights was normal in my neighborhood. I grew up in a violent home, where there was a lot of alcohol abuse. Not wanting to come home from school I created an alternative world through my art. It wasn\'t until high school I started loosing friends to alcohol and substance abuse, as well as, street violence. Witnessing this made me want a different path for myself. After graduating High School I got a job at a factory in Santa Ana packing bread in an assembly line. I put my dreams as an artist on the back burner. One day an old timer, who\'s been at the factory for 30+ years, had seen I was drawing on my lunch break and said, \"You have some real talent.\" As I looked up at him he spoke to me in a serious tone and said I should be doing something with my art instead of wasting my time packing bread. After that moment it became clear what I should be doing with my life. I soon picked up an apprenticeship at Steve Soto\'s Goodfellas Tattoo in Orange County, Ca. Where I\'ve learned to master my craft as a tattoo and airbrush artist.