10/22/2026
PAY ATTENTION -
I want to make something very clear here. I am who I am. Husband, Father, Business owner. I don't tolerate BS nor suffer idiots. THere have been some comments made recently I feel the need to discuss. Not because I feel the need to defend myself, but rather to illustrate how stupid they make you look.
**TO THE COWARD HIDING BEHIND THE ANONYMOUS ACCOUNT:**
I'm 50 years old. I've lived enough life, fought enough battles, and worked too goddamn hard to waste my time playing internet games with people who don't have the backbone to have a face-to-face conversation.
I'm sick of the passive-aggressive bu****it. The anonymous accusations. The cheap shots. The people who have an awful lot to say when there's a screen between them and the person they're running their mouth about.
**If you've got something to say about me, my work, or my business, then say it with your whole fu***ng chest.**
I've done nothing but try to contribute something positive to this town and community since moving back from Phoenix. I've built a legitimate business through hard work, sacrifice, and years of dedication.
My business is aboveboard. I pay my taxes. State, federal, all of them. I maintain my bloodborne pathogen and first aid certifications, even when the state doesn't require them. I don't screw coworkers. I don't make shady backroom deals. I'm not sliding into anybody's DMs except my wife's.
I don't need to hide what I do, how I operate, or who I am.
**Can you say the same?**
You want to criticize my tattoos? Fine. You want to question my work? Go right ahead. I've never claimed to be the greatest artist who ever lived. There are artists in this world whose talent I admire tremendously, and I'm always looking for aspiring artists who need somewhere to grow.
But here's where your little campaign falls apart.
Did you ever bother asking whether the tattoo was finished? Whether another session was scheduled? Whether the client was happy? Whether there was more work to be done?
No.
You looked at something you didn't understand, made assumptions, and started running your mouth.
That's not constructive criticism. That's ignorance dressed up as expertise.
And while you're busy passing judgment, where's your work? Where's your portfolio? Where's your tattoo shop? What famous or extraordinary artist have you gotten tattooed by? Where's the evidence that you have the slightest fu***ng idea what you're talking about?
All I've seen is a collection of selfies, recycled positivity, and feel-good bu****it.
**Funny how some people preach kindness, acceptance, and positivity right up until they get an opportunity to tear somebody else down.**
Here's something else you should understand.
I don't measure my success by anonymous opinions or social media popularity contests.
I have a wife I love and a family I'm proud to come home to. I have genuine friends. I have hundreds of clients who have become friends in my 20+ years in this industry, people who call me at home, invite me to dinner, and share their lives with me and my family. My wife and I have taken clients out to experience vacations and go to new restaurants and enjoy an evening together. I've welcomed strangers into the church I call home. I've been around the world and worked in dozens of locations in this country and abroad.
That's real wealth.
Not the fake, carefully manufactured bu****it people display on social media.
**Real relationships. Real loyalty. Real respect.**
And despite every supposed flaw you're so desperate to point out, my appointment books remain full. My calendar has a waiting list. My clients continue coming back, and new ones continue walking through my door.
You know why?
Because people who actually know me understand exactly what kind of man I am.
I'm honest. I'm hardworking. I'm outspoken. I make mistakes, and when I do, I own them. I've never pretended to be perfect, and I sure as hell don't need the approval of somebody who won't even put their name behind their own words.
You want to have a legitimate conversation? My door is open.
You want to offer constructive criticism? I'll listen.
You want to disagree with me? Be my guest.
But if your entire existence revolves around hiding behind a fake account, taking cheap shots, and trying to damage somebody else's livelihood, don't confuse my willingness to ignore you with an inability to respond.
**I'm not afraid of criticism. I'm not afraid of confrontation. And I'm damn sure not afraid of the truth.**
I stand behind my name.
I stand behind my work.
I stand behind my business.
And I stand behind the reputation I've spent years building.
You, on the other hand, apparently need anonymity just to express an opinion.
**That's the difference between us.**
And since you've gone to the trouble of publicly questioning my abilities, my business, and apparently my physical appearance, I figured I'd return the favor and examine the intellectual masterpiece you've left in my comments.
Because here's where this gets interesting.
You haven't just made a few questionable statements. You've managed to pack a remarkable collection of logical fallacies, unsupported assumptions, and personal insults into one poorly written paragraph.
**LET'S TALK ABOUT LOGIC, INTELLIGENCE, AND THE ART OF MAKING YOURSELF LOOK LIKE A FOOL.**
**1. AD HOMINEM — ATTACKING THE PERSON INSTEAD OF THE ARGUMENT.**
*"Drop the double chin."*
*"You have a 'good' business in a hillbilly town."*
An ad hominem occurs when someone attacks a person's character or attributes instead of addressing the argument being made.
My weight has absolutely nothing to do with my ability to tattoo, operate a business, or contribute to my community.
And insulting an entire town because you dislike one of its business owners? That's a hell of a way to demonstrate your intellectual superiority.
**2. MIND-READING — PRETENDING YOU KNOW WHAT SOMEONE ELSE IS THINKING.**
*"You just wanted everyone to know it's still your shop now that some better artists are coming in you don't wanna be forgotten."*
Interesting theory.
Now explain exactly how you arrived at that conclusion.
Did I tell you I was afraid of being forgotten? Did I express concern about other artists? Do you have a conversation, statement, or anything remotely resembling evidence?
No?
Then you're not presenting facts. You're inventing motives and pretending they're established truths.
For the record, I welcome talented artists. I've actively worked to provide opportunities for artists to establish themselves.
**3. FALSE CAUSE — INVENTING A CONNECTION BETWEEN TWO UNRELATED THINGS.**
You suggest that because other artists are working in the area, my posts must be motivated by jealousy or insecurity.
That's a causal claim without any supporting evidence.
Two things happening around the same time doesn't mean one caused the other.
My business existed before those artists arrived. It continues operating alongside them. Their success doesn't require my failure, and mine doesn't require theirs.
That's how business works.
**4. HASTY GENERALIZATION — DRAWING BROAD CONCLUSIONS FROM LIMITED INFORMATION.**
*"I've been around and have seen your work."*
Wonderful.
How much of it?
How many finished pieces? How many healed tattoos? How many different styles? How many years of work?
Have you spoken to the clients? Asked whether a piece was finished? Asked whether another session was scheduled?
Or did you look at a few pictures, decide you didn't like them, and appoint yourself the final authority on my career?
You're entitled to dislike my work.
You're not entitled to pretend your personal taste is an objective measurement of my abilities.
**5. APPEAL TO RIDICULE — WHEN LAUGHTER REPLACES REASONING.**
*"Hahahahahahah sweets."*
Followed by a collection of laughing emojis.
Truly devastating.
Unfortunately, laughing at a statement doesn't establish that it's false.
Mockery can be entertaining. It can even be effective rhetoric. But it isn't evidence.
If your strongest rebuttal is a string of laughing emojis, you might want to reconsider which one of us is embarrassing himself.
**6. UNSUPPORTED ASSERTION — MAKING CLAIMS WITHOUT EVIDENCE.**
*"The only reason your big is cuz the ppl in Mitchell are to scared to get out of town."*
That's quite a statement.
So you've surveyed my clientele?
You've interviewed the residents of Mitchell?
You've established that fear of traveling is the primary reason people choose my shop?
I'd genuinely love to see that research.
Because until you produce something supporting that claim, it's nothing more than an opinion you've decided to present as fact.
And while we're at it, insulting the intelligence and independence of the very people who support local businesses is a strange way to advocate for better tattooing.
**7. NON SEQUITUR — A CONCLUSION THAT DOESN'T FOLLOW FROM THE PREMISE.**
*"I have YET to see a piece from YOU (JOSH) that said hey yeah I want him to tattoo me."*
And?
I'm not your preferred tattoo artist.
That's perfectly fine.
There are artists I don't care for and whose work I don't personally care for either. That doesn't automatically make them incompetent.
Your personal unwillingness to get tattooed by me doesn't establish that my clients are dissatisfied, my business is illegitimate, or my work has no merit.
It establishes precisely one thing:
**You don't want me to tattoo you.**
Congratulations. We've finally identified a claim in your comment that you actually have firsthand knowledge of.
**8. MISREPRESENTATION — BUILDING A CRITICISM AROUND SOMETHING YOU HAVEN'T ESTABLISHED.**
*"Reach outside of Mitchell."*
You're apparently operating under the assumption that my entire professional experience begins and ends at the Mitchell city limits.
That's an interesting assumption to make about someone whose professional history you clearly haven't bothered to investigate.
I've lived and worked in different places, including outside South Dakota and outside the United States.
You could have asked.
But asking questions might have interfered with the story you'd already decided to tell.
---
**NOW, LET'S EXAMINE WHAT YOU ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISHED.**
You questioned my motives without knowing them.
You insulted my appearance without demonstrating its relevance.
You insulted my community without producing evidence for your claims.
You declared my work inadequate without offering a meaningful technical critique.
You assumed my professional experience was limited without investigating it.
And you wrapped the entire thing in childish mockery, as though laughing loudly enough could somehow compensate for the absence of reasoning.
All while hiding behind an account called "We Are Moms."
Here's the difference between constructive criticism and whatever the hell you think you're doing.
Constructive criticism identifies a specific problem, explains why it's a problem, and provides a reasonable basis for that conclusion.
You could have questioned line quality, saturation, composition, technical ex*****on, or the healing of a particular tattoo.
You could have asked whether a piece was complete.
You could have had an actual conversation.
Instead, you chose speculation, personal insults, and sweeping generalizations.
**That's not criticism. That's an emotional reaction desperately trying to pass itself off as an informed opinion.**
I don't expect everyone to like me.
I don't expect everyone to like my tattoos.
And I certainly don't expect everyone to agree with how I conduct myself.
But if you're going to publicly question my professional abilities, at least have the intellectual discipline to construct an argument that survives thirty seconds of examination.
**Here's your opportunity.**
Pick a specific piece of my work. Explain exactly what you believe is wrong with it. Establish whether it's finished or healed. Support your criticism with something more substantial than your personal preferences.
I'll gladly have that conversation.
Until then, all you've demonstrated is that you're capable of forming an opinion, typing an insult, and confusing the two with an intelligent argument.
**Eight identifiable reasoning errors and rhetorical cheap shots in one short comment. That's almost impressive.**
You wanted my attention.
Now you've got it.
So here's your opportunity to have an actual conversation. Bring your complaints, bring your evidence, and bring the same energy you've been displaying online.
Or stay behind the fence barking.
Just understand that the fence doesn't make your accusations true, and anonymity doesn't make you credible.
**My name is attached to everything I do. My reputation speaks for itself.**
**Next time, bring evidence instead of emojis.**
**And if you're going to question my credibility, you might want to establish some of your own first.**
