It is our pleasure to be able to plant the seeds and cultivate your ideas into the artwork that will be worn on you for eternity. We do not take lightly the spiritual essence that tattooing encompasses. We wake up and work each day not only for the art, but for the stories that are held within the art you choose to wear. We’re in this to change lives; and not just through the ironically therapeutic pain that comes with the “process.” Pain is beauty.

Our vision; heart, ears, eyes are at your disposable. And that’s how the tattoo experience should be.

Message from Founder Dennis (Dizzy) Doan:

BLVCK LOTVS Tattoo & Social Club was renamed to re-incarnate our two previous tattoo business locations as one. Previously known as Guilty Pleasures Tattoo Studio and Sinned Studio Tattoo- BLVCK LOTVS is an accumulation and consolidation of the best talent that we have produced since entering the tattoo business in 2010.

We have grown from our tiny, oddly shaped tattoo studio on a 2nd story in Little Saigon to secure our foundation on Convoy Street here in San Diego, CA- in the heart of the ever-growing Asian food district. We initially tried to establish our place here in 2010, however, the community and business owners that then controlled the area itself were not ready to accept a tattoo business into the community.

Our first studio in Little Saigon (El Cajon Blvd) was diluted by over 12 tattoo businesses down the strip. Saying that it was an obstacle to stand out within those odds would be an understatement, especially being the new talent in the area. It was a a rough neighborhood to do business in and it wasn’t all that aesthetically pleasing from the exterior either. But we were eager to change the way that the public stereotyped “tattoo parlors.” My former business partner and I were a 2 man tattoo shop- I did the tattoos and he worked on marketing and attracting new clientele. We built out suite #203 from the ground up, trying to turn coal into diamond. With little money between the two of us, we could only invest in little bits at a time, to what would finally become a product that we were proud of. Fixing crooked walls and peeling floors was not the most exciting thing in that place. I had just dropped out of college and withdrew my academic scholarship to pursue my dream (I was originally in school in hopes of becoming a plastic surgeon).

I remember living off of solely tips and putting all the money we made into paying the rent. Soon after, we took on our first apprentice and slowly started blooming from there. The tattoo business really took a leap with the exposure of tattoo shows on television, and I would like to believe that we were in the right business at the right time.

It was difficult for me personally to focus on improving my skills as a tattoo artist while helping to run the business and train new talent. We literally worked 24 hour days for what seems like an endless number of the start-up years. And sleeping at the shop was not foreign to us.

“I live at work and visit the crib sometimes.”

It wasn’t until the end of 2011 until I reached what I believe to be an odd breakthrough which contributed to the rise of our dynasty.

Around December of 2011, my habit of overworking started making it’s destructive debut on my body. I was ill for about 2 months- forcing my waiting list to jump from a 1 week wait to a 2 month wait. During that time lying in bed every day feeling immovable, I had a chance to study the way I worked, fill my mind with new marketing strategies, and attempt to re-invent my “style” of tattooing. Needless to say, when I came back into the shop, I used the momentum I had gathered during the time I was ill.. to start making a new statement. I had a mission to tattoo every breathing individual in San Diego. And my team would reap the rewards of the trickling.

Over the years, we have had our fair share of ups and downs and ins and outs with many talented individuals as any other business experiences, however, we believe at this point on our timeline, we have finally reached an epiphanical point of content with the loyal team that we have retained. I am proud to say that I share my second home with these individuals who possess the same hustler’s mentality and work ethic that I have tried my absolute best to set the utmost example for.

We believe that our team here at BLVCK LOTVS all share the same vision when it comes to body art. We hold high standards not only in regards to the art that we put on our clients, but the personable and hospitable experience that the tattoo process should hold. We pride ourselves in our roles as therapists, friends, and family to our clients.

Clients have the ease of contacting their respective artist directly; no middleman, no e-mail queue process, no runarounds. With that being said, the wait time on some responses from  your artist may require a bit of patience. Haha. BUT rest assured that this is only because we would not focus on devoting our undivided attention to more clients than we can handle at once.