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November 11, 2024
TOMAHAWK – Being fearless isn’t just about overcoming your fears, it’s about having the courage to face your fears and take leaps into the unknown, which is exactly what Keith Crass said he did with the opening of Fearless Tattoo (1509 N. 4th St.).
With the help of his girlfriend, Taylor Remington, small-town community support and happy coincidences, Crass said Fearless Tattoo has been gaining major traction over the last year and a half of being open.
Becoming fearless
Crass said he always had an interest in starting his own business, but didn’t know exactly what that would look like.
One thing he said he did know was he wanted to be an artist of some kind.
Crass – who attended the Art Institute of Minneapolis and subsequently earned his degree from the Art Institute of Colorado – said he did some freelance videography and photography after college, sold his art and did painting on the side.
He said he tried multiple things – but started tattooing in 2021.
After years of living in Colorado, Crass said he moved back to Wisconsin to be near family, and here is where Remington entered the picture.
Crass said she was a huge inspiration to really go for starting the shop.
Remington, who describes herself as a go-getter by nature, said she began looking up the rules and regulations for becoming a tattoo artist.
With her support and his new-found fearlessness, Crass said he felt like he could finally take a leap of faith and do it.
“Looking back, I could see the signs that this was my goal – that I wanted to be a tattoo artist,” he said. “I finally found a niche where I can make a living off of my art. Because being an artist, that can be a hard thing to do.”
Crass said he quit his full-time job and went full bore into tattooing in early 2023 with the opening of Fearless Tattoo.
Small-town connections
Finding the space, he said, took about six months – which included lots of digging, conversations and finally a timely coincidence.
The space that now houses the tattoo studio, Remington said, used to be a hair salon.
“The woman who occupied the space decided it was time for her to retire,” she said. “The day I called the landlord was the day she called to let him know she was moving out.”
Crass and Remington said the entire situation was definitely “small-town connections” in action.
“It was really cool that it all fell into place and worked out,” Crass said.
Moving back to his hometown to open a tattoo studio, he said, isn’t something he ever thought he’d do.
“I never thought I’d move back to my hometown, let alone open a business that’s doing really well,” he said. “It’s pretty cool to be able to do the art I want to. It’s amazing that people love my style of work.”
Crass said his customer base extends beyond the nearly 3,400 residents of Tomahawk – having people travel distances to get tattooed by him.
The shop, he said, has been gaining more traction in the last year and people have been starting to find him without doing too much advertising.
Crass said he credits that success partly to Remington, who helped kickstart the shop’s social media and community outreach and grow the message organically.
Crass said between him and Remington, they came up with “hundreds of different names” trying to figure out what really represented the shop, himself and his art.
“We came up with Fearless and once I said it, it felt right,” he said. “It means so much because I’ve always had that problem of just letting myself go for something, especially art-related. I was always very insecure with my art.”
Remington said the Fearless name pairs well with the physical act of getting a tattoo.
Crass said he even has a sign at the shop that has the dictionary definition of fearless.
He said he encourages everyone to be fearless – whether that means getting a tattoo, starting a business or following whatever dreams they may have.
It was following his passion in art, Crass said, that has gotten him here today.
Shop a reflection of himself
For folks to feel comfortable getting a tattoo, Crass and Remington said two things need to be present – trust and “a vibe with your artist.”
Inevitably, Crass said he wants clients to walk away happy and want to show off their body art – but said that starts with a good first impression.
The shop’s environment, he said, is the first step in that impression.
Fearless Tattoo’s atmosphere, Crass said, is a reflection of him, his artwork and the energy he strives for.
“I always give 110%,” he said. “I care a lot about what I do, and I put a lot of energy into my work.”
Crass said he specializes in line work, stipple shading (a style of shading that uses dots of ink to create an illusion of shading) and dot work.
He said he prefers to work in black and gray – though he can do color.
Crass said his style is influenced by nature and geometry – and because of that, some of his favorite kinds of work include floral and botanical pieces that flow with the clients’ natural anatomy and sacred geometric pieces like mandalas.
He said he really enjoys combining these two styles together and often ends up freehand drawing some parts of his tattoo designs.
Community support
Crass said any good support system starts with a supportive family.
When he told his immediate family that he found a location for his tattoo studio, Crass said they all were fully supportive and happy to lend a helping hand.
Remington said the community support for Fearless started when Crass was doing his apprenticeship.
She said he was able to gain clients, reconnect with people he hadn’t seen in years and build trust within the community.
“Once people started hearing that Keith was back in town and he was tattooing, it spread like wildfire,” she said. “The community grabbed onto it, and they waited for him to open his shop.”
Crass said the support he received from his family and the community he grew up in made all the difference.
Though he thought about opening a shop in Colorado, he said it wouldn’t have felt the same.
“I love Colorado, but coming back to my family roots and reconnecting with nature here feels like I’m in the right place,” he said. “I draw so much inspiration from being in the Northwoods. Having solitude and quietness helps me expand creatively.”
Crass said he is grateful for Remington’s outgoing community-focused personality, which helped connect Fearless with other local businesses and with the Tomahawk Ambassadors.
“It’s been cool to watch the shop grow with the community,” he said.
For more on Fearless Tattoo, visit the shop’s Facebook page.
