General Info

One of the oldest, and certainly iconic, tattoo shops in New York City -- Fun City Tattoo -- has fresh new blood taking over: Big Steve Pedone and Maxx Starr. The legendary outlaw tattooist Jonathan Shaw opened up Fun City in 1976 in Manhattan's East Village, decades before tattooing was legalized in the city in 1997. A lot of great artists came up in Shaw's shop, but it was also particularly renowned for the celebrity clientele that would hang there, like Johnny Depp, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. When Jonathan decided to retire from the industry, Michelle Myles & Brad Fink of Daredevil Tattoo bought the shop around 2007 and reinvigorated it. Now, with Michelle and Brad focusing on the new incarnation of Daredevil Tattoo by NYC's Bowery, the reigns have passed to Big Steve and Maxx. And it's a perfect fit. Big Steve came up in Fun City, from his start as Shaw's ""shop guy"" to becoming a sought-after tattooer, and now boss man. Here's a quick Q&A I had with Steve, which sheds slight on that whole tattoo trajectory.