Keith Scott "Bang Bang" McCurdy (born November 28, 1985) is an American celebrity tattoo artist based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He is known for his work with

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014, and List of award ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...

and

Kylie Jenner Kylie Kristen Jenner (born August 10, 1997) is an American media personality, socialite and businesswoman. She starred in the E! reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' from 2007 to 2021 and then the Hulu reality televisi ...

Early life

McCurdy was born to teenage parents Vincent LaCava and Susan McCurdy in

Pottstown, Pennsylvania Pottstown is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Pottstown was laid out in 1752–53 and named Pottsgrove in honor of its founder, John Potts (Pennsylvanian), John Potts. The old name was abando ...

. Soon thereafter, his father left for college, while he and his mom moved to

Claymont, Delaware Claymont is a census-designated place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Claymont was 9,895. History The community now known as Claymont started on the banks of Naamans Creek where i ...

, where she earned a living as a painter and eventually opened a cleaning business. The lifestyle his mother partook during McCurdy's childhood exposed him to an unsavory lifestyle, forcing him to grow up fast. At age 13, McCurdy entered South Kent, a Connecticut boarding school for boys, but was eventually expelled for cheating on a Spanish test and returned to Delaware to start his senior year at Mount Pleasant High School. However, he dropped out of high school to pursue his love of tattoos.

Career

McCurdy got his first tattoo at the age of 15 after his parents honored a bargain that they would consent if he made the honor roll. The Superman logo was done for $180 at Tattoos by RC in

Folsom, Pennsylvania Folsom is a census-designated place (CDP) in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Ridley Township. The population was 8,323 at the 2010 census. Geography Folsom is located in northern Ridley Township at (39.891978, -75 ...

. In 2004, he ordered himself a tattoo kit online and began practicing on himself, friends, and relatives. Only three months later he found a job at his father's friend's tattoo shop outside a nearby trailer park. The next year, he began working at Rage of the Needle in Minquadale, Delaware. He soon made a full commitment to being a tattoo artist by having a gun tattooed on either side of his neck, along with the lettering reading "Bang Bang", which resulted in his professional nickname. Less than a year after launching his career, McCurdy moved to

. He had a hard time finding work at first, bouncing from one tattoo shop to the next. When he would show tattoo artists his portfolio, they had a hard time believing it was actually McCurdy's work because of how impressively the tattoos were done. He eventually found work at Crazy Fantasy in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, which he described as "the dirtiest, most disgusting, shittiest, most dilapidated vomitorium on that little strip." Soon after he moved to a nearby parlor called Whatever Tattoo, where he quickly earned a reputation as the best tattoo artist in the shop. It was there in 2007 that McCurdy first met Barbadian pop star

. She had originally wanted a Sanskrit prayer down the back of her legs, but he convinced her to get the tattoo on her hip instead. While Rihanna was getting the tattoo done, she was with a reporter, and many people started gathering around the tattoo shop's window watching her get it done. Rihanna's tattoo had changed his life and opened up many more opportunities for McCurdy. He credits his work with her as a catalyst leading to his notoriety among other celebrity clients, whom he frequently allows to tattoo him. He created very iconic tattoos with subject matter and body location that were copied endlessly, an example being the lion face tattooed on

's index finger. She went in requesting the word "lion" along her finger, although McCurdy suggested instead that he tattoo the face of a lion. As demand for his work grew, McCurdy went to work between several tattoo parlors, including Last Rites and East Side Ink. When his bid for ownership was spurned, he made plans to launch his own shop, a move which ultimately led to his firing. After about a decade of work around New York City, McCurdy opened Bang Bang Tattoo on Clinton Street in 2013, with investment money coming from his father. However, their relationship deteriorated quickly, and he was forced to restart the business in a new shop on Broome Street the following year. In 2015, McCurdy published a memoir and coffee table book titled ''Bang Bang: My Life in Ink''. In 2018, he opened a second location on Grand Street in

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

Personal life

McCurdy is married to Etsuko Tsujimoto. They have two daughters, Kumiko and Yukari.

Publications

* ''Bang Bang: My Life in Ink'' (2015)

References

External links