RYAN COOPER THOMPSON
I USE ALL VEGAN PIGMENTS AND PRODUCTS AND HAVE BEEN VEGAN MYSELF SINCE 2004.
I’m a farm kid, born the running kind from Quincy on the Illinois banks of the Mississippi. I’ve been a traveler most of my life, crossing the country on my own by car since the 90s. I made my first tattoo in 2001, unprofessional as it was I fell in love with it.
After a short apprenticeship, I started tattooing professionally mid 2004 in Springfield, Illinois. This career provided the means to keep traveling as much as I could, which I needed. In 2010, I made Kansas City, MO my home base where I tattooed for 4 years. I was traveling so much with tattooing that in early in 2014 I parted with most of my belongings and put a few boxes in storage to hit the road permanently. After over 2 and a half years of traveling nonstop around the USA and 22 countries later, I settled in Portland, Oregon from late 2016-2018. Not unpacking one box during that time, I accepted that I must I hit the road again. After another 18 months of nonstop travel, the COVID pandemic made continued traveling feel unethical and I settled once again in Portland, OR in April of 2020 where I still call home today. Currently, you can find me at Tattoo Smile.
Outside of tattooing I very much enjoy backpacking and volunteering in trail remediation efforts. I fell in love with thru-hiking after completing the 800 mile Arizona Trail in 2024, which I did to celebrate my 20 years of professional tattooing. The following year, in 2025, I completed the 500 mile Colorado Trail. And in 2026 I completed the 2650 mile Pacific Crest Trail in just 105 days.
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