GLOVERSVILLE — Addictive Pain Tattoo’s trophy-filled storefront in downtown Gloversville has created some confusion over the years.
“It always happens,” said Ron Holt, a shop worker. “They’re always like, ‘I thought that was a karate spot or something.’”
Those trophies belong to Russell Gomula, shop owner and artist. Last weekend, the collection expanded after the 34-year-old won five awards at Saratoga Tattoo Expo.
Gomula placed second in two categories and first in three categories, including tattoo of the day on Sunday — the big kahuna of the batch. It was a horror-themed portrait of an evil witch.
The exposure helps.
“[Runner-ups] go to a lot of different artists and they're always looking for different styles, so I definitely notice more people hitting me up after conventions,” Gomula said.
Growing up, he was long fascinated in the tattoo work of his uncle, Jeff P. Stone Sr. He died in August 2006, leaving all of his equipment to his nephew.
“He just pretty much told me, if I stayed out of trouble, he’d teach me how to tattoo,” Gomula recalled.
Gomula said he began to learn the fundamentals of the art under the apprenticeship of Vicke Ernst, a then-tattoo studio shop owner in Johnstown. An apprenticeship is the most common pathway for artists to get into the industry, and in some states, a legal requirement to get a license (New York isn’t among the list).
With Ernst's help, Gomula ventured into the convention circuit and started traveling to seminars.
“From that point forward, I just really started trying to hone in on all the skills I can,” he said.
From Philadelphia to San Diego, he’d go to shows by AM-JAM — the country’s longest-running tattoo convention — and paid oodles to get into seminars.
Working on the road, he explained, can be expensive. But it can pay out. Gomula recently got a sponsor with Proper Aftercare after winning big in Saratoga.
“You definitely get noticed more,” Gomula said.
Throughout his career, cultural attitudes towards the trade have shifted. Between 2012 — a year before Addictive Pain first opened — and 2019, the number of Americans with tattoos increased from 21% to 30%, Ipsos found. Another poll from Pew Research Center last year found that 33% have at least one tattoo.
Businesses such as Disney and Bank of America have eased restrictions on body modifications. New York City in 2021 even passed legislation banning tattoo-based discrimination.
With the cultural shift, Gomula’s client pool has widened.
“I literally gave a 75-year-old woman her first tattoo a few weeks ago,” he said. “It's crazy that you get people that come in from all walks of life. It doesn't even matter anymore.”
On a typical day, Gomula starts talking to his clients in the morning; once he’s done crafting designs, he’s tattooing from noon to 6 or 8 p.m on North Main Street; afterwards, he starts pre-planning designs for the next day. It’s a 24/7 job, he said.
“People are always like, ‘Oh, you could come and go as you please and this and that,’” he said. “But I think consistency is the biggest key for keeping clientele and making sure that you're always readily available for them.”
Since opening on Cayadutta Street, the business has moved thrice within an 11-year span.
Gomula’s life has changed along the way. He ended up meeting his now-wife Tamara during an appointment eight years ago. Noticing her legs swollen, Gomula encouraged her to see a doctor. She refused, noting that she waited months to get an appointment.
“I was like, ‘your health is more important,’ but she wouldn't leave without a tattoo’ so I tattooed her,” she said. “And that day, they actually rushed her in for emergency surgery and found out that she was in kidney failure and had giant cancerous tumors in her body.”
He checked up with her along the way. After leaving work to get treatment, he got her a job at the shop and the two grew closer and closer. They got married last June.
“It’s actually a really cool story about that with her,” Gomula said.
Russell Gomula, owner of Addictive Pain Tattoo on North Main Street in Gloversville, Thursday, April 11, 2024.
Russell Gomula's trophies from Saratoga Tattoo Expo at Addictive Pain Tattoo on North Main Street, Thursday, April 11, 2024.
A storefront showing Russell Gomula's trophies at Addictive Pain Tattoo, Thursday, April 11, 2024.