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Oct 01, 2023

Legz, world's first armless tattoo artist at work at Houston Texas Tattoo Extravaganza

"That's what my dad called me before he passed away." -- Chelsea Rae McGinnis,

"That's what my dad called me before he passed away." -- Chelsea Rae McGinnis, 24.

Keep clicking for more of the people we met and the stories we heard at the tattoo convention.

"What do you call a bike that can't ride? ... Too tired." -- Waylon Hart, 35, artist at Chariot Tattoo in Houston.

"That's the only reason I go to him. I don't even like tattoos. I just go for the jokes." -- Jasmine Seloff, 18.

"I'm Mexican and the skull is a traditional symbol of my favorite holiday, Dia De Muertos." -- Lady Batserina, 22.

"I'm learning right now. There's no set time. It just takes as long as it takes." -- Damian Hallam, 20.

"This is Johnny Depp's autograph. As soon as he signed it, I went to a shop." -- Noemi Barajas, 28.

"The back is the Bolivian code of arms, which is really important to my identity. It's part of my heritage." -- Jessica Luque, 26

"My mom taught my brother and I how to tattoo. Right now we're working on legislation to be able to open up a tattoo parlor in Temple. It's illegal to tattoo there." -- Christopher Simmons, 33.

"It's the ying yang symbol. They represent myself and my daughters so we're always together." -- Kathy Kronlund, 51.

"I've just always loved tattoos of women." -- Kirsten Laskokie, 19.

"When my son saw it, he said it was pretty... People will ask me if I'm a pirate sometimes." -- Haley Hohmann, 30.

"They call me Notorious Ed. That's Ed with one d, not two. -- Notorious Ed, 70,

"I was drawn to black and white because I loved this one guy's style. They're a little dark." -- Chandra Zafra, 50.

"I wanted a cherry tree, but something less conventional." -- Brandie Miller, 32.

"I don't have any stories. It's a valkyrie." -- Marshall Miller, 32.

"It's been a long process. ... I was born in the year of the dragon." --Michael Lai, 28, being tattooed by Donn Davis from Tattooagogo.

"That's the Alamo, see right there." -- OneSailor Somebody, 54.

"I've always been a spiritual person... I can officiate your wedding." -- 'Rev' John Poteet, 54.

OneSailor Somebody, 54, far left, 'Rev' John Poteet, 65, third from left, Sheri Baugh, 54, front.

Jessica Luque, 26, left and Lady Batserina, 22.

For an hour or so on Saturday afternoon at the Houston Texas Tattoo Extravaganza at the Crowne Plaza near NRG Stadium, Brian Tagalog was the main event.

Tagalog, 28, was born without arms but that hasn't stopped him from becoming a tattoo artist. He inks clients with his feet, which he places rubber gloves on meant for hands. His toes grip the tattoo machine and he controls the current to the machine, usually done by foot pedal, with his backside.

He's been at it for 11 years in his hometown of Tucson, Ariz. When he's working he's listening to music on YouTube to help with his concentration. His toes have grown to be incredibly tactile.

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On Saturday afternoon Tagalog had one client, the legendary tattooist and pop-culture icon Lyle Tuttle, the man who tattooed Janis Joplin and Cher in the '60s and made the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Tuttle, 84, has been completely covered in tattoos, save for his head, hands, and feet, for decades.

RELATED: The Houston Texas Tattoo Extravaganza celebrates its 40th anniversary

Tagalog tattooed a small, armless stick figure on Tuttle and signed it "Legz" as dozens looked on in awe, smartphones in hand. Once convention goers figure out what was happening, a crowd grew. There wasn't much talking, just hushed attentiveness. Some artists even took a break from tattooing their own clients to walk over and watch.

"I looked up and only saw three people and I looked up again a few minutes later and it felt like 300," he joked after he finished on Tuttle, who had found a bit of space on his left arm, just above his elbow.

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After he was done he and Tuttle shared a hug as two important, unique pieces of tattooing history converged. Tuttle has been a part of the culture since 1949 so he's seen a lot. An armless artist? Nothing fazes Lyle.

Artists from all over stopped and talked with their colleague and wished him well as he put back on his Nike shoes and cleaned up his work station.

RELATED: Texas artists show the Latino roots of modern tattoo culture

Tagalog's girlfriend, Marlissa Glenn, 29, and her two children, a boy and girl, accompanied Tagalog to the convention. She's yet to be tattooed by Tagalog but is pondering her choices.

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"We just haven't pinpointed what I want," Glenn says. She still gets a kick out of the attention that Tagalog gets. To her, he's normal. They've known one another since they were in elementary school.

"He's very positive about what he does and it shows that you can't let things limit what you want to do in life," she says.

Tagalog got into tattooing after finding that work was hard to come by.

"People wouldn't want to hire me, so one day I came across a tattoo machine and me and my aunt went in half on it," he says.

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As far as he knows, he's the world's first armless tattoo artist. His work can be tracked on his official Instagram page.