Cape Town - Armed with a tattoo gun, Athal-John Rhode is leaving his mark on the international market as a travelling tattoo artist.
The Ceres-born tattoo artist always knew he wanted to work overseas when he started gaining traction with foreign clients while they were on holiday in Cape Town.
In December, he visited Germany and the Netherlands and built up clientele in that part of the world.
Shortly after returning from his travels, his British visa was approved, and he started planning a trip to Manchester in April.
“My friend, Leslie Caswell (from the UK), told me he got us tickets to watch a Manchester United game,” he said.
“He never told me that we had box seats. I would have been happy with a seat right at the back in the corner,” he added.
Little did he know this would lead to him meeting former Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard and getting to tattoo him.
“This was a dream of mine. It felt unreal. It was a grounding and affirming experience. While I was sitting there, it hit me that I am tattooing Jesse Lingard,” he said.
“I’m a big Manchester United fan and this just showed me that nothing is impossible and nothing is out of my reach.”
In a short space of time, Rhode was able to grow a following in those parts of the world and will soon be returning. He has already secured commissions for clients in Amsterdam and Germany between August and September.
“The beauty of this work is that it connects people. The people I tattooed here in Cape Town went back home and got me clients in their neck of the woods,” he said.
Rhode grew up in a small town outside of Ceres called the Koue Bokkeveld. In 2013, he graduated with his national diploma in graphic design from CPUT.
His first job in the industry was working as a graphic designer for Soccer Laduma followed by a stint at communications agency, Strika.
“Working as a creative in a corporate environment brought its limitations. I had a great time, but I felt like I learned all that I could,” he said.
“I didn’t want to live a life where I was not celebrating the part of me that made me who I am. As a creative, I don’t want to be boxed in.”
While working in the corporate world, he spent weekends tattooing at Sleight of Hand Tattoos in Woodstock. This was followed by working as a tattoo artist at Descriptive Art Collective for two years.
From there, he rented space at Twelve Elven studios for a few months before opening his own studio in Woodstock in February 2020.
Rhode started his studio, Tools of Trade, out of the desire to be able to create when the mood struck.
“I just want to draw and create. That has always been of utmost importance to me. I wanted to incorporate my drawing into tattooing,” he said.
Rhode, 29, said one of his favourite things about tattooing is that he gets to connect with each client.
“You get to tell someone’s story when you do their ink. It’s a privilege seeing someone having your art on their skin,” he said.
He added: “Tattoos are almost like bookmarks where people honour and celebrate parts of their life.”
While tattooing is his current medium of creative expression, Rhode said he initially wanted to study architecture.
“I knew when I was older that I wanted to draw, but I never expected it to go into this medium,” he said.
“I didn’t get accepted into architecture. Graphic design was my second choice and I feel like that was the universe’s way of showing me this was what I was meant to do.”
Drawing, like breathing, was something that has come naturally to Rhode for as long as he can remember.
“My mom, Christina, took me off Ritalin (medication used for ADHD) at a young age as it took the life out of me. Drawing helped me focus on only one thing at a time,” he said.
He added: “I would draw everything in my daily life. I eventually got to drawing family members when they visited. It became second nature to me.”
One of his early clients since 2017, Brad Brown, said he is impressed every time he's had work done by Rhode.
“He’s been working on my leg sleeve for the past few years, and the whole experience has been very pleasant,” he said.
“I am very impressed by his work and his attention to detail is immaculate. AJ’s conceptualising of an idea will always amaze me,” he added.
Gazelle Christians had her first big tattoo and two smaller tattoos done by Rhode. Christians said that he produced exactly what she wanted.
“He pays so much attention to detail and created a piece specifically for me that was both unique and a perfect translation of what I wanted,” she said.
“I’m so happy with every piece he has ever done for me and would 100% recommend him to anyone,” she added.
Brandon Ruck said he has been inked by Rhode a few times and he’s only had good experiences.
“I love all of my tattoos. His style of work is unique because he puts a lot of effort into every tattoo that he does,” he said.
He added: “He focuses on detail, concept, composition and flow on the body. He’s fantastic and I suggest that anyone who wants to get tattooed by him, should do so."