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Tammy Harris and her husband run a tattoo shop in Cincinnati and they were awarded the BBB's Torch Award. that celebrates business owners for their ethics. Here's Robbie with the story. Tammy Harris was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. I went to Aiken High School.
It was a vocational school.
So they had like Back in the day, oh my gosh, it was amazing because they had like body art, cosmetology, commercial art is what I was in because I was into art. Like, seriously, my mom gave me my baby book not too long ago, and it was the cutest thing because. I guess from the time I was born, I've been an artist. Because she even wrote in there, like, you know, what does she want to be when she grows up or something? It said artist.
I was like, oh my gosh, that is so cute.
So yeah, graduated high school.
Okay. Got pregnant at 17, so I had a baby when I got out of high school, and I had a full scholarship to go at the time, it was the best art college in America, which was in San Francisco. But since I got pregnant, I realized it's not about me no more.
So that's when I started working in a factory just to be able to take care of her because I didn't want to be on welfare and have other people take care of my choices. You know what I mean? Yeah, I just... Started working in the factory, taking care of my baby. It was really hard because I was a single mom.
And then I decided to go to college because my high school commercial art teacher was still contacting me and trying to get me to go to college because he got me a Fulbright scholarship. And he was really upset when he found out I was pregnant and I wasn't gonna go. It's like, I'm sorry, dude, but yeah. This thing comes first.
So yeah, I pretty much was going to school full time in the morning. Going home, taking care of my baby for a little bit, trying to get a nap, and then I worked third shift in the factory.
So it was rough.
So I did that for a year, and then my second year of college, I started in Like they said that they had job placement once you graduated.
So I was like, okay, that's perfect because the factory that I worked in, it was a good factory, but it was factory work. nothing fun.
So I thought, okay, yeah, I get a you know, start a job that has something to do with what I love. Yeah, it didn't turn out that way.
So, the second year, they had a meeting with the teacher, and he was pretty much explaining that. you know, the job placement and everything, blah blah blah. And I said, well, can I ask, you know, what the job placement involves and like how much you get paid? Because at the time, the factory that I worked in, you made decent money, especially for me to be. Gosh, 1920.
He had the nerve to look at me and said, uh, Kinkos. I was like, what what? Like, wait a minute. I am spending all this money to go to college, and your job placement is making copies for people at Kinkos. Like, you have got to be kidding.
So, he was wondering why I was getting upset, and I'm like, dude, do you not understand? Like, I am working myself to death. To pay for this and take care of my baby, to try to make my life better, and you're telling me that you're gonna put me in a job at Kinko's? When I make three times that amount in the factory, so why am I wasting my time? And that's when I quit there, and my high school teacher got a hold of me and was so upset because I quit, but I was like, dude, they're just taking my money and using me.
Like, I'm not okay with that. It was back in the factory that Tammy found both a husband and an idea for a new career path.
So that's when I started thinking about the tattooing process. I was like, oh, you know that? That would be a pretty cool way to kind of put my art to use, and it's cool. Back then, it wasn't cool, but it was cool to me because I got my first tattoo and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
So, yeah, I started going around to the tattoo shops and kind of talking to all the tattoo. owners about being an apprentice and they were extremely rude. Like, treated me like I was just garbage, and because I was a woman, and women didn't do tattoos. 20 something years ago.
So Pretty much like when you're young, you think that all tattoo artists are good, all people that own tattoo shops are good at tattooing, and that is so wrong.
So We went to tattoo shops and we got messed up.
So, when you're not happy with your tattoo, that is the worst. Like, you should not be ashamed of something that you permanently have on your body for the rest of your life. Like, that is so not cool.
So it took us a long time to find somebody that could fix the tattoos and cover up what we had.
So we spent a lot of time, a lot of money with him. And I became friends with his wife. My husband became friends with him. We started hanging out. Just, we became friends.
So, yeah, one night he calls my husband. It's like three o'clock in the morning, and we're sleeping, getting ready to go to work in the morning to the factory. And my husband's like, what is he doing? Like, why is my tattoo guy calling me? And I'm like, answer the phone.
So he answers the phone. Um You know, I can hear the guy talking 'cause it's... It's completely quiet. And he said, hey man, you know, I've been thinking, do you want to do an apprenticeship? And my husband's like, dude, it's like three o'clock in the morning.
I need to go to work in the morning. Like, I'll call you back later and talk to you about it.
So I'm smacking him, like, do it, do it, do it. And he's like, would you stop?
So, yeah, I told him. I said, you know, that's perfect because, you know, since I couldn't get into it, He can get into it and he can learn and then once he gets good, he can teach me and that would be my way of getting into it. And that's exactly what happened. He tattooed for about two years. His first tattoo was on me, and then two years later, when I started tattooing, my first tattoo was on him.
And it went from there, man. We've been tattooing, gosh. Almost every day for 18, 19 years. Yeah. It's been a good time though, man.
We have so many stories and... Like most people And I know a lot of people know what I'm talking about because I've experienced too. Usually, when you walk into a tattoo shop, There's a little young girl at the desk and she is Pretty much aggravated that you walked in and bothered her. You know what I mean? So you get an attitude as soon as you walk in the door, and you can just feel that negative energy.
You just feel like you're bothering people, and it's like, this is a business. Like, you should want me to come in and want to take my money.
Okay, it's a lot of that and just Like a lot of tattoo artists, they have that godlike mentality.
So, the guy that taught my husband, he was like that. And he pretty much would say, because somebody would come into this tattoo shop. And they would show us what they wanted and we're like, oh, you know, that's a really cool idea. You know, it meant something to them. It was unique.
And by the time they left, they had a completely different tattoo. And then they would come and show us and we're like, well. I thought you wanted this and they said, oh yeah, well he talked me out of it. It's like, I cannot believe that. Like, why would you let somebody talk you out of something that you had your heart set on that meant something to you?
And it's normally because the tattoo artist scares them, threatens them, just makes them feel like they don't know what they're talking about. And what you're wanting is stupid, and I don't want to do it. It's like, no, this is permanently going on somebody's body. You should be doing exactly what they want to do. We put almost all of our tattoo work on Facebook because that's how everybody sees our stuff.
But I've had people come in here and they're like, well, I don't like everything in your portfolio. I just look at them, I go, I don't like everything in my portfolio either. but it's exactly what my client wanted.
So, like, I had a woman come in, and she got this huge forearm piece. And it's like stick figures in different colors. It was her kid's drawing. It was the cutest thing because her kid drew it and it was of their family.
So I'm like, what? Like, if somebody saw that, they'd be like, oh my god, somebody messed them up. You know what I mean? But that's exactly what she wanted, and it has meaning to them. Like, don't judge somebody's tattoos just because you think it's garbage, because that could be exactly what they wanted.
You don't know. You don't know, and what a voice we're listening to. And we're listening to Tammy Harris share the story of her going from being a single mom and just doing what she had to do to take care of her baby, work a late shift. in a factory to pursuing her dream, and it wasn't a gig at Kinko's. It was art and ultimately being a tattoo artist, but not an elite.
Looking down, snobbish tattoo artist that says this is the way, but one that uses their artistic talents to.
well, take care of the wishes and dreams of the people getting tattooed. When we come back, more of Tammy Harris's beautiful voice. Here on Our American Stories. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years.
And now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q.
That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. America is the stage for the biggest World Cup ever, and Fox is your home for it all. None bigger than this one. 48 countries, 16 cities. Oh my god!
One golden dream. The biggest stars. Ronaldo to the rescue. The biggest games. The biggest moments.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup 1011th on Fox FS1 and streaming live on Fox One. The United States is about to mark its 250th anniversary. And so on the Global Story Podcast from the BBC, we're telling surprising tales of American influence on the world stage and in ordinary people's lives all across the globe. We have this ability to export our story, and a lot of people have bought it. I feel like the American dream is alive, but not well.
From the BBC, it's the United States at 250. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or find us on YouTube. The best skaters, BMX riders, and moto athletes in the world don't compete in leagues until now. The X Games League Championship is live from New Orleans, July 24th through 26th. Three days of elite action sports, plus performances from Metro Boomin, JID, Subtronics, and Bunt.
Watch on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. Stream on the ESPN app, Roku, Kik, Amazon, and XGames YouTube. The inaugural champion gets crowned this July. Uh And we're back with Our American Stories and with Tammy Harris' story. Before the break, Tammy was explaining about how the customer comes first at her tattoo shop.
Deviant Designs. Here's Tammy again on what it takes to run an ethical tattoo shop. and put people. Over profit. Yeah.
So, we don't like to tattoo younger people where it's harder for them to cover it up. Because young people, they don't think about the future. You know what I mean? So me and my husband almost have to be like mom and dad when they come in.
So they'll come in, and I mean, this is like 16, 17, and 18, where their parents bring them in. And you can tell the parents are kind of like, eh. They want to get their first tattoos where everybody can see them.
So, forearms, hands. I've had people wanting their necks for their first tattoo. I'm like, you're out of your mind. What are you thinking? And the first thing we ask him is, what do you do for a living?
And if they're still in school, I'm like, well, what are you planning on doing when you get out of high school? You have to think about this stuff because this one kid, and this is like when I was first learning, so this is 15, 16 years ago. He came in, and his mom was with him. I mean, you tell his mom wasn't too excited about it, and he was. Six no he might have been 17.
So we asked him, you know, what do you want? And he wanted writing across his knuckles, like gang-looking. And I was like, what, wait, what?
So I asked him, you know, what do you do for a living? Oh, I don't do anything, I'm still in school. And I'm like, okay, well, what are you planning on doing? B says, well, um Coast Guard. I wanna go on the Coast Guard.
Is it do? Would you just think for one minute? He's like, what do you mean? I said. Any military, police, Any of those fields They don't want you looking like a gang member.
But think! Think for a minute, like just it's really not that hard. And another thing that kids don't understand is, yes, tattoos are more acceptable. But It depends on who your boss is.
So if your boss likes tattoos, you're cool. If your boss does not like tattoos, then you're going to have to wear long sleeves the whole time you work there. in the summer when it's hot you know what i mean i'm like the just Think for a minute. It's really not that hard to think. Yeah.
But that mom that came in with the kid with the knuckles, because what we did, and we do this to a lot of people, if they're not sure.
So, you know how we do a stencil? The stuff that we use to put the stencils on, it'll stay on for a couple days.
So we'll put it on them and say, now go home, get used to it being there, ask your family, ask your friends, like, what do you think? To see everybody's reaction. And if you still want it in two days, then come back and talk to us. Yeah, his mom called us the next day, like, thank you so much. He doesn't want to get it now.
And I was like, yes.
Now, don't get me wrong, they can go to another tattoo shop and get it right after we talk to them, and that's fine. But I like to sleep at night, so I had. He was 19. He come in the shop, never met him before, he just came in and he says, um, It was around Mother's Day.
So he says, I want to get a tattoo for my mom. And I'm like, oh, that's cool. Like, what are you thinking about getting? And he says, I want to do like a cancer ripping for her. And I'm like, oh, that's sweet.
Yes. I said, okay, where are you wanting to get it? And he. Real big on his neck.
So I just kind of looked at him and I smiled. And then I look over at my husband. My husband's already laughing because he knows what I'm going to say. I think it's a good idea. What do you do for a living?
He says, Oh, I got a good job. You ain't got to worry about that. I'm good. And I said, Well, where do you work? Wendy's.
I just looked over at my husband, and my husband is dying. I was like, boy. You really think Wendy's is a good job? Like... No, I said, and he said, Well, if you don't want to do it, I understand.
Like, I said, it's not that I don't want to do it. Here's the thing. I'm a mom. I said, and I'm telling you right now, if my daughter came home with this huge. Tattoo on her neck.
I'm gonna beat her ass and then I'm gonna find out who did it to her and I'm gonna beat their ass. And he started laughing and I just looked at him. I said, tell me I'm wrong. He said, No, you're probably right. I was like, Boy, I know I'm right.
Like, don't put it on your arm. Like, put it somewhere. Don't, why are you going straight to your neck? He just kind of laughed, and like, we were just messing with him, and he finally left. Me and my husband were like, He probably went down the street and got it, but mama ain't mad at me.
Cause I'm like, I don't want him coming and yelling at me. No, no, no, no, no. I don't want no mad mama bears coming at me. It ain't happening because I'm one of them. Yeah.
But I mean you have to have that relationship with everywhere you were They know where you're coming from, you know what I mean? Like it's no shock when I look at them like Don't make me whoop you. Because I was so wokey.
Okay. Like I was explaining to somebody the other day, I said, What really doesn't make sense to me is it's your name walking around. Like when we do a tattoo on somebody, if they have a good experience, they're happy, they're happy with the price. They will refer all of their family, all of their friends, so your clientele just. quadrupled in one tattoo.
So, why would you want to piss that person off, rip them off, be rude to them? Because it's like if you have a good tattoo, a couple people hear about it. If you have a bad tattoo, everybody hears about it.
So it's like, I just don't understand the thinking. Ben? I mean, that's good for me and my husband, though. All these other tattoo artists keep treating people like crap. You just keep sending them right over here.
Uh But the one thing that I do, my husband doesn't do, that just blew my mind.
So I did this probably, I started it like four years ago.
So the women that have mastectomies. Yeah. I had a woman come in, and like it was her and a bunch of friends, and they were all getting tattooed. And she was explaining to me that she had a mastectomy. And apparently, she had to have so many different surgeries to get it right.
And then she never got the nipples tattooed on, because that's the way they do it. And I'm like, oh, really?
So she asked me, she was like, do you think you can do that? And I was like, oh. Like, I've never done it before. And I'm like, oh, God, like, that's gotta be perfect. Like, you have to get the colors right, the shape, the size.
Oh my goodness.
So I told her, I said, you know what? I'll give it a shot. I've never done it before. I said, but I'll do it for free. She's like, I'm not going to lie to you.
I'm scared to death. And she just laughed. She's like, oh, I know you'll do it and you won't have any problems. I'm like, okay, because her thing was, she didn't just want it to look like a sticker on her.
So when she came in, it was hilarious because my daughter. Was working the desk at the time.
So, whenever I do that, my husband gets to stay home for the day.
So, he, I always tell all the girls, like, Well, my husband thanks you for his day off. He gets to stay home because. He feels like that's disrespectful to me.
So, yeah, the lady comes in and she just takes her top off, and I'm like, okay, like she's not shy at all. But what I've learned is the women that go through that, it's not personal to them anymore, it's not theirs. to begin with, so it's completely different.
So it's so funny because I have circle templates. And then I have a laser level.
So I do the laser leveler. That way I know they're perfectly even, and I mark where I think they should be. And I take the circle template and I draw out the circles and then have them look at it. And is it the size? Like, does that look like what they used to look like?
Because this girl, she didn't even remember. Like, it's been that long. She was like, Tammy, I don't even remember what they used to look like. I'm like, oh crap, like, this is not easy.
So I drew it all on, and then I tell her, I'm like, okay, go show my daughter. Like, does that look natural? And my daughter goes, they're too high. That doesn't look natural. Like you gotta bring them down a little bit.
So I'm like, okay.
So we wipe them off, do the whole process again, and then it was good.
So it's like, okay.
So yeah, and then at the most a half an hour to do both. It's seriously the easiest thing. She freaked out. Like, she was seriously standing in front of the mirror, like, this is amazing. Oh my God.
It changed her life. I was like, oh my gosh, just seeing how it took her from being so insecure. She was herself again. It freaked me out.
So then the next girl that I did, it was one of my clients. I think it was her aunt. I think that's how they're related. has no tattoos at all.
So what happened to her was she went through the surgeries And then by the time it came time for her to get the tattoos done. Her insurance ran out. And I can't remember how much she said that they wanted. But it was a pretty good penny.
So her niece gave her my info because I was telling them, like, no, I do that for free. Like, tell her to get a hold of me.
So she got a hold of me. She came in and we did it, and she cried. She was like, no, I don't feel comfortable. I won't even date. Like, she hadn't dated in a couple years because of it.
So, yeah, I did the tattoos on her. Like, that completely changed her life. And the last time I seen her, she's like, girl, I've been going on so many dates. And I was like, that's amazing. And a great job on the production by Robbie, and a special thanks to Tammy Harris.
For sharing her story with us, all of it, and stories of her customers, too. If you put the people first, the profit will follow. I can't tell you how many times I've used people precisely because they tell me to go home and that there wasn't a repair that needed to be done. And ethics and profit are not at war and they're not at odds. In fact, they complement each other.
Tammy Harris' story, and a special thanks to the Cincinnati Area Better Business Bureau. for providing us with that story. Sammy Harris's story, a beautiful one here on Our American Story. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years.
And now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q.
That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. If you're a QuickBooks customer, looking to grow your business without the growing pains, you need the Intuit ERP. Upgrade to Intuit Enterprise Suite in a matter of hours. It's the AI native ERP from the makers of QuickBooks. Learn more at intuit.com slash ERP.
America is the stage for the biggest World Cup ever, and Fox is your home for it all. None bigger than this one. 48 countries. 16 cities. We go.
One golden dream. Magical message. The biggest stars. Ronaldo to the Russians. The biggest games.
The biggest moments. The 2026 FIFA World Cup 2-11th on Fox FS1 and streaming live on Fox One. The United States is about to mark its 250th anniversary. And so on the Global Story Podcast from the BBC, we're telling surprising tales of American influence on the world stage and in ordinary people's lives all across the globe. We have this ability to export our story, and a lot of people have bought it.
I feel like the American Dream is alive, but not well. From the BBC, it's the United States at 250. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or find us on YouTube.
