It’s good to know that there are guys like Danny Knight in the tattoo game. In any industry, the people with the most heart and the most passion for their work are the true stars, whether they are appearing on a highly popular reality TV series or working at some tiny studio somewhere in obscurity. Caring about and loving the work that you do transcends all the other bullshit that so often gets in the way.
Danny Knight doesn’t appear on any highly popular reality TV series, but the tattoo machines that he builds have. For quite some time, his very own brand of machines were used by some of the guys on the Discovery Channel’s tattoo series Miami Ink. Since 1998, Knight has been building tattoo machines and though it initially started out as a hobby and something of a fun challenge, it has now taken off into a second full time career next to tattooing.
Knight owns and operates Cast Iron Tattoos in Orlando, Florida where he specializes in traditional American and Japanese styles, though in truth, he likes to do it all. Not only that, but he’s actually very adept at doing it all, which is pretty damn important if you ask me.
Despite having a tattoo shop, a machine shop, a family and some dogs, Danny Knight has also set up his own tattoo convention called The Tried and True Tattoo Expo. Tried and True was made out of a desire to keep things well…tried and true. The concept of the expo came to life when Knight decided that with the rising popularity of the tattoo scene, that too many tattoo expos and conventions were being put on by promoters who didn’t really care about the industry and who were essentially just trying to cash in on something that really meant nothing to them.
And hey, seeing that people like Danny Knight are actually still out there, staying true to the world that they love is so much more than a comfort, it’s a genuine inspiration to anyone who cares about the tattoo industry.