‘Ink Master: Rivals’ exclusive: Ryan Eternal on his rivalry with Mark Longenecker
Ryan Eternal was someone that we wanted to see stick around on “Ink Master” much longer then he did: Unfortunately we lost Ryan this week during the ‘Dimension’ challenge and saw him standing in the bottom against his rival, Mark Longenecker.
We had an opportunity to talk with Ryan about his time on the show and he had some great insight into the judging, being blindsided when it came to his elimination (like many of us were) and the surprising turn of events in his rivalry with Mark Longenecker.
CarterMatt: This was a tough challenge (dimension week); Were you surprised that you went home over Mark or Emily?
Ryan Eternal: This challenge was very difficult. I was honestly blindsided by the decision.
What was it like being in the bottom with your rival?
I never even sweated it really, because I knew my tattoo was better than a lot in the field. Was it the best? Not by far, but I felt safe knowing it wasn’t the worst… surprise lol.
It looks incredibly tense in the loft being cooped up with your rivals as well as other people’s rivals: How difficult was it to stay focused in that environment?
For me it wasn’t anything that I haven’t handled before. I’ve served in the military and been in similar situations with a lot of egos in the room. No one ever tested me, or pushed me because I would have to say that myself and Mark were two of the more intimidating guys in the room.
Now that you are out of the competition, is there any artist left that you are rooting for?
I’m all in for Mark Longenecker. I have my homies back and I respect him like no other. He’s going all the way in my eyes.
How is your rivalry with Mark now; Did doing the show change anything between you?
Our rivalry has been squashed. We worked things out and the respect has been restored.
The judges seem to have more focused critiques this season: Did you find their feed back helpful and which judge did you find to have the best critiques?
They did seem to judge a lil different this year. Oliver by far put in his two cents more than ever and I’m glad he did. He’s an amazing tattooer that I have a ton of respect for.
If clients want to book you for a tattoo, how can they go about doing that?
It’s easy to book with me: Go to Hartandthuntingtonorlando.com and you can book an appointment with me online.
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We were thrilled to chat with Ryan and are happy to hear about the very first case of rivals that are no longer rivals on “Ink Master”. See kids, there are good things that come out of reality TV!