’Ink Master’ exclusive: John Collins on elimination, ‘Peck v. Nunez’ twist, and more

There was two eliminations that took place on “Ink Master” on Tuesday night, and for John Collins in particular, his exit was bittersweet. Everyone wants to do their best to make it to the next round of the competition, but as he explains in our exclusive exit interview below, there were certain parts of his life that he was happy to get back to after being handed his walking papers by the judges.

In addition to this, Collins also discusses working with Chris Nunez, the rigors of the competition, and his frustrations with the new team twist in general.

CarterMatt – We were surprised to see you go home this early in the competition; what were your thoughts when the judges called your name to go home?

John Collins – Yeah, I expected to last a lot longer. To be honest though, the pinch of disappointment in my chest was very short-lived. By the time I was eliminated, I was pretty homesick. The time I spent there was the longest I had ever been away from my girl and our children. So there was a large amount of relief, knowing I would be home with them soon.

The twist this season has really changed the game and good artists are going home early due to some bad luck: What are your thoughts on the team twist?

I hated it. Haha. One of the things that attracted me to tattooing, was how “lone wolf” it was. I’m used to being in control of every step on the road to the final outcome of a creative process. Adding a second controlling force complicated things.

What was it like having Chris Nunez as your team leader?

I like Chris as a person and as a tattooer. He was down to help out and throw out advice. Good dude.

What was the Ink Master environment like?

It was incredibly stressful. Very long days, no days off. Going into the competition I was really confident that it would be a walk in the park. I’ve been tattooing almost 15 years. I consider myself pretty seasoned in my craft. The amount of stress was unexpected, and humbling. I certainly have a new respect for everyone who has competed on the previous seasons.

If you had a chance to come back into the game is there anything you would do differently?

I wouldn’t be so reserved. Haha I was really worried about being portrayed in a negative light. I wanted my daughters to be able to watch it later in life and be proud, you know? Now that I have seen the process all the way through, and I have seen what makes it through editing, I don’t think I would second guess saying, all the smart-ass thoughts that come to my head.

Stylistically I would also be focused on showing a more diverse body of work, as opposed to talking the canvases into traditional American pieces.

If clients want to book you for a tattoo, what’s the best way for them to do that?

It’s easiest to reach me by email at [email protected]. My Instagram is my digital portfolio: @Johncollinstattoo

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A special thanks to John for talking with us about his time on the show and how the twist is affecting the game. We were really disappointed to see John leave the competition as early as he did, especially on a really good tattoo.