Ink Master season 9 spotlight: Meet Jhon Campuzano, Babiery Hernandez of Thicker Than Blood Tattoos

With the premiere of Ink Master: Shop Wars (also known as season 9) airing on Spike Tuesday, June 6, don’t you want to know more about the contestants? These spotlight articles are designed not only get to know the new tattooers stepping up to the challenge of this show (and this really is one of the hardest reality competitions on TV right now), but also what makes season 9 special (the shops).

For the sake of this spotlight we are focusing on Thicker Than Blood Tattoos, a shop located in White Plains, New York (check out the Facebook page here.) The two guys from this shop that are taking part this season are Jhon Campuzano and Babiery Hernandez, and they each feel like they’ve got quite a bit to prove in this competition.

The story – These are two guys who are really coming into the show with a ton of passion and creativity (if you don’t have passion the judges will sniff that out early); not only that, but they balance each other out so well. If you look at an artist like Jhon, you’ve got someone who is super-skilled in black-and-gray tattooing. Meanwhile, Babiery is exceptional in color work. They’ll be able to combine their powers, Captain Planet style, to create an incredible dynamic duo this season.

The strengths – One thing that they especially emphasize in this video is that for them, this is about so much more than just winning a competition; it’s about celebrating what they love and connecting with their clients. If they can find a way to tap into this passion on the show even with time constraints and difficult themes, they’ll enjoy what they are doing and be able to not fall victim to stress like we have seen with other contestants over the years.

Also, these two appear to be fairly low-drama, which is also helpful in the Ink Master environment. Whether or not that remains the case in once they are knee deep in the competition is a different story.

The weaknesses – The most glaring weakness with here is the sole fact that there are more experienced artists out there; yet, we’ve seen from the past few seasons that you can enter the show with a little less in the way of tattooing know how and be able to still deliver fantastic art. This is more so about creativity, discipline and good time management than how long you’ve been laying out design and doing tattoos.

Early prognosis – These two seem set up to do well and go the distance. They appreciate the craft, and it doesn’t seem to be about fame or being crazy reality TV characters.

Do you want to see Thicker Than Blood Tattoos reign supreme on this season of Ink Master? Share in the comments below!

Meanwhile, be sure to click here to get some further spotlights when it comes to  Ink Master: Shop Wars now! (Photo: Spike.)