Ink Master season 9 spotlight: Meet Aric Taylor and Carlos Rojas of Black Anchor Collective

When you look at these 2 artists on the surface, Aric Taylor and Carlos Rojas of Black Anchor Collective have to be considered one of the favorites to win this Ink Master season 9. They are from a well-renowned shop, they’ve been doing this for a long time, and they’ve got a lot of confidence about their diversity in styles and how they’ll function together within the confines of this competition.

Will they be able to turn all that they have going for them into a win?

The story – These two artists have a solid 40 or so years of tattooing between them, and they’ve seen it all. There are some artists who seem to be coming on Ink Master this year to prove themselves, and that doesn’t seem to be the case with Aric and Carlos. This feels more like they want to remind everyone why there are clients who come from all over the world to Hesperia, California, out in the middle of the High Desert a good ninety-plus miles from Los Angeles. Considering the traffic out here, this is probably an all-day trip for people coming in from the city.

Their strengths – These two guys are collectively more seasoned than just about any other team on the show this season. They know what to do, and they also know what their weaknesses are more than almost any other pro. They’ve produced tremendous work, and they won’t have to deal with the stress as much, given that they’re clearly established and there’s probably not much that could happen on this show that would hurt their careers.

Weaknesses – Both of them seem somewhat concerned that they could be a target because of their experience and the shop they’re coming from, so they better be prepared for alliances forming up against them. The last thing that they want to do is get themselves in a position where they have other people wanting them out because they are a threat. They’ve gotta try to be under the radar in the early going, and that may prove tough.

Early prediction – These two artists could easily make it to the end of the show, and if they get a week or two out from the finale, they’ll probably be hard to stop. What they have to watch out for is getting into a situation similar to what happened to St. Marq on his first season where he had limited competition and someone just happened to do a tattoo that was slightly better. The worst tattoo doesn’t always go home when there are twists that Ink Master throws at the contestants. Sometimes it’s just the bad luck of a twist that sends a great artist home before their time.

How do you think that Aric and Carlos are going to fare on Ink Master season 9? Share in the comments!

Meanwhile, head over here to get some other news when it comes to Ink Master right now. (Photo: Spike.)