Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Elson Yeo @Elsonyeo

1) Tell us a little about yourself. What are you doing now and where do you come from?

As my Instagram name suggests, my name is Elson Yeo. And I tattoo and own thINK Tattoo here in Singapore. I am currently taking an indefinite though non permanent hiatus from the frequent trips to Europe and the UK that was (and will be, believe you me/ worry you not, soon!) a huge part of my tattooing career… all for the Foundation and Founding of my Family, and the irreplaceable First Moments of my firstborn Son.
Much apologies to my European and U.K. And USA friends, your smiles shall return to your faces as Long as my local Homeboys And Homegirls are done with theirs! ?????

I have always been intrigued by art and more specifically – one’s ability to manifest one’s thoughts and visions on canvas – as a child. The act of creating through drawing in itself was fascinating to me. I do distinctively remember days of my incessant pestering of my uncles to teach me how to draw, after many hours of cartoon (not the junk on TV today, but like how they used to produce them painstakingly).

A simple bookmark design competition when I was 7 years old in Primary One started the proverbial fire though. I won first prize for it, and as with the nature of encouragement and recognition cyclically motivating me to better myself, the path of my ascend towards a passion for art was inevitable.

I first get introduced to tattoos, (and that inevitably influenced me eventually to decide it was something I wanted to do for a living) through something really funny…

I have a distant relative who did never shy away from flaunting the various tattoos he spotted all over his body. Come to think of it, he was more of a cutting edge tattoo enthusiast than anyone of his age back then… when every tattoo was stigmatized and every tattooed person got flash done discreetly, he actually custom drew all his ink and even managed to get whimsical with some!

My most vivid memory of an introduction to tattoos in general was one of this distant uncle showing me his “knee-eye”. The man has a pair of eyes tattooed on his kneecaps, to “watch over all card games”. I was awestruck. To a child from a conservative Chinese family in Asia, the notion of such a tattoo (or a tattoo alone) was simply too beautifully forbidden to be ignored.

When I was in Primary 5 my folks brought me to watch a HongKong movie adaptation of “Crying Freeman”, a manga by Kazuo Koike & Ryoichi Ikegami. Although I’m sure that in the eyes of many, it really wasn’t all that proper to bring your kids to a violent flick, but hell, we had a roaring great time! The elaborate tattoos the hero wore with immense pride in the show completely won me over.

I left the movie feeling more than just inspiration. The very next day I picked up a pen and draw on my classmate’s arm. I remembered my little musing that it would be a great thing if I can get to do this for a living. That was the beginning of my incurable addiction.

Tracing back to the movie when I was in Primary 5, my mother gave me hell and one tight slap for the mere verbal suggestion that I would get a tattoo when I grew up (Conservative Chinese upbringing has its pros and cons). The idea of me being a tattoo artist has always been a little whim I indulged in and thought about but never openly discussed.

Many years passed before the next leap of faith occurred. Throughout my youth and through the obligatory 30-month military service I fulfilled to my country, I have never stopped researching and reading and drawing up tattoo designs.

I picked up the craft of tattooing from a biker’s joint of sorts, conveniently located in a sleazy shopping mall. I essentially joked with a friend who called me to let me in on a good deal at a tattoo, given that she knows the artist. I asked if I could learn from him instead. After some sketches and a whole deal of old school apprenticeship trials and tribulations, I finally picked up a machine in half a year. Like what my mentor said, and I do quote this from heart… “A tattoo is the only thing you pay for, and yet have to earn (from the physical discomfort)”… Well well, tattooing, more so.

Well, it is to me a natural progression after all. Skin is the most engaging medium I’ve encountered among all that I’ve tried!

2) What are your topics of interest? What do you post on Instagram the most?

Art, Travels and Travelling, Tattoos mostly.
Posting tattoos? My work exclusively.
And occasionally, happenstances of my life and loved ones.
And sometimes for the sake of it… THAT rare Repost to Win *insert Object of Desire*.
Almost never: the OOTD selfie for no apparent reason but to make up for IMHO, an acute lack of self confidence.

However, for the sake of posterity Abd argument, I am entitled to my (wrong) Opinion;
For I am, like you, only human! ?

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

@TattoobyElson sounds too trite and passé, given that it was my ID before I founded my own studio, thINK Tattoo, here in Singapore.
@ThinkTattooSg is my studio’s Instagram name.
Well, coincidentally:
@thinktattoo is owned by me… but I forgot the password and its very existence in the first place (it was back when Instagram was a novel idea not The Platform for the proverbial Picture that speaks a Thousand Words..!), until I searched for it whilst ironically trying to get an Instagram handle for my studio.
… Did I remember to tell you that if I am blessed with quick wit and quicker/ quirkier Creative artistic ideas and interpretations, I am cursed – in all fairness – with goldfish memory… or did I forget that too? ?

So I’d figure. Simplicity is Key and Brevity is the Soulnof Wit. Stick to what And who I am.
Hence @elsonyeo.

4) What are some apps you use to edit your photos? Share with us your photo-editing routine!

PicsArt reigns supreme at the moment, next to Aviary, for there really is a whole lot of convenient and user-friendly tools in that free phone app (read: ease of use and understanding for the average non-professional Photoshop designer/ artist like myself ??) . To boot, I find that any in-app purchases from these two apps are justifiable and fair, if not mind-blowing!

5) Any Instagrammers whom you really like? Which Instagrammer inspires you the most?

I’d follow artists and tattooers mostly who I know in person and/ or whose work is inspirational. Everything is relative, and in so saying, what One takes for granted as common could and plausibly IS Inspiration to the Other.
And given that Commonsense is NOT Common at all, I’d suffice to say everyone I electively Follow on Instagram has the propensity to Inspire me, depending on the Form, Day, Mood, and Circumstantial Situation(s)!

6) If there’s one thing your fellow Instagrammers just gotta try now, what’s it gonna be?

Get Real, and stay So.
Fellow Instagrammers ought to get a grasp on their lives if they haven’t.
Don’t get caught Too busy making a living just to forget How to Live Life; don’t get caught living a Front you’d actually lose Yourself.
Just BE.

7) What’s your favorite part about being an influencer?

This is a Funny – both in a “Hahaha” and a “hmmmmmm” way – Question.
If I get paid 10 cents every time someone tells me I’d have my “Mojo”, I’d be gainfully RETIRED by now. Lol!
Well, quite frankly, I must reiterate to say that I’m not “deep”, much less “philosophical”… in fact I’m merely so SHALLOW – and concurrently can’t really tell a lie to save my life (trust me, I’m shocked I’m still breathing..!) – that I’d so often “point out the white elephant in the room”. Lest it becomes the room.
And leave us No Room for Breathing.

Like seriously, #POTENTIAL #TRIGGERWARNING:
is it just me or do most of you NOT realise that
No One in the Bible or Quran has one?? ??????

8) What are some of your top tips to brands for running campaigns? How do you maintain authenticity?

Keep things honest and be as clear as possible. Not demanding total Transparency. Just be #legitimate. After all, you aren’t just selling your products, you’re selling a Dream And sharing Your Vision.
Authenticity is IMHO achieved completely when you earn your keep like your peacefully guiltless Sleep.

9) What would your advice be on the importance of quality and original content?

Like I reiterate, and cannot emphasise enough, Quality is what is Paramount and Legitimacy is its Strongest Alibi.
In relation to my personal experience, I’d choose to edit photos of my work to MATCH UP to how they look like in real life instead of trying to create Impossible illusions of Grandeur that’s über bright that I and/ or my fellow industry players KNOW no one can achieve/ tattoo.
True Originality is however, sadly, almost an Urban legend.
The greatest ideas in the World have all been thought (and possibly tattooed)… the Trick is to rethink them and make them Yours whilst you ACT on them.
Again, slogan of my studio:
#stARTthINKing.Now
Modus Operandi of everyone who’d work WITH (read: Never “FOR”!) me:
#makingAtattooYOURS

10) What do you like best about partnering with brands?

Poetically:
The abstract attraction that’s mutual amongst two or more entities who were or in some cases, ARE still Strangers, that was unfathomable just a decade ago (“insta-what?” Lol).
Practically:
The sheer sponsorship, fiscally sound;
And the priceless Honour of Acknowledgement to cross-promote and partner up with said Brands and their product(s)!

Topics:

• Architecture
• Art
• Cars & Motorcycles
• Celebrities
• Design
• DIY & Crafts
• Education
• Fashion
• Film, Music & Books
• Food & Drink
• Hair & Beauty
• Humor
• Kids & Parenting
• Nature & Outdoors
• Photography
• Technology
• Travel

Country:

Singapore