Sabina Akhodueva

Becoming a tattoo artist was never part of my original plan. In fact, I used to work as a nurse, and I couldn’t have imagined that one day I’d be creating art on people’s skin for a living.

But drawing has always been a big part of my life. Ever since I was a child, I loved to sketch — portraits, characters, anything that came to mind. In school, I even made a bit of money drawing portraits for classmates.

One day, seemingly out of nowhere, I decided to take a leap and learn how to tattoo. I enrolled in a tattoo school in Moscow, completed the program, and earned my diploma. It was an exciting time — I was learning something completely new and creative.

However, after finishing tattoo school, life took over and I stopped developing my skills. Tattooing was pushed aside.

It wasn’t until I moved to the United States that things changed. I needed to find work, and suddenly I remembered — I could tattoo. I picked up my machine again, and slowly started taking clients.

Now, I’m proud to say that I have a growing client base and a career I love. It still surprises me sometimes how far I’ve come from being a nurse to becoming a tattoo artist, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.