“Karl, so are you called Tattoo Karl?” I ask.
“Nah.” Karl Juthans replies.
“They call me Doubledown since back when I worked on the boat…” He says in reference to his days working on the cruises off the famous Waikiki Beach.
Born and raised in Comox Valley of Vancouver Island, Doubledown, knew early on that he wanted to be a custom tattoo artist and especially after meeting Tattoo Adam, owner of the award-winning Honolulu Tattoo Studio, 434 Tattoo. He had been getting tattooed all over the world after getting his first tattoo upon turning the age of 18 while in New Zealand. “Over half of my body was covered in tattoos and one day, Adam told me that there are two types of people who get as many tattoos as you, avid collectors or artists. That’s sort of when I knew…” Doubledown shares.
He has been a part of the Oahu tattoo Shop, 434 Tattoo, in many different capacities since 2008, got licensed in June 2011, and began his full-time apprenticeship this year.
Tattoo Adam, who has only had one other person run the gauntlet of an apprenticeship with him, has taught Doubledown every facet of tattooing in the really old school way from building needles, how to make ink from scratch, and more, all before his first tattoo.
“I thought that was pretty cool, you know, it wasn’t just getting a kit off E-Bay or something, it was about knowing the right way to do it.” Doubledown shares.
“He’s been around the shop and helping out for a long time.” Adam adds.
Doubledown completed his first tattoo the first week of of this year and has been doing around 3 or more tattoos a week since then. With the kind of teaching he’s getting, it’s only a matter of time before he’s tattooing 3 or more tattoos a day.
“Only guy I ever drank so much with, I blanked out… and I never blank out.” Adam says, putting a close to this story.
You can find Doubledown and his work online at Doubledown Tats on Facebook and doubledownhawaii on Instagr.am.
434 Custom Tattooing 
One thought on “A Story Told in Ink: Time to Doubledown”