North Bellmorite may be next 'Ink Master'

Erik Siuda, a 35-year-old North Bellmore resident, has been showing off his tattooing skills on the current season of “Ink Master.”

Courtesy Spike

Siuda, who has lived in North Bellmore for eight years, says he has received tremendous support from his family and the community

Courtesy Spike

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Erik Siuda was recently asked to sign an autograph for a fan who approached him while he was buying groceries for his family at a local Stop & Shop. His fellow shopper recognized the 35-year-old North Bellmore resident as a contestant on the current season of Spike TV’s “Ink Master” –– a popular reality series that pits the nation’s top tattoo artists against one another in a high-pressure competition.

Despite his appearance on the show, Siuda insists that he’s just a regular guy. His wife is a New York City schoolteacher, and their 4- and 6-year-old children are most important to them. Siuda says he treats his clients with respect and works hard to create tattoos that they can be proud to call their own.

“I just want to do beautiful work,” he said. “After a long session of three or four hours, I have a migraine because I have concentrated to make this the most flawless tattoo that I can. I give my client a part of myself when I tattoo them…It’s a big reason why I’m getting gray hairs.”

Siuda’s passion for the tattoo as an art form has been on display throughout the current season of “Ink Master,” which premiered on Sept. 2. His performance in the competition continues to attract admirers, and Siuda remains in the hunt for the show’s $100,000 grand prize.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Siuda moved to North Bellmore eight years ago. He was introduced to the tattoo industry a decade before that, when he was a student at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.

Siuda, who studied illustration and has sold more than 100 original paintings, was most interested in graffiti art in the 1990s. That was before his close friend and tattoo artist, Richie Bulldog, introduced him to his uncle, famed New York City tattoo artist Sean Vasquez. Siuda became Vasquez’s apprentice.