Lifelong Merrick resident opens tattoo parlor

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Chris Koutsis, 42, a lifelong resident of Merrick, has “fate” written across his knuckles, a flame in the center of his neck and a star in the right corner of his forehead. The tattoo artist opened his business, Scharff & Sons Tattoo, on March 17 on Merrick Avenue in Merrick.

This past fall, Koutsis received backlash from local residents at a Town of Hempstead public hearing where he defended his prospective tattoo parlor. Koutsis sat in his parlor this week and began to tell the Herald how he responded, when the jocular yelp of a child erupted from the back room. A young girl in a fluffy, white coat with blue, green and purple streaks in her hair came running to front of the parlor. “Daddy!” said Koutsis daughter, Layla. “I need your help!” Koutsis embraced his daughter and told her he would be with her in a moment. He then said that he responded to his critics by introducing himself and explaining why he wanted to bring his business to Merrick.  

“I think people who don’t know about tattooing associate it with a bad element,” Koutsis said. “They think of drug dealers, bikers and gang members.” However, he added that tattoos are popular among police officers, lawyers, firemen and “everyday people.”

Koutsis attributed his interest in tattoos to the musicians he used to follow. Since he was in first grade, Koutsis would listen to groups like the Beatles on his record player. He grew up and his taste reached other genres and musicians like Ozzy Osborne, who had multiple tattoos. While this piqued his curiosity, he didn’t consider becoming a tattoo artist until got his first tattoo at 18.  

“I’m not much of a book smart person,” said Koutsis. “I’ve always created things with my hands.” Koutsis has been a landscaper, mechanic and attended culinary school before following his pursuits as a tattoo artist. He began tattooing in 1996 at a shop in Hicksville before moving to a shop in Wantagh two years later. He stayed there until making the decision to open his own shop where he grew up and raised his 10-year old son, Holden, and 7-year old daughter, Layla.   

Koutsis said that a number of his clients get tattoos to symbolize an event. He has tattooed badges on police academy graduates, designs to honor the birth of children and, alternatively, to commemorate the lives of loved ones who have died. When asked about his most significant experience in the business, Koutsis recalled an 82-year old woman who wanted a tattoo of a hawk. Her 14-year old grandson always told her he wanted to be reincarnated as the animal. He died of brain cancer and the woman wanted a symbol by which to remember him.