Check Out Aaron Della Vedova’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Della Vedova.

Hi Aaron , can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Before I begin, I just want to make note of the fact that in the previous questions it asked where my business was located I said San Diego and then it asked for a specific area in which I indicated Little Italy. But I also have my original location of 23 years established in Pacific Beach. Two locations.

I started my tattoo journey just over 30 years ago and 1995. After high school I joined the US Coast Guard and served and then when I got out decided it was time for me to find a way back to my Rutz. As a kid I’d always loved art above all else and spent a lot of my free time doodling and drawing when I probably should’ve been studying for school ha ha! It was just something that brought my heart a lot of peace and joy in a somewhat chaotic world I found myself growing up in. So yeah after the Coast Guard, I started thinking hard about what I might be able to do. While I was in the Coast Guard, I got my first tattoo and loved it. Loved the whole experience and that stuck with me. So I guess it had been in the back of my mind and one day like a bolt of lightning it’s just hit me. Maybe I could be a Tattoo Artist! The feeling was so strong to pursue this potential goal that my enthusiasm took control I put my head down and started doing everything I could to find an apprenticeship. and loved it. Loved the whole experience and that stuck with me. So I guess it had been in the back of my mind and one day like a bolt of lightning it’s just hit me. Maybe I could be a Tattoo Artist! The feeling was so strong to pursue this potential goal that my enthusiasm took control I put my head down and started doing everything I could to find a apprenticeship. After a lot of door knocking and a good amount of crazy drama with some wild ass old-school tattoo guys I eventually landed in what I thought would be a good place to learn. That first apprenticeship quickly turned into a gangster environment with all sorts of drama. I left there and moved to Portland, Oregon, where I started working with another teacher, who, although he could teach well, came with his own problems and dramas. After this, it had been a couple of years of getting beat around quite a bit and I was starting to lose hope. In a moment of desperation, I sent out some resumes to who I thought was some of the top shops in the country at that time. Crickets! For one more last ditch effort, I decided to fly down to San Diego from Portland, since I had been stationed here in the Coast Guard and love the city, and knock on some doors to see if I could find a reputable shop that might take me on since I had at least a little bit of experience at this point. That’s when I wandered into Avalon Tattoo! At the time they were one of the best shops in the country I met Patty Kelly and she hired me on the spot. This was probably the beginning of my professional growth in the industry. I had the privilege of working alongside many great Tattoo Artist such as Bill Canales, Randy Janson, fit Buchanan. And juan Puente just a name a few while I was at Avalon. After about six years, my schedule had gotten so robust that I thought it a good idea to move out on my own. I work solo under the title “Guru Tattoo“ for a couple of years until I realized working alone was not my path. Not being around other artists and having that feedback between peers, I believed was going to slow down my growth. However, I had matured to a point that the thought of going back to a shop and working under someone else’s way of doing things was not something I really wanted to do. So in a funny way, I feel like my hand was kind of forced to open up Guru tattoo in Pacific Beach on Garnett 23 years ago! Thus begins my journey as a business owner as well as the greater expansion into my own personal output of creativity.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road was definitely not smooth! The good thing I now know looking back was that the industry was at the very beginning of a huge explosion. I mean, I knew it was growing, but I had no idea how much growth we would all experience has tattoo artists in the coming years that followed. Plus, most of the competition at the time we’re still running their shops in a very antiquated way. So yeah, me stepping in with my military background, which I believe taught me a lot about hard work and responsibility, coupled with a level of artistic talent that was quite rare back in those days made gathering clients and staying busy very easy. With my reputation and San Diego at this point it also made it relatively easy to find some other up-and-coming talents to work with me. However, with big art talent, a lot of times comes big egos so you can imagine all of the mini dramas that played out over the years, trying to work with, inspire and manage a group of creative of this type. There were times where I wanted to throw in the towel that’s for sure. But in time, the shops continued to grow, and as I would let an artist go someone of higher caliber and maturity would step in their place. Now after 23 years I can honestly say with over 20 resident artists I have an entire crew full of solid, emotionally, balanced, highly talented and creative individuals that service all of the clients that have grown to become fans of Guru tattoo over all these years.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Back in the early years of my career, much of the West had not tuned into large body coverage. They were still collecting tattoos that were hand size maybe football sized pieces and collaging them around their bodies. I started to research other artists around the world and especially some of the tattoo art from Japan. They were much more interested in decorating the whole human body in a very cohesive fashion. I then came across the work of Filip Leu and he really changed everything. After seeing some of the large body composition pieces that he had put together, it was like a lightbulb going on! I then made my decision that I wanted to do this exact type of work. I consume myself with studying the body and it’s muscular and skeletal make up trying to figure out new and innovative ways to put art that truly fits the body. I slowly became more and more known for this and my schedules kept getting busier and busier at one point I think I had over a 3 1/2 year long waiting list! People in California were hungry for this type of art and most Tattoo Artist at that time we’re not proficient in it. Over the past 10 years this has solely changed. There are many more very talented artists out there that execute large body format, tattooing in their own unique and beautiful way. However, there are still small aspects in customer service and general professionalism that keeps Guru Tattoo in the artist at work there standing above the rest and that makes me very proud. Not just pride in the sense of my own ego but more so in regards to the impeccable service I know we have provided for thousands of people over the years. I’ve always felt that tattoos are extremely personal and create a huge amount of trust and vulnerability, and from that standpoint should always be treated with the upmost effort and care. To see a shop with over 20 artists inside of it doing this on a daily basis makes me feel so good inside and I smile every day when I think of all the people heading home with a new tattoo, that’s gonna make them feel good inside for years to come!

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
San Diego is the best! Obviously, I could say the weather, which is awesome! Having been born in Iowa, I know the difference and I’ll never take it for granted. In addition to that, I just love its size. As a creative it is important to be an a large enough city that can truly support high-level art pursuits. However, living in New York City or San Francisco was just too chaotic for a farm boy like me. San Diego seems to me to be that perfect median! I still have my dreams of living part time out in the mountains someday, but I will always return to this town on a regular basis. It has truly become home in my heart.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.gurutattoo.com
• Instagram: @Gurutattoo @aarondellavedova @chatsandtatts