Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruben Lew.
Hi Ruben, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Officially I have been a body piercer for 20 years. As a teenager growing up in Tijuana I was interested in body piercing and actually started doing some piercings in high school. When I turned 18 I moved away to start my profesional career working as a full time piercer at some of the well stablished shops in Mexico City, where I got to attend the Association of Professional Piercers Conference in 2006 which got me to attend the anual Conference in Vegas that same year.
From there I got to travel and work different shops all around the world for the next years and finally moved back to Tijuana in 2014. I started piercing at Tia Juana Tattoo where I worked for 8 years and in 2021 my wife and I opened Piercing Shala where we offer the safe piercing services and the best quality jewelry in the industry.
We work with US made jewelry and certified brands like NeoMetal and BVLA, our autoclaves are monitored twice a month via spore test and all disposable materials.
Piercing Shala is the best place to get pierced in Tijuana.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Since I officially started my business here in Tijuana in 2016, it had been a steady growth and smooth sailing until the last couple of years, where it seems like the economy has slowed down a bit. Also my wife and I had a baby so we have been working less. It has taken some adjustments but all business go through ups and downs. The normal day to day stresses but nothing too big that I can complain about.
I´m really appreciative with how well my work has been received here and am excited for the future.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We offer the safe piercing services and the best quality jewelry in the industry. We work with US made jewelry and certified brands like NeoMetal and BVLA, our autoclaves are monitored twice a month via spore test and all disposable materials.
Piercing Shala is a beautiful shop, full of plants, we play. mellow music and burn incense.
We are skilled and passionate about what we do.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
The best advice I know about becoming a professional in my industry is to find a piercer that you like, that does good work and that seems like a good person. Go get pierced by them, again and again. Go and ask them questions while you´re getting work done, show your interest.
Like with everything nowadays, there is a lot of misinformation out there so it can be easy to fall into the wrong path and it may take you longer to become an actual professional.
Do your research and go to SafePiercing.org
Contact Info:
- Website: piercingshala.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/piercing.shala
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/piercingshala
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@piercingshala
