Tattoo Tony

Tattoo Tony started tattooing the the mid 80s. 

Tattoo Tony Rodriguez

Founder & Curator – Tattoo Museum of the Jersey Shore
Owner – Under My Skin Tattoo Studio, Atlantic Highlands, NJ

My Story

I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pencil. Ask my aunt—she’ll tell you I was the kid in the corner with paper and a pen, always sketching. As a pre-teen, I discovered the world of tattoos, and something in me said, “I want to do that.”

I grew up on the streets of Asbury Park, NJ. One day, I told my dad I wanted to check out the local tattoo shop. He told me to stay away. I didn’t listen—still don’t. I sat outside that shop for what felt like forever. When the big biker guy who ran it showed up and asked, “What do you want, kid?” I told him I’d clean, draw, do anything to hang around. He laughed. But I never left.

I earned my place the hard way—physically and mentally. Back then, tattooing wasn’t like it is today. We reused needles, made our own inks, and built machines from scratch. My mentor, Gene, taught me the old-school way, and those skills still shape the way I tattoo today.

My first run in Asbury didn’t last—I wasn’t ready. I left, traveled around Monmouth County, tattooing in bars, motels, houses, even my dad’s strip club, Stars and Bars. Eventually, Gene came back around and offered me a second chance. I became one of the first artists in the Long Branch shop.

That opened up new doors—I went to Puerto Rico to help a shop owned by El Indio’s family. I ended up staying a year and a half before returning to Asbury. But during this whole time, I was struggling with addiction. It took over my life. In 1995, I hit a breaking point, made some mistakes, and had to walk away.

I moved to Tennessee and opened my first studio, Anthony’s Body Expression in Cookeville. In 1999, I moved to Florida and opened Tattoo Ink in Ocala. The business grew, but my addiction did too. Eventually, my marriage fell apart, and I moved back to NJ.

Around 2000, my friend George Morales gave me a shot at 1st Class Tattoo in Long Branch. We’re still friends to this day. After leaving George’s, I opened Dark City in Asbury with a few others. But my demons caught up to me again. I lost friendships, made bad decisions, and walked away in 2004.

Then came a turning point—I joined a touring musician on the road. That experience changed my life. I landed in Durham, NC, and opened The Iron Lily, then Under My Skin on the other side of town. Things started looking up… until my past caught up to me and I was extradited back to NJ over an old bond.

After clearing that up, I made another attempt with a shop in Bradley Beach—it failed. But life threw me something better: I found out I was going to be a dad.

On January 7, 2008, I opened Tattoo Tony’s Under My Skin Tattoo Studio at 73 Memorial Parkway, Atlantic Highlands, NJ. And just five days later, I became a father. That moment changed everything.

Since then, my shop has been a success, and I’ve been clean and grateful to do what I love every single day. Tattooing saved my life—and now I help others tell their stories through ink.

Press & Publications

Tattoo Savage – 1995 (#7), 2009 (#99), 2011 (#116)
Tattoo Review – #140
Tattoo Society – #15, Lucky #13
Tattoos for Men – #83
Tattoos for Women – #99
Skin Art – 2021 (#177)
Tabu Tattoo – #43
Tattooed Lifestyle – 2012 (#2)
Fastlane Biker Magazine – Multiple Issues (2010–2011)
Rock Thiz Magazine – Dec 2008
The Aquarian, Full Throttle Magazine, Asbury Park Press, National Tattoo Association Newsletter (multiple issues)
Bret Michaels Website – Aug 8, 2013

Awards & Recognition

🏆 Asbury Park’s Best of the Best Tattoo Studio – 2011 to 2024
🏆 The Chapel of Four Chaplains – Feb 2025
🏆 Countless tattoo convention awards and trophies dating from the late 1990s to present

Celebrity Clients

🎸 Bret Michaels
🎸 Ricky Medlocke (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
🎹 Peter Keys (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
🎤 Ted Poley (Danger Danger)
🤼 Jon "Balls Mahoney" Rechner (ECW)
🤼 Afa Anoa'i Jr., Samu Anoa'i, Gene Snitsky (WWE / WXW)
🤼 Scot "Bam Bam" Bigelow
🤼 Vaitanoa Lloyd Anoa'i (WXW / Actor)
📺 Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster)

TV Appearances

📺 Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It
📺 Celebrity Apprentice
📺 Oddities
🎬 The Comedian (with Robert De Niro)

Now

I'm Tattoo Tony Rodriguez—still tattooing, still building machines, still loving every second of it like the first time I held a machine in my hands. From the streets of Asbury to a successful studio and museum curator, it’s been one hell of a ride. And I’m just getting started.