Gabe @ Ace Dragon Tattoo

I went to visit my friend & tattooist Gabe at Ace Dragon Tattoo yesterday, hoping to get some new ink. Its been a while since I went there & not surprisingly he was booked solid as usual. I hung around for a bit, & in between clients, Gabe had a few minutes to “blow water” with me & catch up on things. For those of you that don’t know, Gabe was the genius behind my Cyber-Carp tattoo & inked some of my other tats; many of my friends were also inked by Gabe. ( I think he is probably the best tattooist in Hong Kong, & possibly one of the best in SE Asia! )

the guy who inked me

I was very curious to ask Gabe about David Beckham (yeah, that David Beckham) & how Mr. Beckham found him & what Tats he got, etc etc etc… & it was a very interesting story indeed….

see the big autographed picture behind the counter?

I’m not a big football fan, (mad respect to David Beckham, tho) but I am a tattoo fan; I was curious to find out more about Beckham & the new tats Gabe did for him.

Apparently, Beckham’s tats were done by a personal freind of his from Manchester, UK, so Gabe is the only other Tattooist to ink Beckham.

The story goes something like this, Gabe got a call one morning from someone claiming to be Beckham’s assistant. Since it was super early in the morning & thinking it was a prank, Gabe just gave the dude some abuse & hung up. Minutes later, another call & a different voice claiming to be Beckham himself spoke to Gabe. Days later, when Beckham visited Hong Kong, he just showed up at Gabe’s studio flanked with a couple of burly bodyguards. Gabe’s assistant was in shock when he opened the door & saw Mr. Beckham. Gabe said his assistant was so gob-struck that he could not speak properly. Beckham was in Hong Kong for Galaxy’s tour.

Yeah! Beckham’s & wZa’s Tattooist right here.

I can’t disclose too many details of what Mr. Beckham got, but basically he got some proper Chinese Calligraphy with a very special personal meaning. All I can say is that it is fucking DOPE & totally matches David Beckham! I’m sure if y’all search the internet, you can find many pics of his new Tat.

from telegraph.co.uk:

The letters are said to represent a Chinese proverb that translates to “Death and life have determined appointments. Riches and honour depend upon heaven.”

(FYI, Chinese Calligraphy tattoos are really popular in the west, but most of the ones I see are fucked up!! Mad props to Mr Becks for finding & getting the BEST)

photos of friends, celebs & homies that were inked by Gabe.

I also noticed Gabe had some ink in progress on his left arm; although he Tattoos, he never had any tattoos himself… Turns out to be a tattoo in progress by Leon Lam-Hien, a renowned Tattooist from France. Check out his work at his website, quite amazing & unique stuff!! I was SUPER impressed with Leon since Gabe got him to give him tattoos

Leon & another tattoist Dennis are in town & working exclusively at Ace Dragon for a limited time only.

Leon busy inking while Dennis flashes a gang sign.

Here is a pic of Gabe & the VIP customer

Here is a pic of Gabe & the Super VVIP customer & homie

Haaaa!!!!! So now I can brag that my tats are done by the same guy that inked Beckham, LEGIT!

Anyway, for y’all thinking about getting a tat, go pay Gabe a visit & check out his stuff. I’ll update y’all what I’m getting next from the “See Fu”!