London’s Traphouse Tattooer only launched his Instagram in March. Since then though, his following has grown to almost 10,000, he’s inked everyone from Skepta to A$AP Rocky and his designs, influenced by London culture and his own experiences, have appeared on people’s flesh all over the world. That social media presence has been the cornerstone of getting his work out there, that’s what got him noticed and started the buzz that still exists about his tattoos. “The most recent, biggest example would be A$AP Rocky,” he recalls over a fry up opposite his studio, “a few of his friends follow me on Instagram, read the shit, they think it’s funny, they like it. When the conversation with him was brought up about tattoos, they’re familiar with my shit and bring me up in conversation.”
Despite his success, no one knows who Traphouse is. Throughout all of this, his identity has been kept secret and hidden behind his pen name, which comes “from drug dealing, from selling crack and heroin out of a traphouse.” That anonymity is needed because of that past: “I have done a lot of bad things as myself and I have warrants for my arrest here, I have warrants for my arrest in New York.” When you can’t reveal your name or even your face, it’s not easy to build a cult following with your work. That’s what Traphouse has done though, and through his tattoos and cosigns from the biggest names right now he’s established himself as one of the most highly sought tattooers around.
