Melody's Mermaid
The first customer of the show is Melody – her father was a sailor and would tell her stories of how the mermaids would sink the ships of lonely sailors. She decides she wants a pinup style mermaid tattoo across her lower back, and she entrusts this special tattoo to Kat Von D, whose specialties include portraits and pinups.
Jessica's Lotus
Jessica comes in to see Nuñez about a lotus tattoo on her back with a kanji character for the word “dream”. Jessica wants to be reminded to stay focused on the future to achieve her dreams, and she shares her advice about attaining goals – “Pick something, stick to it, work hard and just get to where you want to be.”
Remembering Where They Came From
Throughout the show, the crew shares something about their parents. Kat says she and her mom never got along when she was younger and now she’s getting to know her all over again and realizes she really loves her. Nuñez says he and his friends would do a lot of graffiti art and his dad would actually drive to where they were in the middle of the night and shine a light for them so they could see better! Garver’s mom is an artist and would buy him art supplies. Garver suspects she actually wanted a daughter, but if she couldn’t have a girl she at least wanted an artist. Ami’s dad was a painter and Ami would sit beside him for hours and paint. The only thing his father left behind were his drawings and paint. Darren’s mom is a nurse and he is proud of the fact that she is a healer. He even has a traditional style nurse tattoo with the word “Mom” on his leg.
Paul's Guardian Angel
Paul is a musician and is getting his first tattoo. Garver helps him create a guardian angel tattoo to help him face the chaos of South Beach, which he has seen chew up and spit out many great people in the past. Garver especially loves this project because Paul gives him a basic idea and allows him to use artist freedom to create this serene woman to watch over him. Yoji invites Paul to come play with him and Kat at the gig he has booked at a local club.
Ami's Temper
Ami is having temper issues again. He’s slamming doors and drawers, throwing things and having tantrums about small things that mystifies the crew. Mike is a friend of Ami’s from New York, and has come back for another part of his sleeve project they have been working on. It’s a peaceful design, with a picture of Hindu hands of prayer but a snake entwined around them to represent the demons that try to destroy the soul. Ami starts shaving Mike to prepare him for his tattoo and gets mad about the razor not working properly or something else trivial and ends up cutting the guy. Then Ami throws the razor across the room. Instead of getting angry, Mike suggests Ami try yoga. Ami says he’s not a yoga kinda guy, but decides he can’t back down when it’s suggested he is afraid.
Peggy Honors Her Mother
Peggy is a nurse and considered her mom her best friend. Her mother died two years ago of colon cancer, and Peggy says she feels a piece of her own soul was buried with her mother that day. She sees Darren for a pinup fairy tattoo with the word “believe” to help her through the bad days and to remember her mom telling her to believe in herself.
Hawaii Mike
Mike is the publisher of Inked magazine and a friend of Ami’s. He was born in Hawaii and wants a tattoo to remind him of his youth while living on the islands. He wants the words “Hawaii Mike” done in script, which Ami is humble enough to admit that he doesn’t do very well, so he puts Darren to the task of creating the lettering. Then Ami tattoos it with the shape of the islands underneath – this was a simple tattoo that really looked fantastic when finished.
Next Page: Ami tries yoga, Yoji makes a decision
