Bubba Baker is an artist in many ways...
He did his first tattoo in 1976 but he didn't really get into that art until 1982. He bought himself a motor home and started hitting bike events and such around the country tattooing on the road. That quickly grew old for him though and he came back home to Florida.
Bubba once told me if he had to do one more Harley Davidson shield he was going to go nuts. It got to the point where he could do a shield without a stencil he had done so many.
Bubba had an urge to work in film behind the camera and went to film school, graduating in 1989. Instead of being behind the lens though, Bubba ended up in front of it working with people such as Charlize Theron in the Academy Award winning film Monster, Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura, Pet Detective and Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys 2. Of course there is Running Cool about two bikers riding across country. He also made small screen appearances in shows like Walker Texas Ranger, In The Heat of The Night and Renegade.
Bubba is now doing a local T.V. show opposite Gonzo, Crazy Dave & Wide Open Brain called Real American Biker TV which can been seen on Bright House channel 21 in the Orlando area. (Hopefully we will be able to see in Volusia County real soon) Photo Courtesy of REAL AMERICAN BIKER TV
In 1994 he opened Bubba Baker's TATTOO THIS! at Flea World in Sanford, FL. His studio is the longest standing studio at Flea World, and the first studio to ever have a live web cam, although some would like to argue that with him.
One day this huge man walked by, about 6ft 7in and 460lbs, sporting a tattoo on his arm. Bubba yelled at him, "Hey man, I can fix that tatoo for you!" The big man very slowly turned around, (Bubba said he got a tad nervous about that point) looked at Bubba and just said "Really, how much?" Turns out the big guy was WWF Wrestler Big John Tenta, AKA Earthquake/The Shark/Avalanche and Golga.
Bubba and Big John became fast friends until Big John lost his fight to bladder cancer in June of 2006. Bubba has remained good friends with Big John's son who still lives in the area.
While visiting with Bubba on Saturday, Big John's son showed up with his father-in-law Bill to get a new tattoo. Bill gave me permission to photograph the process of getting inked by Bubba.
Bill had decided on a Patriotic Bald Eagle tattoo on his forearm.
The outline..
Adding the blue to the flag.
Now the red in the flag, the yellow and orange to the eagles beak & talons.
The finished product!
If you want to get a portrait done, Bubba asks that you bring the photo of the portrait in to him a week in advance so he can get the portrait ready for the tattoo process. He also asks for a $50.00 deposit from you at that time.
Portraits begin at $250.00 a head depending on the size of the tattoo and where you will be putting it.
All other tattoos vary in price but Bubba will be more then happy to quote you one if you stop by and see him.
I met Bubba thru Bikes and Blues with Mickey Jones for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital last April. He has been a part of Bikes and Blues since its inception and donates gift certificates for our auction at our bike event with the proceeds going to St. Jude.
Come on out on April 5th for our Bikes & Blues event, meet Bubba at the Iron Horse, and now that you've seen his work, bid on his gift certificates and help the kids of St. Jude! (We will have a gal there wearing some of his work too)
Bubba's images and logos © 2008 Bubba Productions/TATTOO THIS! and used with his permission.
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