Tattoo Studio Owner Banks on Experience for Success

Every business owner has a story. Rich Bonet wears some of his.

The owner of Studio 54 Tattoo in Lutz got his first ink as a University of South Florida college student about 18 years ago.

“Working at the university golf course, I met an attorney who had a bold and bright tree frog tattoo,” Bonet said. “I was referred to this tattoo studio and quickly got my first tattoo. Then I got my second, and a third tattoo.”

As a regular customer, Bonet developed a relationship with the owners and staff. So when the studio’s body piercer needed an apprentice, he was tapped for the job.

“And so the journey began,” Bonet said.

After graduating from USF, Bonet traveled the country, working at studios in Tampa, Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, and San Antonio, where he met his wife, Alyssa. The couple moved to Florida about ten years ago to be closer to family, and Bonet took a position with a tattoo supply company, working his way to general manager.

“Ultimately, the company decided to downsize so my wife and I decided to open Studio 54 Tattoo in December of 2011,” Bonet said.

“We chose the Lutz area because we saw tremendous growth in this area even after the housing market collapsed,” Bonet said. “We would always ask people with tattoos where they got their work done, but we never heard of any local shops, it was always the same answer: down in Tampa or Ybor.”

Now the shop boasts two full-time tattoo artists, Bonet, who specializes in piercings, and frequent guest artists, all with at least 10 years experience.

"No rookies here,” Bonet said.

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