By BJ Betts
Photos by Dylan Schattman
Let’s start at the very beginning. Where did you grow up?
First of all, man, I appreciate you doing this. I am very honored that you are interviewing me. It should be the other way around. But to answer your question, I was born in Queens. I also grew up on Long Island and that’s where I met Mike Rubendall, just on the Long Island scene. It was a hardcore scene, a bunch of kids got tattoos back then. It was very new, very different. And I just loved the place. I loved the culture, the connection that people had to other people who got tattooed in the community, building in this subculture.
Rubendall was the first person to stick a needle in my skin. And from then on it was like an addiction. I bought into the experience and modification aspect of changing and transforming my body.
What a great guy to get the first one done.
Mike was my friend and then he started tattooing me and I didn’t know how tall he was, you know? You couldn’t get an appointment with him later, and I guess I was a grandfather. it was crazy People would say, “How the hell did you get a tattoo of Mike?”
You’re now known – in the Guinness Book of World Records – for all your insects, but what was your first of Mike’s? Was it by any chance a bug or an insect or something?
Yes it’s funny, at an early age when I first started getting tattoos I had this vision and I’ve stayed with it my whole life. So the first tattoo he did for me was on my right forearm. It was a mother ant tattoo and she was pregnant and having babies. And they started crawling up my arms. I’ve always wanted to decorate my arms with bugs. Mike did my whole back, and then he did my head, and they’re all insect tattoos. [The concept] has several meanings. There was a pretty traumatic experience I went through as a kid, I don’t really like to talk about it because I’m not really that kind of a victim mentality person. I really appreciate what I’ve been through. I feel like it’s part of my powers now – it’s part of my privilege that I’ve transformed it into this energy that has given me drive, focus and passion in everything else I do in life.
This is what makes tattooing such a personal expression and what makes it yours and no one else’s. Mike was the one who introduced us. You were still with Vidiots back then and did all your audio/video stuff. Was this your first company?
Yes. So it’s funny when you talk about Mike Rubendall and I, we sort of went down a similar business path in our lives. Before I started Vidiots I started my own production company, a post production company, initially because it was the natural progression. When I met Mike he was working at DaVinci; He actually jumped on my car which wouldn’t even reverse because I was just a broke kid trying to figure it out was frantic. And then he founded Kings Avenue at the same time I founded Vidiots.
And then our business just exploded because, you know what? It didn’t matter what we looked like. We fucking shook hands with people. We said we would deliver and we delivered. Mike had the same mantra. If someone at Mike’s shop gets a tattoo they aren’t happy with, Mike will step in and fix it. When I was into videos, I was a young kid, knew nothing about business, didn’t know what the hell I was doing, and all of a sudden these big networks came along and said, ‘We want to use your facility and book it for exorbitant sums. “ All I had to do was make sure they were happy and I was delivering a good product. I didn’t even know what the hell I was doing, I was trying to figure it all out. As long as I had the two [priorities] intact, I knew we would stand the test of time.
Photo by Dylan Schattman
Which brings us to Inextinguishable. I didn’t really know much about the NFT space and I’m learning more about it. That’s the other thing I love about talking to you, man, you know how to break it down and explain it.
Well, there are many naysayers, right? And that’s okay. I respect that. I think here’s the thing: Web3, NFTs, they have a stigma around them. Did tattoo culture back then too, right? That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to do something. I think what I love about Web3 first of all – if you want to grow as a person, follow the nerd culture. Whatever nerds do, you should be involved because nerds are always ahead of the curve. Right? Well, it doesn’t mean that what they’re doing now will later be formalized into a foundation, but what it does mean is the fact that there’s technology built into Web3 that’s really interesting, and that’s what I do see valuable.
If you’re into tattoo culture now, draw the art and you should get a piece of that monetization later. Someone sells it, it makes a profit, that’s fine, but you should get a piece of it because you’re the original artist, and here’s a platform where you can do that.
But beyond that, the application isn’t just what people think, like a one-on-one. You draw art, it’s a digital artwork, and that’s it. There are all these real world applications that we can apply to it. But people like me who like physical shit… I don’t like digital art. I mean, I appreciate it, but I don’t want to build a portfolio by hanging digital art on my wall. I’m trying to build a business that has value and Web3 is necessary for that and helps with the kind of business structure where everyone wins and community is built and brand becomes relevant. So that’s my main goal here with Indelible.
Have you asked yourself, “What else does this space need?” What was the thought process like?
The thought process was fun. I was looking at all these little PFP characters and NFTs and I thought they were really great. So I was like, yo, these motherfuckers need tattoos. These guys look so easy. I mean some of them had tattoos but it was like who drew the tattoo? I want one with a BJ on it. I want one with Rubendall on it. I want some shit that’s badass. So I thought what if we just don’t sell NFTs where you can get a tattoo appointment with BJ, we take BJ’s art and we put it on a character and we drop that as a derivative. Now you have this digital art with your tattoos on it, hand drawn. So you have a very special piece of art that you, BJ the artist, can monetize. And secondly, as the holder, you can actually get access to a real utility. For example, we work with a big clothing brand, so you have access to some free stuff now, you can also buy limited stuff that becomes valuable in the aftermarket, and build a brand from there over time. So for me it touches both points, the creative and then the end user or the person who is actually part of the community, all connected. And this is Web3. Web3 loses the gatekeepers. Get rid of all Gatekeepers. We don’t need them. We can do it all alone.