A DRUG addict who turned his life around now makes up to £3,000 per inking from celebrity clients – here’s how he did it.
Dan Rossetter, from Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex had delved so deeply into the crippling world of addiction, he knew he’d end up dead or in prison if he didn’t stop.
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At the age of 30 he had reached a breaking point after dealing with years of painful trauma from being sexually abused throughout his childhood.
Battling with PTSD, Dan soon lost his job as a BOC gasman – but tried to find some sense of justice in 2013.
He bravely spoke out about what had been done to him from the age of six to 11, and three years later the survivor saw his abuser sentenced to 13 years in jail.
However, this did not put an end to Dan’s addiction, and by March 2019 he knew it would either kill him or land him in prison.
Dan, 40, who now lives in London, told MediaDrumWorld: “My addiction was getting worse, I got to the point where my mental health was deteriorating rapidly and I was feeling very suicidal.
“With a lot of hard work and help from some very good lifestyle coaches I managed to get myself clean and sober and then my obsession became work and being the best version of myself.”
Now four years sober, Dan travels to tattoo pro-footballer clients who live up to 600 miles away, and has amassed nearly 200,000 TikTok followers.
“I’ve tattooed the most footballers out of any other tattoo artist in the world; I’ve documented a lot of this on TikTok which then blew up so my demand for general public clients has also increased massively,” Dan explained.
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“I have clients travelling from all over the UK and also from abroad.
“Recently I flew over to Spain to tattoo Real Madrid’s Eden Hazard, he wanted a scroll with his five kids’ names in it.”
The TikTok sensation recounted his biggest work of art was for Chelsea Football Club’s Victor Moses.
It took the talented artist more than eight hours to complete the black and grey tiger back tattoo.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Dan is not new to the industry and kick started his career back in 2010.
He opened a studio in Gatwick but struggled to manage the business for five years, amid his declining mental health.
“We made the decision to close the doors in 2015 I partnered up with my business partner Ahmed Alsanawi, AKA A Star Barber,” the tattoo artist said.
“He is one of the biggest barbers in the world for haircuts for celebrities.
“I have now been in the game for the last 13 years so I’ve gained a lot of snowball effect returning clients that had kept me busy over the years but what I am most recognised for is tattooing professional footballers.”
He said clients can fork out anything ranging from £700 to £3,000 depending on the session.
In his bid to stay at the top of his game, the dedicated artist puts in 12-hour shifts busy days.
‘SACRIFICES’
Despite Dan’s gratitude for the success and fortune he’s found in his dream career – it does come at a cost.
Being on the road and heavy shift hours has seen the TikTok star “burning out mentally and physically” at times.
Although he has come a long way since turning his life around in 2019, Dan admitted he does still “struggle” to manage the “demanding” business.
“Also my neck and back has taken a big hit which to this day still causes me a lot of problems,” he added.
I’ve tattooed the most footballers out of any other tattoo artist in the world.”
Dan Rossetta
However, none of this keeps Dan away from his studio.
He said: “But I get to have fun at work too, I have a great memory of when I let four Chelsea players tattoo random things on my leg from a emoji poop to a disabled badge, also the Adidas logo is on there.
“It was a funny afternoon.”
KEY TO SUCCESS
After a difficult start to his career journey, Dan wants to educate other people who want to join him.
One piece of golden advice he offered was to find ways of expanding your portfolio.
He said: “Create yourself a portfolio of your artwork and keep knocking at the doors of local studios.
“Become a pest and keep asking until you get an opportunity.”
The 40-year-old reminded young artists to stay “relentless” despite it being such a hard industry to break into.
“If you want it enough you will get your opportunity,” said Dan.
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