Stu was born in Kilwinning, Scotland on the 10 th June 1966. (yes its hard to believe he is 41) which makes him the Daddy or Grand Daddy even, (more about that later) of the Studio. He started tattooing late 1997, after his wife Susan got a real bad tattoo (bad here means crap, not, bad as in good). “ I figured if this cunt is dishing out real crap tattoos and charging good money for them, not bein a big head, but I was convinced I could do better”. Stu was always into Art, drawing, painting and even sculpture.

So he set about getting hold of some machines, and went about teaching himself to tattoo. Trying to get into Tattooing is not easy at all . He was happy to be tattooing as a hobby, tattooing family and friends, In April 2001 he was offered a part time job tattooing at Body Art, Ayr, Scotland. This was a huge step for Stu. “ If it was not for my wife, Susan, I would never have taken the massive step of working in a Studio. She convinced me it was the way to go. She had faith in me, for which I am in her debt. I love you babe”. After two years at Body Art, where Stu met ones of his closest friends, Lee Gibson now of Monster Ink, Ayr, Scotland. He then left to open his very own Studio, Temple Ink, Troon, Scotland. This was a bitter sweet affair for Stu. “ It was great to have my own Studio, especially in my home town. It was great to be your own boss and come and go as you please. I built up quite a good little client base, but the town was too small to support a Studio all of its own”. After two years there, an opportunity arose to buy a Studio in Spain. Stu moved to Spain along with his wife and 16 year old daughter Carley. (his son , Callum stayed behind). “We had a great time in Spain, but a series of unfortunate events led us to move back to the UK after only a year or so”.

After replying to an ad in Skin Deep magazine, Stu was given the chance to move to Gloucester to work here at Alzone. “Since working here at Alzone, I feel that the quality of my work has improved so much. When you are working with such great artists, it inspires and encourages you to step your game up”. Since working at Alzone Stu has become a proud Grandfather. His son's fiancé gave birth to Ellie, last year. Although he doesn't see his son and Ellie half as much as he would like to , he does miss them and they are never far from his thoughts.

Unlike many Tattooists, Stu doesn't really have a particular favourite style of Tattooing. He enjoys colour as well as black and grey. “ I love all styles of Tattooing, but if I had to choose one it would have to be portrait work. I love getting my teeth stuck into a good portrait, the end result is so rewarding, it puts me on a real high for a couple of hours. But as it stands, Amanda loves doing portraits too, so its always a fight to do the next portrait that walks in the door”. So that brings us pretty much up to date as far as Stu is concerned. He has started working Tattoo Conventions this year, and he is trying to do as many as possible. “ I never thought I would be into doing conventions,. The thought of sitting there tattooin while shit loads of people stand and stare at you, gave me the heeby jeebeez. But after standing in for Lee at Manchester this year it gave me a taste for it”.

So, if you fancy checking out more of Stu's work, or you want to chat about an idea you may have for a tattoo, pop into the Studio. He is an anti social bastard so don't ask to talk to him (only joking).