Walking the streets of Wilmington, Calif. one encounters many things. Liquor stores and run-down motels adorn nearly every street corner. Delicious aromas coming from the city’s many restaurants waft through the air. A homeless man dressed as sailor dances on a street corner for money. Wilmington truly is a unique gem in the harbor area. Wilmington is also the home to Big5 Barber. A tattoo artist who, in a competitive industry saturated with thousands of artists, managed to achieve a cult-like following.
Born a pastor’s son in Gardena, Calif., Big5 Barber, now simply known as Five, spent his childhood days running around the streets of the South Bay with dreams of becoming a cartoonist.
It was when he was 10 years old that he first started to get into graffiti.
“Graffiti pretty much ran my life from elementary school on up,” Five says.
Despite getting him in his fair share of trouble as a youth, the graffiti lifestyle also introduced him to countless artists, some of which remain his friends to this day. Five was even in the same graffiti crew as legendary tattooist/skateboard artist Mike Giant.
In the early 1980s, Five started to get into the South Bay punk rock scene. He noticed that a lot of the bands he was into had tattoos. Many of friends also started getting tattoos. Since he was already a skilled artist and painter, he thought tattooing might be something he could see himself doing.
“I tried to get an apprenticeship when I was 18, but no one would teach me. So I bought a tattoo machine and pretty much just practiced on myself and my friends,” Five says.
Five eventually landed a job and cut his teeth working at nearly a dozen different high-traffic walk-in tattoo shops in the Los Angeles area.
Flash forward to 2006, with not much money and just an apprentice by his side, Five opens his very own shop, Union Electric Tattoo in Wilmington, Calif.
Since he was already friends with many longshoremen, he wanted to open up a shop where he could cater to a lot of his clientele.
Though the shop is located in a part of Los Angeles dense with street gangs, Union Electric doesn’t specialize in the black and gray tattoo style that has become associated with gang culture. The crew at Union Electric specializes in a style known as traditional American. The traditional American style utilizes bold lines, bright colors, and often incorporates nautical themes – something a sailor might get in the 1930s or 40s.
It’s a fitting trademark considering the shop’s close proximity to the Los Angeles Harbor.
“By today’s standards we stand out a lot, just because of the way the neighborhood has become. I feel like we’re a more classic shop. This is the way I think a classic port shop would be back in the day,” Five says.
The cobble stone gutters and old brick buildings that adorn the neighborhood definitely add to the vintage feel of the shop.
Though traditional American is the shop favorite, Five has become well-versed in almost every tattoo style in his 18 years in the game and still has a soft spot in his heart for the gangsters.
“I do everything. I love doing portraits. I love doing black and gray, gangster shit. I try not to just do one style, because I think that just limits what you can do,” Five says.
Five’s been lucky enough to tattoo many celebrities over the years including Ray Liotta and Danny Trejo. Five was even featured recently doing some work on professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek on the hit MTV show “Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory”.
Five attributes much of success to his wife, Mrs. Five, who constantly pushes and inspires him, even through times when he contemplated leaving the tattoo industry. Though he claims he is not always on the right path in life, Five also believe his faith in God has gotten him to where he is today. He has a tattoo of a cross next to his right eye as a proud testament to his faith.
Though he’s managed to make a name for himself in the tattoo scene, Five’s goal has never been fame and fortune.
“A lot of the guys out there just want to be super famous, known worldwide. I just want to be famous right here. I just want my clients to know who I am and be happy with their work. That’s all I really care about.”
When he isn’t tattooing, Five enjoys drawing, painting, reading about government conspiracies and building hot rods. He’s been building his own cars since he was 14 years old and is currently working on restoring a 1926 Ford T coupe.
Five also helps with the art coordination for his wife’s clothing line, Mrs. Five Clothing.
Though he is only 36, Five fears he may not be tattooing full-time much longer. Tattooing nonstop 6-7 hours a day has started to take its toll and he’s built up a repertoire of injuries including arthritis in both hands and chronic back problems. He frequently visits the chiropractor and acupuncturist and even has a personal masseuse come work on him at the shop while tattooing clients.
Don’t count him out of the game just yet though. Five plans on tattooing for as long as he can then possibly passing the shop onto his sons, acting as shop manager and occasionally tattooing.
And if the tattoo industry suddenly dries up and the shop goes under?
“I don’t know, maybe I’ll just retire and become a lounge singer,” Five says with a smile.
Union Electric Tattoo is open seven days a week and is located at 309 N. Avalon Blvd. in beautiful Wilmington, Calif.
Call today for an appointment (310) 522-5003
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