Coney Island Tattoo Icon Launches Reality TV Show

Carlo Fodera, a.k.a. Coney Island Carlo, is taking tattooing global in a new reality television show, Tattoo Masters Worldwide.

“Over the last couple of years I’ve been watching these reality shows on tattooing,” Fodera said in a trailer for the series. “There’s so much more to the tattoo world. There’s so many different venues, and so many different types of tattooing.”

From a new Gravesend location at 66 Avenue U, Fodera is launching a competition to showcase the explosive dynamism of contemporary tattooing. The new storefront is next door to one of his existing parlors, Studio Enigma. Fodera owns 10 shops in the five boroughs, and according to the website is responsible for about half the tattooing done daily in New York City.

In the show, 12 artists will travel between Las Vegas, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and international spots, competing for ownership of a new Studio Enigma location in Manhattan, and thousands in cash and other prizes. Fodera says more than 2,500 artists have applied for the show.

Alongside the competition, the series will profile celebrity artists and tattoo addicts, and show clips about safety and history of the art. Judges will include respected artists Michael Goddard and Mario Barth, tattoo enthusiast Evan (of bands BioHazard and The Spyders). Model Krista Ayne is hosting the series.

There will also be some special appearances from Tattoo Lou, Sr., an industry icon who launched Miami Ink, Lyle Tuttle, the forefather of modern tattooing, and pop artist Steve Kaufman.

You can see a 12.5 minute trailer for the show here. [.wmv]