Tooling Around with Joshua Bowers

We back guest Joshua Bowers about a year after his last appearance, this time with show-and-tell including the Steel Driver rotary that emulates a coil stroke, the Heavy Hand weighted pencil grip (plus an Apple Pencil prototype), and a battery adapter that turns a battery into a power supply and can shift weight off the machine. They discuss foot switches vs wireless/constant-on setups, cord management, and why many artists return to coil-style performance after starting on pen machines. The conversation shifts to how social media escalates tattoo drama into public “movements,” online validation, and public therapy, including examples of inflammatory accusations and appropriation debates. They also warn about corporate consolidation and looming regulations that could price out small makers.