My name is Denis Torikashvili (aka Tdan) and I’m from Rostov-on-Don, south of Russia.
When I started tattooing in 1997 there was prractically no information available about tattooing so needless to say I had to work in very difficult conditions.
I bought my first tattoo machine from Micky Sharpz and from that time on I began to search for more information about tattooing and started sketching. Back then tattoo forums and internet communities just started to appear.
I took part in St. Petersburg tattoo convention in 2005 for the first time and won a prize in 2006. It was best of the day tattoo, my first award.
At first I worked in a few local tattoo shops in Rostov and than I opened my own tattoo shop. I’ve tried many different tattoo styles. I did some Japanese tattoos, ornamental , American traditional tattoos and realistic.
I treat traditional styles with a great respect but it requires a profound knowledge of a culture and maximum immersion into the styles.
Then, Everything changed in 2014, I decided to move to Moscow and started all over again.
I began to experiment, created collages and was trying to realize my unique ideas on the skin. One day I made a Sackboy (Little big planet PS game).
That tattoo became very popular and I realized that I found my own style. It’s funny cute characters. I made a lot of tattoos in that style and that was fun.
In 2016 I focused on black and grey tattoos.
I had a lot of trips working as a guest artist in famous tattoo studios in Europe and North America. From 2017 until 2019 I was a resident of NR studio in London, the biggest studio in UK. During that time I’ve met a lot of talented artists, such as Matteo Pasqualin, Tomas Carli Jarlier, AD Pancho and others. They became my friends and influenced my creativity and motivated me to work better.
I attended many tattoo conventions. And I have got some trophies. From 2019 I am a resident artist in Vatican Studios, Lake Forest, CA.
I’m very happy to be the part of the great team led by Franco Vescovi. Franco is amazing artist, great man and world famous major tattoo equipment manufacturer known as BISHOP ROTARY brand.
Instagram page @tdantattoo
