For 28 years, Alejandro Gonzalez’s love for his hometown of Havana, Cuba, was strong, but he knew he had to leave in order to pursue his ambition of being a tattoo artist. (Having a tattoo shop in Cuba was illegal at the time.) “I never thought about leaving Cuba, but I needed to for my career,” he says.

But where would he go to up his game? “I literally searched on the internet, ‘Top friendly tattoo cities in the U.S.’ and Las Vegas was No. 2 after Miami.” Gonzalez left for the United States and landed in Las Vegas, where he slept on the streets until he found a tattoo shop that would hire him. After working at various spots around the city, he finally made the move to Miami, where he opened and ran his own tattoo shop for eight years. Three years ago, he made the move back to Vegas, where he has been working at high-end shop Club Tattoo at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood.

Gonzalez’s calling card is realism and portrait, but he’s down to do any tattoos for people that make the spur-of-the-moment choice to get inked during their Vegas vacation. “I always scare them more, tell them the needle will hurt bad!” he says, laughing. He likes to joke around to make his clients feel comfortable in his chair. “And then that way, when they feel it, it’s not that bad as they thought.”

Looking back on his career, Gonzalez says, “I started doing tattoos on myself at 15; they’re like my birthmarks. I’m 100% proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’ve built a proud career, from where I started to where I am now.”

Photo by: Christopher DeVargas

Product: Club Tattoo Merchandise

There are a plethora of accessories and clothing available at Club Tattoo, from branded tank tops, jackets and jewelry to new fall jogger sets priced at $87 and available in sizes small to 2X.

Benefit: You can check out Gonzalez’s work on the Club Tattoo website and on his Instagram @alejandrogonzalezink.

Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort, 702.363.2582. clubtattoo.com

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