Story: Vanessa Heart
Photography: Sean Hartgrove
Thora Dowdell is one half of the powerhouse
couple behind Club Tattoo, founded in 1995 by
Sean Dowdell with Chester Bennington (the
lead singer of Linkin Park). Club Tattoo now
has six locations spanning throughout Arizona,
Las Vegas, and San Francisco with a seventh
opening this October. The new Arizona location
will be featured inside the Harley-Davidson of
Scottsdale, which is going to be the world’s
premiere Harley-Davidson experience, and the
largest Harley Davidson across the globe.
You may recognize Sean and Thora from their
recent television appearance on Blue Collar
Millionaires. They started off with one small
studio and over the past twenty years, have
expanded into creating over half a dozen of
the most premiere upscale tattoo studios in
America, grossing over eight million dollars
annually. With the onset of so many successful
tattoo studios, in 1997, they began expanding
their brand into tattoo culture with a Club Tattoo
clothing line and partnering with a variety of
impressive companies along the way.
In 2006, they collaborated with Etnies
to launch a special edition skater shoe,
featuring traditional tattoo artwork inspired by
individuality, art, and skateboarding. In 2009,
Chester Bennington and Club Tattoo released
a line of premium men’s apparel called, Ve’cel
Clothing, heavily influenced by music, art,
and tattoos. The line was quite successful and
could be purchased in Bloomingdales and
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Nordstroms. In 2010, they took tattoo art and
incorporated it into their branding style and
created a limited edition exclusive Red Monkey
hat. It sold out quickly through authorized
dealers, but you can still purchase one at any
of the Club Tattoo locations. You can also see
the artwork of various renowned tattoo artists
from Club Tattoo on their Bicycle brand playing
cards, which can be purchased at any local
Walgreens or drug store. Club Tattoo has also
been putting their mark on the barber industry,
catering to the expanding demand of tattooed,
well-groomed, clean-cut men (and women)
with a new collaborative line of electric clippers
by Oster Professional, which will be available in
Spring 2016 at professional beauty suppliers all
over the world.
Club Tattoo’s influence can be seen globally,
whether through their fashion forward line of
apparel or in many of their collaborative tattoo
lifestyle products. They are changing the face
of tattoo studios across the country. Each
location is professionally managed by women,
averages about 3,500 square feet, and has a
budget of one to two million dollars that goes
into creating a top-of-the-line professional
tattoo and piercing studio. Club Tattoo’s C.E.O.,
C.F.O., and C.O.O., Thora Dowdell is a mover
and a shaker, setting the new standard in the
tattoo industry.
www.ClubTattoo.com