Cody Smith

Hey fam my name is Cody. Tattooing wasn’t a career I went searching for. It actually it found me. Pretty cliché huh? I had just dropped outta high school, lost my father then had my first daughter all in the same year and tattooing fell into my lap when I first saw my cousin DJ tattooing friends and family, so I gave it a shot and it changed my life.

Ever since, it’s been my passion and my coping mechanism through depression, anxiety etc. I didn’t have the traditional apprenticeship or proper mentor, just straight dedication and being addicted to the craft for the past 15 years. Whenever I find myself in that dark place, I see the light in life while I work, hearing your stories during every session. It’s comforting to know I wasn’t and am not alone and to hear a client say they absolutely love their tattoo and thanking me for listening means the world. A lot like my style in art, I love to keep it as real as possible as a person. When others say I wear my heart on my sleeve, I truly do so.

I choose to focus my career more on black and grey. Not only because I feel I can capture the details but that’s kinda how I see the world, and most will get it. Some won’t and I know this seems like it’s way too deep or dark, but tattooing has saved my life in more ways than people will ever understand.

Now, after beginning my career in a small town Elkland, PA, I now reside in Mansfield, PA. I own and run a shop called Smith Tattooz with my wonderful wife Jenna. We came in with low expectations but it’s become bigger than we could ever imagine and is growing everyday.