Body Art WeeklyStudio of the Week · Issue 6
Bangkok Ink
Sak Yant masters, a machine floor and a tattoo school, five minutes from BTS Phrom Phong
Sukhumvit 33, Bangkok, Thailand
A word from Patrick
I first met Martin when my son wanted to learn tattooing in Bangkok. I had spent the last 27 years in body jewellery, piercing and tattooing, from the studio to a full-grown manufacture, and meeting Martin was one of those moments when two passionate people find each other. I found Martin very professional, and the people working with him very cool. That was in 2015.
Martin and I got along very well from the beginning: same passion, same will to make this profession better. What could we bring to make it better? We exchanged ideas, and we had a few! Together we revised and created a new type of Sak Yant tattoo needle, to ease the practice and keep it sterile. Martin also knew exactly what he was looking for in tattoo practice skins, and after a few trials in our factory at Poli, he found it. Martin has an engineering background, so he developed his own skins with me.
Over all these years our friendship has grown. I am always happy to go and visit him, and I am always amazed to see how he keeps evolving and makes his place better and better in every respect: sterility, organisation, the team growing. I also enjoyed talking to some of his clients while I was there, and the feedback is fantastic.
I am very proud to name Martin's Bangkok Ink our first Studio of the Week, because it really is a work of art that comes from a deep passion. I have a lot of respect for his achievements, and I wish him a long life for the benefit of all.
Martin is a good dad too, a man who really takes care of everyone, with a great heart. A new baby has just joined his already big family. His wife is a real great addition to the management, and his daughter already knows how to pierce while she is still continuing her studies at university. A great family, a great operation, a great goal, a great addition to the world of body art.
Patrick Poli
The film
Bangkok Ink in motion
Fifty seconds from Bangkok Ink's own films: an offering to Ajarn Sak, the activation of a fresh Yant, the personal blessing, Wai Khru in 2015, the masters, the school, and where it began for us in 2015. Press play with the sound on.
The founder
One man's fascination
Before there was a studio, there were years of Thai village life: south of Nakhon Si Thammarat, in the North-East, close to the Cambodian border. Martin tells of an old villager who remembered the Ruesi, the hermit healers, walking in once a week with remedies from the forest and Yantras for protection, "the equivalent of a modern-day physician and probably the only option the villagers had at that time".
"Beginning with one man's fascination with this ancient art of tattooing, Bangkok Ink was born." It was not easy, the studio writes, to gain the trust of the Sak Yant masters he met, so Martin spent time with them and learned the history and origins of the practice before he ever opened a door.
Today the studio sits on Soi Sukhumvit 33, with a team from the UK, Australia, the Philippines and Thailand. "He and his staff are honored to be a part of this Thai tradition and proud to facilitate the dreams of many foreigners who have researched Sak Yant."
The masters
Ajarn Sak and Ajarn Nak
The heart of Bangkok Ink is its shrine, the Sam Nak, and the two Ruesi masters who work there. They hand-poke in the old bamboo style, now with steel rods and a new needle every time, and each Yant can be blessed and activated by the master afterwards.
Both were trained by Grand Master Ajarn Ohr, whose yearly Wai Khru brings his disciples back to honour him. "Our Sak Yant Thai Tattoo Masters have done their time as disciples and trained for many years," the studio writes. "Their sacred Sak Yants are amazingly precise and they genuinely create each tattoo as a unique work of art."
For visitors who want to go to the source, the studio runs a VIP service to Grand Master Ajarn Ohr's own shrine: a pick-up at your hotel and a translator for the day.
“Sak Yant and Buddhism is all about helping people.”
Ajarn Sak
Senior Sak Yant master, hand-poke bamboo style. Has worked with the studio for over a decade and now leads its tours abroad.
Ajarn Nak
Sak Yant master, hand-poke bamboo style. The studio's pages single out his tigers, and once you have seen them, you understand why.
Grand Master Ajarn Ohr
Their teacher. Holds a Wai Khru every year for his disciples; the studio takes visitors to his shrine.
The ceremony
Your first Sak Yant, in four steps
Bangkok Ink writes a guide for every first-timer, so nobody kneels in front of a master without knowing what comes next.
It is solemn, and it should be. But nobody expects you to know the rules on day one: the studio explains every gesture beforehand, from how to kneel to what to bring as an offering, and their guide says it plainly: ask for a break if you want one, it is not a problem.
And for the nervous ones, a line from a client's letter on their site: she laughed her way through it, and was amazed at how quick the master was. In short, the four steps:
“It is all about thinking positive and making a new start to your life.”
1. Yok khru
Kneel face to face with the master and present the offering on the dish, arms outstretched, looking down.
2. The tattoo
Control your breathing, steady, while meditating. Try not to move. Ask for a break if you want one.
3. The activation
Hands together, eyes closed. Think about what you want out of life while the master chants over the Yant.
4. The blessing
Turn to face the master for a personal blessing. Gold leaf is placed beside the tattoo before it is covered for the journey home.
The studio floor
Machines, needles and a clean room
Bangkok Ink is not only Sak Yant. Out on the studio floor, three machine artists take portraits, fine line and Thai-style designs, and two piercers work beside them.
"We take hygiene seriously and you should too." The studio says it uses new needles and single-use tips every time, runs air purifiers with HEPA filters in every room and is cleaned and disinfected every day. Walk-ins are welcome, but they ask you to message first.
One more thing we like: Bangkok Ink publishes its prices on its website, piece by piece. In this trade, that is rarer than it should be.
Aot
The main machine tattooist. The studio calls his line work "the best we have seen to date", and his Nikola Tesla portrait backs it up.
Alex
Line work, colouring and shading "as good as it gets", says the studio. The all-rounder every floor needs.
Aun
Very experienced, and the maker of some of the highest quality tattoos in the house. On a floor this good, that is saying something.
Peary
Trained by an Australian master piercer, about 400 clients a year, and she "will never do or try to do a piercing which she has not been trained for". That is the line you want to hear from a piercer.
Pranee
"Very calm and precise at piercing. Very confident, which is what you need." Exactly who you want holding the needle.
Second chances
Laser removal: for the tattoo you regret
Not every tattoo in Bangkok is a Bangkok Ink tattoo. For the others, the studio has a laser room. "Regret your chosen design? Want to forget your ex-partner's name? Fade your old tattoo so an artist can do a cover-up? We can do it all."
The studio explains it simply: the laser breaks the ink into pieces small enough for the body to carry away. A session takes about ten minutes, with six to eight weeks between sessions, and "the longer you leave it the more the tattoo will fade". The first session starts at a lower power to see how your skin reacts. They recommend numbing cream, applied an hour before, and a cold-air machine cools the skin while they work.
How many sessions? It depends on the ink, and the studio is upfront about it: in its own examples, cheap ink can be gone in about five sessions, while dense, high-quality black can take six to ten. Prices are published by size, from 1,000 baht a session for a 3 x 3 cm tattoo up to 5,000 baht for a full arm, and the consultation is free.
Our favourite use of that laser: fading an old piece so one of the artists next door can cover it with something better. A second chance and a new tattoo, in the same building.
Piercing
Peary, Pranee and the mirror check
The piercing room is purpose-built, and Peary and Pranee run it. Their method is the one we like to see: talk first, mark the spot, check it in the mirror together, and only then pierce, "so that you experience the minimum of discomfort". If your anatomy needs a different placement, they say so before the needle, not after.
Prices are on the website: most ear and face piercings, from helix to daith, nose and eyebrow, are 1,000 baht; a lobe is 600, micro dermals 1,500, a double nipple 2,400.
And the aftercare advice is short and right. "Bear in mind that a new piercing is technically an open wound." Cartilage can take up to twelve weeks to heal. Wash lightly twice a day with sterile saline, skip the creams, do not play with it, and "never allow others to touch the new piercing". We would sign that.
1. Talk
What you want, where, and why. Take your time: they do.
2. Advice
The right placement and the right size of bar or ring for your body.
3. Mark
The spot is marked on the skin, exactly where it will go.
4. Mirror check
You check the mark in the mirror. Not happy? It moves.
5. Pierce
Done calmly, then aftercare explained before you leave.
The school
Tattoo School Thailand: two students, one chair
Bangkok Ink is also a school. Tattoo School Thailand has taught machine and hand-poked tattooing to students from all over the world since 2008, by its own account. It used to take five or six at a time; now it takes two. "Because we want the best atmosphere and relaxed environment for you to learn in."
Two weeks is the minimum. Students learn drawing and stencils, the machines, setting up a workstation, hygiene and safety, and studio etiquette, at their own pace, "with guidance rather than instruction". They start on practice skin that Martin, who has an engineering background, developed himself with Patrick at Poli's factory. After five to seven days the first human models come in, up to five a week, and the course ends with a certificate.
The welcome is the part former students talk about. "We live on the premises so you don't have to stop training when the studio is closed, only on Sundays." One student has come back eight times; another stayed a year. "All students want to stay with us, as it is a fun place to be and they meet new friends who they keep in touch with."
And then there is Bangkok. Sukhumvit 33 is the middle of the city, with shops and a park nearby, and food "from street food to Italian, English, Australian, Indian, Japanese... and of course Thai restaurants. Food is everywhere here, maybe one of the best things about Thailand!"
“Hard work and the love of tattooing does, and of course a good teacher helps.”
James Nidecker
Netherlands. Took the course in 2013 and opened his own studio the very next year. Fast learner.
Veronica Lee
From Canada, course in 2012, her own studio in Malta by 2013. Tattooing took her a long way from home.
Carl Liljeros
Sweden. Course in 2015, opened Skin Diver the same year. Zero hesitation.
Anna Sica
USA. Course in 2011, Arrowhead Tattoo the same year. Some people just know.
On the road
Sak Yant on tour
Imagine flying a Sak Yant master from Bangkok to a tattoo studio in Wigan, in October. That is exactly what Bangkok Ink does: it takes its masters to the people who cannot come to Bangkok.
In the UK the masters work as guests in partner studios: Skin Graffiti in Wigan, Greater Manchester, Happy Sailor in Shoreditch, London, and a studio in Birmingham. Grand Master Ajarn Ohr made the UK visits for eleven years; Senior Master Ajarn Sak now leads them, and the studio's UK site announces the next dates for July 2027.
Booking a tour session works like booking in Bangkok: choose your Sak Yant design first, then tell them the day, morning or afternoon, and the studio you prefer.
By the studio's count, the masters have tattooed and blessed clients in the USA, Australia, China, Sweden, the Netherlands, England, Taiwan, Belgium, Singapore and Malaysia. Not bad for a tradition that started with hermits in the forest.
Plan your visit
Before you go
Bangkok Ink is at 10/6 Soi Sukhumvit 33, a four-minute walk from BTS Phrom Phong: walk into Soi 33 past the Lotus Hotel, and the studio is on the right. It is open every day, but walk-ins work best when you have sent a message first, on WhatsApp at +66 80 007 1126.
Coming for a Sak Yant? Choose your design before you come, and read the four steps above: the studio has offerings ready for you. And a few manners from Martin, who lived in Thai villages for years: never touch a Thai man's head, keep your feet off anything sacred, and never step on a banknote.
Getting there
BTS Phrom Phong, then four minutes on foot into Soi Sukhumvit 33.
Message first
WhatsApp +66 80 007 1126, or [email protected]. Say what you want and when.
Sak Yant
Pick your design first. Offerings are provided; bring your own flowers or incense if you like.
Thai manners
The head is sacred, the feet are not. No feet on offerings, and never on a banknote.
After
Follow the aftercare you are given, and keep the rules your master asks of you.
In depth
Go deeper with Bangkok Ink
Sak YantSak Yant, the sacred tattooA Sak Yant is not chosen from a flash sheet. It is a sacred design in Kata script, tapped in by hand by a master, then blessed and activated, and it comes with promises you keep for life. Bangkok Ink has built its house around it. Here is what it means, how it is done, the designs and the rules, as Martin and his masters tell it.
Read more →
The schoolTattoo School ThailandBangkok Ink's school does not put you in a classroom. It puts you in a working tattoo studio on Sukhumvit 33, two students at a time, first on silicone skin, then on real models, five a week. Here is how a course runs, what it costs, and what its former students went on to do.
Read more →
On tourSak Yant on tourFor over a decade Bangkok Ink has flown its Sak Yant masters to the people who cannot come to Bangkok: the USA, Australia, China, Sweden and, every year, the UK. The next tour brings Senior Master Ajarn Sak to Wigan and London in July 2027. Here is how a tour session works, from choosing your design to the gold leaf.
Read more →The founderMartin's ThailandLong before Bangkok Ink, Martin Kendall lived in Thai villages, from the deep south to the North-East and the Cambodian border, and watched Sak Yant do its work in everyday life. He wrote it all down on his Sak Yant site. Here are his stories, in his own words, and the friend who made a needle with him.
Read more →In their own words
Questions for Bangkok Ink
How did Bangkok Ink begin?
Beginning with one man's fascination with this ancient art of tattooing, Bangkok Ink was born. I spent many years learning the ways of Sak Yant and, more importantly, the way of Buddhism. It was not easy to gain the trust of the Sak Yant masters I met, so I spent time with them and learned a lot about the history and origins of this spiritual practice. My staff and I are honoured to be a part of this Thai tradition, and proud to make real the dreams of many foreigners who have researched Sak Yant.
What do your own Sak Yant mean to you?
For me, becoming a better person starts with daily reminders of the values I want to live by, and that is why I chose Sak Yant and Buddhism. The unalome on my throat greets me every time I look in the mirror, and the ones on my back, arms, chest and belly stay with me even when I can't see them. Together, they keep me grounded and remind me to be a good person and show love, respect, patience and kindness to my partner, family, friends and the people I work with.
Where does the offering money go?
The offering on the dish is known as parn kroo, and there is one more called kar kroo, a traditional donation to the master. This is the money the master and his family live on. Some of it is donated to temples and to poor people in the mountains of Thailand: villages and schools far from Bangkok, with no roads and no phone signal, reached only by 4x4. There are hundreds of members in the 4x4 club Ajarn Ohr runs, and they all donate to these villages.
What should a new student know before coming?
You need to learn to operate as a tattooist on your own, so when you leave the school you can tattoo alone, because there will not be an instructor with you. We do not promise the world or put you in a room full of expensive equipment just to impress. That does not get you tattooing.
Inside Bangkok Ink
Plates from their story
Free to print, for their walls and yours
Inspired by Bangkok Ink and made specifically for them, in high-quality 4K. They are our gift to the studio, to print for its walls if they like. And if you are reading this, they are yours too: print them for your home.
Download them free!
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Visit
Bangkok Ink
10/6 Soi Sukhumvit 33, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110. Walk into Soi 33 past the Lotus Hotel; the studio is on the right.
Open every day. Message the studio on WhatsApp, +66 80 007 1126, before you come.
Photos: Bangkok Ink. Plates: AI-assisted artwork, edited by Poli International. Words in quotes and the answers are the studio’s own. Prices and opening hours change: check with the studio before you go. Your studio next?