Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts and Entertainment

Tattoo Artist Kat Von D's Guinness Record Attempt

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

()

One of the many tattoos done by Kat Von D

This past Friday night, The Learning Channel's LA Ink tattoo artist vixen, Kat von D, attempted to break the world record for most tattoos done in a 24 hour period. With lines forming almost 48 hours in advance, people flocked from as far away as Ohio to be apart of tattoo history. At about 3:30 in the morning on Friday, we decided to head over to High Voltage on La Brea and Fountain with a camera in tow to get the scoop on the scene. What follows are interviews, videos, and pictures of what went on.

We started off at the very end of the line which wrapped around Fountain. This first interview is with a young woman who was told that in order to get a wrist band, she had to show up hours in advance.

Support for LAist comes from
()

Long line wrapping around La Brea and Fountain.

This next video shows a security guard explaining to a group of girls that they would most likely not be getting a tattoo that evening. For the most part, people seemed pretty pissed that there was confusion regarding wrist bands. If you check out Kat's MySpace profile, you can see that her blog post announcing the event has been taken down. Also, you can see in her comments section that people were turned away even after waiting for a full 24 hours.

Further up the line, we caught up with a couple girls who were about 10 people away from the store entrance. We apologize for the crappy angle; some people weren't too happy with our stealthy interviews and camera work.

()

Closer to the entrance.

()
Support for LAist comes from

You get the idea.

()

Kat Von D.

The following is an interview with a couple girls who were next in line.

()

Cleaning up the tat.

And finally, this is an interview with a girl who just got hers done. But she didn't even have to wait in line! Nepotism?!?!

Support for LAist comes from

In the end, we still haven't gotten word as to whether or not Kat broke the record. Some comments on her myspace said that they "heard the great news", so we'll be staying tuned to see if the record was actually broken. All we know is that she worked her ass off, and there are a few hundred more people reppin' LA with some new ink. Congrats, Kat!

UPDATE: This morning Kat posted a blog on her myspace featuring a brief thanks and a long apology. But it turns out she did in fact break the record! Read it here.

All interviews done by Gerry Block. All images and video capture done by Ali Miller for LAist.

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist