Christopher Núñez (born April 11, 1973) is an American

tattoo artist A tattoo artist (also tattooer or tattooist) is an individual who applies permanent decorative tattoos, often in an established business called a "tattoo shop", "tattoo studio" or "tattoo parlour". Tattoo artists usually learn their craft via an ...

, television personality, and entrepreneur. He was a judge on the reality television show ''

Ink Master ''Ink Master'' is an American reality competition television series that premiered on Paramount Network (formerly called Spike) on January 17, 2012. Each season features tattoo artists who compete in various challenges assessing their tattooing ...

''.

Early life

Cuban Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americ ...

descent, he grew up in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. Núñez had always been drawn to art, and began painting graffiti as a teenager, which he claims his father supported as long as it was an image and not just Núñez's name. Soon he discovered tattooing and obtained an apprenticeship at a local tattoo shop. His father died when Núñez was 18, leading to him rebelling during his late teens and early twenties. Núñez's first tattoos, which he got at age 16, were of his parents' names.

Career

After being a

graffiti artist Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in Graffito (archaeology), graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple writte ...

, Núñez switched to tattooing, though even after opening a tattoo shop with friends, he continued to do part-time construction work. He and

Ami James Ami James (; born 6 April 1972) is an Israeli-American tattoo artist, television personality and entrepreneur. Early life James was born in the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh (then Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, occupied by Israe ...

later opened Love Hate Tattoos on

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

Love Hate Tattoos
(official site). Retrieved on September 21, 2014. He was a cast member of the

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

network's reality show ''

Miami Ink ''Miami Ink'' is an American reality television series that aired on TLC from 2005 to 2008 and follows the events that took place at a tattoo shop in Miami Beach, Florida. The show led to several spin-offs, including the shows ''LA Ink'', '' Lo ...

'', and later became a judge on the

Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (Broderick book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter ...

network's reality competition, ''

'', in which tattoo artists compete in challenges assessing their tattoo and related artistic skills. He is a partner in the media corporation Ridgeline Empire, which operates the subsidiaries Ink Skins and Upset Gentlemen and an animation studio with two animated series in development as of 2014: ''Hoodbrats'' and ''Toothians''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez, Chris Living people Nunez, Chris American tattoo artists American television personalities Hispanic and Latino American artists American people of Cuban descent 1973 births American male tattoo artists