Ruben Jordan Langsted was born in Norway 30 years ago and moved to Copenhagen 8 years ago. One year after moving, he became an apprentice at the Miks Tattoo studio – the idea to become a tattoo artist came to him after accompanying his future wife, who wanted to get a tattoo, to different studios. Initially an allround tattoo artist, for the last five years Ruben has been focusing exclusively on black & grey, realistic style. What he loves about black & grey is that it is such a technically demanding style that no matter how good you get, there is still room for improvement. Today Ruben ranks among Denmark’s greatest black & grey tattooists and he can’t even say for sure how many prizes he has been awarded – possibly 25 to 30. He’s currently running the Copenhagen studio Death or Glory, co-owned by Siggy Starfish and the apprentice Evelyn and different guest artists to back them up. It’s a small studio, but a busy one, just the way Ruben likes it. There are currently no plans to expand, simply to maintain the relaxed atmosphere in the studio and make sure that there are always customers waiting in the chairs. Ruben originally studied to become a teacher, and he gets an outlet for his love of teaching by holding online seminars instructing students in the art of tattooing. Interestingly, he does not have any of his beloved black & grey tattoos on his own skin – all his own tattoos are in color, traditional style, done by personal friends who have been granted complete artistic freedom so the tattoos on Ruben’s skin express their visions rather than his! What Ruben is after when he gets a new tattoo is not so much a certain motif, as an opportunity to pick up some new tricks by observing and talking to the tattoo artist. Any new information is welcome, and useful.
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