Tattoo parlors in Merced were slammed Friday the 13th. Here’s why and where to get some ink

Alma Villegas
·5 min read

The owners of Merced Tattoo and Piercing Co. on Main Street regularly open shop at noon, but on Friday Sept. 13, that rare and infamous date associated with bad luck, several customers were camped outside hours ahead of time. When doors finally opened, tattoo artists were shuffling clients in and out in 10-minute interval

The long line was the outgrowth of a grassroots marketing push to make Friday the 13th a special day in the world of ink.

“The actual tradition of getting tattooed on Friday the 13th started with Oliver Peck in 2008, and it just kind of took off from there,” said Juno Ku, owner of Good Karma Collective tattoo shop on Main Street in Merced. Peck is a famous and controversial tattoo artist credited for popularizing the industry’s Friday the 13th event. He broke a record streak of 415 tattoos in a 24-hour period on June 13, 2008, Ku said. “The tradition isn’t as old as people think.”

Friday the 13th is a day some associate with superstition and fun. Since 2008, it’s also a day that many have come to rely on for discounted tattoo deals. The combination has created a unique tradition that boosted sales this Friday, Sept. 13, for local tattoo businesses, some that have been struggling this year.

“This past year has been kind of up and down for a lot of artists. It’s been a little slow,” Ku said. The 36-year-old tattoo artist said he completed 35 tattoos this Friday the 13th, serving his last two customers at 2 a.m. The pair was a married couple on a spontaneous date night and waited nearly four hours for their turn.

Customer shows off new Friday the 13th tattoo by Main Street Tattoo and Body Piercing artist, “Little” Johnny Tharp. The shop’s team welcomed close to 200 guests in the span of 12 hours on Friday Sept. 13, 2024. They will host the next Friday the 13th event on Dec. 13. Courtesy of “Little” Johnny Tharp.
Customer shows off new Friday the 13th tattoo by Main Street Tattoo and Body Piercing artist, “Little” Johnny Tharp. The shop’s team welcomed close to 200 guests in the span of 12 hours on Friday Sept. 13, 2024. They will host the next Friday the 13th event on Dec. 13. Courtesy of “Little” Johnny Tharp.

On a normal day, Ku averages between one and two tattoos. “With Friday the 13th being established as a day when you can make a good chunk of money at once, now you kind of see a lot of shops right now doing events or doing flash sheets to get some money coming in.”

Although Friday the 13th flash sales are a recent phenomenon, they’ve sustained traction as customers take advantage of the reduced prices, and artists welcome the spike in new and regular clientele, Ku said. His standard price for a Friday the 13th tattoo is $31 dollars plus a $9 dollar tip.

“I want to avoid saying cheaper. It’s a better value,” Ku said. The compromise for the cost is the choice of smaller, pre-designed options (also known as flash sheets) that accommodate the influx of clients tattoo artists receive during that hectic 24-hour window.

“I couldn’t tell you how many people we saw,” said tattoo artist Amara Quintanilla at Main Street Tattoo and Body Piercing. “There was barely any time to get up, look around, [or] go out front to see how long the line was,” she said. Their six-person team estimated tattooing approximately 80 people in total and piercing about 100 more in the 12 hours that the parlor remained open.

Although Main Street Tattoo and Body Piercing is one of the longest-standing tattoo shops in the Central Valley, ‘Little’ Johnny Tharp, whose daughter owns the store, said they’ve only hosted two Friday the 13th events since they opened in 1999. They inaugurated the special event last year.

Jess Roe, one of the shop’s body piercers, said the team greeted a significantly higher number of customers this Friday the 13th than the previous year. “I think it’s because tattoos and piercings have just become more acceptable in general.”

For UC Merced student Michelle Mendoza, that Friday was the ideal opportunity for her to obtain her first Friday the 13th tattoo. She commuted to downtown with a group of friends, some who had joined to offer support. “Scary, spooky stuff just makes me happy,” Mendoza said

“We also do it as a thank you for the community,” Roe said, with Tharp adding that some clients can’t afford regular tattoo prices, and use the event as an avenue to “join the club.”

“Getting tattoos is a luxury, I tell people all the time. Usually if your industry is in the luxury business, then we kind of go first on people’s budgets where they take a little longer to save up or they take some time off,” Ku said, explaining why business thrives during Friday the 13th specials.

When the unique tradition first took root, getting the number 13 tattooed was in demand as it symbolized good luck. “The lore is Friday the 13th, 13 [is] bad luck. Sailors kind of started getting it tattooed on them with different designs as basically [saying], ‘If that’s bad luck, if we get it tattooed on us, it should be lucky, and counteract that bad luck,’” Ku said. Today, however, getting branded with the number 13 isn’t as popular.

“For us now, I mean, it’s considered a bad luck thing. But for us, it seems to be a good luck thing, because we’ve kind of taken it back, you know, [as] a good thing. It’s a day where we can all come together and have that camaraderie and celebrate it,” Tharp said. “A nice, big tattoo party is how it feels like.”

The next Friday the 13th event that local tattoo parlors will be hosting is on December 13.

Pre-designed tattoo of a crying and winking cartoon clown on a customer’s forearm by Main Street Tattoo and Body Piercing artist, “Little” Johnny Tharp. His daughter, Paulette Busbea, owns the parlor. Courtesy of “Little” Johnny Tharp.
Pre-designed tattoo of a crying and winking cartoon clown on a customer’s forearm by Main Street Tattoo and Body Piercing artist, “Little” Johnny Tharp. His daughter, Paulette Busbea, owns the parlor. Courtesy of “Little” Johnny Tharp.
Tattoo of Sanrio character, Cinnamoroll, on client’s bicep by Main Street Tattoo and Body Piercing artist, @rafatatuajes1989. Cinnamoroll was a popular choice at the shop, the artists said. Courtesy of @rafatatuajes1989.
Tattoo of Sanrio character, Cinnamoroll, on client’s bicep by Main Street Tattoo and Body Piercing artist, @rafatatuajes1989. Cinnamoroll was a popular choice at the shop, the artists said. Courtesy of @rafatatuajes1989.
Small tattoo of a flower on local customer by Main Street Tattoo and Body Piercing artist, Lindsey Chastain. On Friday the 13th, tattoo artists offer an array of small, pre-designed options for customers at a reduced price. Courtesy of Lindsey Chastain.
Small tattoo of a flower on local customer by Main Street Tattoo and Body Piercing artist, Lindsey Chastain. On Friday the 13th, tattoo artists offer an array of small, pre-designed options for customers at a reduced price. Courtesy of Lindsey Chastain.
Two vertical eyebrow piercings on customer’s right eyebrow by Main Street Tattoo and Body Piercing artist, Jess Roe. Courtesy of Jess Roe.
Two vertical eyebrow piercings on customer’s right eyebrow by Main Street Tattoo and Body Piercing artist, Jess Roe. Courtesy of Jess Roe.

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