I said I was leaving tattooing. I didn't say I was leaving the industry.

I didn't leave because my career had failed. I left because the life I wanted had changed.

I loved building my career, meeting new people, forming relationships and opening doors I once hoped would exist. I learned the business behind the work—marketing, strategy and the mindset required to keep moving forward.

But over time, it was the craft itself that stopped pulling me forward: the designing, the tattooing and the physical demands of the chair. It wasn't because I lacked opportunity. I was fortunate enough to build a career that gave me plenty of it. My priorities had changed.

My health and the life I still want to live began to matter more. I want the energy to travel, explore, move and take on a new challenge—not look back and feel that my career kept me from living it. I didn't rediscover myself by forcing the old passion to return. I found myself by admitting that it hadn't.

But I knew I wasn't finished helping people in this industry.

Altered Balance exists to help tattoo artists understand what is limiting them, recognise their value, create demand and give all of their hard work somewhere to go.