Hi, I’m ALLAN MANDI and this is my story
I was born and raised in the small city of Biñan, Laguna, in the Philippines. My love for art was greatly influenced by my father. As a young child, I spent most of my free time drawing anime and cartoon characters. Becoming a tattoo artist wasn't part of my childhood dream. In the Philippines, tattoos carried a negative stigma, and it wasn't considered a profession that people looked up to. Everything changed the day I picked up a tattoo magazine. It completely changed my perspective and opened a world I never knew existed. For the first time, I realized tattooing could be more than just ink on skin—it could be an art form, a career, and something to be proud of.
From that moment on, my interest in tattooing never faded.
I read every magazine I could find and researched how tattoo machines worked. Since buying one wasn't an option, I decided to build my own. I used an RC toy motor, a high-speed sewing machine needle, elastic rubber bands, and fountain pen ink.
Was it the proper way to tattoo? Absolutely not.
But I was a teenager growing up in the Philippines during the '90s. Resources were limited, and if you wanted something badly enough, you learned to make it work. You didn't have the luxury of being picky.
During high school, I started tattooing my classmates whenever we had free time. My father was incredibly supportive of my passion. He would even pay his friends and some of the locals to let me practice on them.
One of my favorite memories is that whenever I go home to the Philippines, some of those same people still come up to me and proudly show me the tattoos I gave them decades ago. They always tell me they refuse to cover them, even if they're far from my best work. To them, those tattoos represent the beginning of my journey, and they consider them some of their most meaningful pieces.
That has always stayed with me.
Like many artists in the Philippines at the time, I started with traditional tattoos, lettering, and tribal designs because those were the styles people were asking for. Eventually, I saved enough money to buy my first professional tattoo machine, and that's when I became serious about improving my craft.
I developed a habit that still defines me today. Whenever I became interested in a style, I immersed myself in it until I felt I truly understood it before moving on to something new. My goal was never to be known for just one style—I wanted to become versatile enough to create whatever my clients envisioned.
Right after finishing university, I didn't even bother walking across the stage to receive my diploma. I already knew where I wanted to be. Instead, I packed my bags, jumped on a boat with a few friends, and headed to Puerto Galera, one of the most popular beach destinations in the Philippines. We pitched a simple tent on the beach, and started tattooing right there on the sand. We named our little shop “Wormhole Tattoo”.
It wasn't glamorous, but it was exactly where I wanted to be.
To my surprise, business took off. Tourists from around the world wanted tattoos as souvenirs of their trip, and before long, I had saved enough money to rent an actual beachfront tattoo studio and another studio back in my hometown. During the busy tourist season, I worked in Puerto Galera, and when business slowed down, I returned to my hometown to tattoo from my own shop in Biñan.
Those years taught me far more than tattooing. They taught me how to run a business, connect with people from different cultures, and adapt to whatever opportunities came my way. Looking back, that little tent on the beach became the foundation of everything that followed.
In 2009, I had the opportunity to leave the Philippines for the first time when I was invited to guest tattoo at a studio in Denmark. That trip changed my career.
It was there that I fell in love with black and grey realism.
Some of the best realism artists I had ever seen were working throughout Europe, and I was amazed by how realistic tattoos could become. I challenged myself to reach that level, and from that point forward, realism became my primary focus.
Over the years, my career has allowed me to travel to countries including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France, Singapore, Japan, Dubai, Poland and many more. Every trip gave me the opportunity to learn from different artists and continue growing as both an artist and a person.
Working as a tattoo artist in the United States is something my younger self would never have dared to dream about.
This is the country where many of my childhood idols built their careers. Applying for an O-1 visa—which is granted based on extraordinary ability—was one of the biggest leaps of faith I've ever taken. Coming from the Philippines, where U.S. immigration is known to be especially competitive, receiving that approval remains one of the proudest achievements of my career.
Today, I work from my own appointment-only private studio and have been fortunate to build a wonderful clientele throughout Tennessee, New York, and beyond.
Looking back, it's hard to believe that the kid who once built a tattoo machine out of an RC toy motor is now living this life.
More than three decades after I first became fascinated with tattooing, I'm still learning, still growing, and still just as excited every time someone trusts me with their story.
That's what I love most about tattooing.
Every client brings a different story, and I have the privilege of turning those stories into artwork they'll carry for the rest of their lives.
Every client brings a different story, and I have the privilege of turning those stories into artwork they'll carry for the rest of their lives.
If you're ready to create something meaningful together, I'd love to hear your idea.