126: Migelly Shaw | Ink, Intrusive Thoughts and Finding Purpose

This week, we step outside the usual studio and into Sacred Rose Tattoo for a raw and honest conversation with Migelly Shaw.

Migelly is a tattooist, business owner, media man, father, gamer and all round good bloke. He is someone who keeps a lot of plates spinning, and as we unpack throughout the episode, staying busy is often his way of keeping the head noise from creeping in.

We talk openly about the intrusive thoughts that can find their way into anyone’s head, and how we use reason and logic to challenge them rather than allowing them to take control.

At the centre of everything is fatherhood. Migelly speaks about finding his purpose in being a dad, why his family is his everything and how becoming a father gave him something bigger than himself to live for. In many ways, it is what saved him.

We also talk about the pressure to provide for your family, building a business and the many layers behind the bloke people see online. Migelly describes himself as an onion, or maybe a cake, because there is always another layer underneath.

Despite regularly putting himself out there on social media, sitting down as a podcast guest is not something that comes naturally to him. Even in the comfort of his own studio, the nerves are real. But as the conversation begins to flow, he settles in and realises the experience was far worse in his head than it was in reality. As one of the greats said, we suffer more in imagination than reality.

We explore tattoo culture, how it has changed and the unique relationship between an artist and the person sitting in their chair. Tattooists can become therapists in their own way. There is a trust that develops between the artist and their client, and when someone is sitting still for hours with their guard down, the conversation often goes far beyond the tattoo itself.

This is a conversation about fatherhood, finding purpose, managing the noise in your head and becoming comfortable enough to show the bloke behind the work.

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