Esparza Ink 805 on Tattooing Celebrities, Splitting Time In Vegas, How No Jumper's Sharp Changed His Life
UNDRGRND Magazine | January 10th, 2023
UNDRGRND Issue 7: "Scenes Collide: Part Two" welcomes the first ever tattoo artist to be featured on UNDRGRND's front cover. Ruben Esparza is a 29-year-old professional tattooist repping Ventura, Calif. as proud as anybody. The Ventura High graduate first began developing his talent for drawing and sketching as a child, a skill that later led to his full-time career in his 20s.
Now in 2023, and Esparza has tattooed a plethora of hip-hop notables, such as Trouble Kidd, LeoohhDaFool, Mind Off, PMF Adrian (RIP), and more. Perhaps most interesting, Esparza credits No Jumper / Soft White Underbelly's own Sharp (of NJ's "The Sharp Tank") with giving him his first real tattoo-break out in Vegas, a city where Esparza now splits his time in with The 805.
Aside from inking, Esparza is actually a talented rapper himself, with the hip-hop culture clearly in his DNA. I first ever met Esparza in a parking lot in Camarillo in mid-2021 due to our mutual relationship with UNDRGRND alumni Kado Khalil (Issue 1) and Knotti (Issue 3) who he knew from growing up. Esparza tells UNDRGRND that in his free time he enjoys fishing, riding his motorcycle, shooting pool, and hanging with his young family.
@esparzaink805 @undrgrndmagazine @trappofsky @gavinbanksy @sammydearborn @togovisuals @noahcudal_
Interviewer: Andrew Mason of UNDRGRND Magazine Interviewee: Ruben Esparza Filmed by Gavin Banksy & Sam Dearborn on November 5th, 2022 in Los Angeles
Learn more about Esparza inside UNDRGRND Magazine Issue 7: “Scenes Collide: Part Two” coming early 2023! Read all our previous magazines right now FOR FREE on undrgrndmag.com/magazines.