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ALI, THE BLONDE BOMBSHELL BARTENDER
HOT INK
by Bill Bigballer
Photos by Kelly Sanford
From the August 2005 issue of Prick Magazine.
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Although she doesn't have her own Web site and isn't looking to become a model or stripper, Ali certainly isn't lacking in either the 'Hot' or the 'Ink' departments. While her long blonde hair, thin frame and elaborate tattoos certainly draw Ali more attention than she might care for, she's content earning an honest living as a manager/bartender at Atlanta rock 'n' roll dive The Highlander, where she has been working for more than eight years.
"I waited tables for about two years then I fell into the whole management/bartender deal," she says. "They treat me well, they take care of my insurance and everything, which my sister has a computer job and doesn't even get that. They let me travel when I want. I'm glad I'm not stuck in a cube somewhere staring at a computer screen."
Prior to working at The Highlander, Ali earned a living working at a head shop, where she not only learned a little about adult novelties, but also fine art.
"I was 19 at the time and they put me in charge of buying all the sex toys," she recalls. "Which I thought was funny because I had to call without laughing and order cases of Cherry Anal Eaze."
Aside from anal lubes, the store also sold art print posters, which is where Ali originally got the inspiration for her backpiece.
"It's based on John William Waterhouse, who was a European painter," she says. "I saw his stuff and just fell in love with it. My friend did all the ordering for the posters and I saw a poster of one of his paintings. He's got beautiful women and fairies and stuff, but I didn't really get into the whole fairy aspect."
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Ali's next job was as "shop bitch" at Black Cat Tattoo in Decatur, Ga., where she cleaned needles and eventually got her below-the-belt cherry tattoo.
"Shane [Morton] did them originally," she says. "That was a joke gone bad, pretty much. I showed up to work one day and he was like, 'I'll give you a free tattoo right now, but I get to pick what and where.' So, me being a jackass, I said, 'OK.' So, he did them originally and them Tom DePriest added more flames [later]."
As fate would have it, Ali's next job at alternative department store Junkman's Daughter would introduce her to the artist responsible for her most eye-catching tattoo. During her brief employment at Junkman's, Atlanta tattoo artist Watson Atkinson was working on the painting that now covers the front of the entire building.
"Every morning before I'd come to work, I'd go to Aurora [Coffee] and get coffee," she says. "And he's out there with a little kiddie umbrella in the middle of August. I felt horrible and I'd bring him bottled water all the time.
"We started talking and I finally hooked up with him and saw his artwork," she continues. "I took a big book of [Waterhouse's] work to Watson and picked out about five or six paintings and wrote down what I liked about each one and he just kind of threw it all together.
"He's just real genuine," she says of Atkinson. "He doesn't have the typical tattoo artist mentality, which is how I could be around him for the 78 hours it took to do my back."
While she is happy with the way the piece turned out, she says the physical pain that went with getting her entire back covered in ink was more than she expected.
"It's a whole different story when you get to the ribs," she says. "He did all the line work and I was like, 'Eh, this isn't that bad.' But then he started doing the shading, and this was when he was over at Liberty [Tattoo], and I'm face down crying like a bitch and he's like, 'Cigarette break,' and I've got to go outside with my swollen face and all those boys are just like, 'Yeah, wuss.'"
After finishing her backpiece and a few more pieces on her legs, Ali says she has no plans to get any more tattoos at this point.
"I think I'm officially done, I think I'm throwing in the towel," she says. "I didn't know what I was getting myself into with my backpiece. I was going for three hours at a time at first and then I decided to buy my place, so that was kind of cutting into my funds. I think overall it took, like, a-year-and-a-half to get it totally finished."
Ali says she's not much of a night owl, which is why she works the lunch shift at The Highlander. On her days off, she says she likes to work out, ride her bike or "just kick it by the pool and read a book." When she does go out, she likes going to places close enough to her Midtown home that she can walk or bicycle, such as the Clermont Lounge, the Drunken Unicorn and the Masquerade, where she can see some of her favorite bands like Artimus Pyledriver and Static-X.
Ali also likes to travel and recently went on a trip to Mexico for her birthday last month.
"If I don't take a trip about every three months, I just go crazy," she says. "Luckily, the guys around here let me leave. They just say, 'Don't be crabby when you get back.'"
And when it's time to go back to work, Ali doesn't seem to dread it as much as most people returning from vacation.
"I don't mind it," she says. "It's definitely provided me with enough funds to do my own thing. I bought my own place, got a nice car – it works for now."
Next time you're looking for a place to grab a beer and some lunch, stop by The Highlander and Ali will be happy to serve you.
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The Highlander
931 Monroe Dr. - Suite C-101
Atlanta, GA 30308
Phone: 404.872.0600
For more about the Highlander visit www.thehighlanderatlanta.com.
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