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MAGNUM OPUS
BRIGHTON ENGLAND SHOP SHINES BRIGHT
By Calu
Photos courtesy of Phil Kyle & Magnum Opus
From the April 2008 issue of PRICK Magazine
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 Magnum Opus |
 Phil Kyle at work |
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Phil Kyle may be a Yank, but he has made a home for himself in sunny
England.You may know him from TLC's tattoo show London Ink, but
Kyle has been in the tattooing game since 1993. He apprenticed right
after Seth Ciferri, and then later worked for the likes of Tony Olivas and Mike
Dorsey, and with such talents as Kore Flatmo. "I can say I have been inspired
by all these folks," Kyle says. "You always learn something from one another.
That's what’s great about working with guys like them; they all do different
work. You see a lil' technique here and there, you try it, and if it works, then
great, you stick with it. If not, you move on to the next." After working for
(and with) some heavy hitters in the States, Kyle started traveling around
Europe. He did guest spots and conventions all over Belgium, France, Italy,
Sweden, and Spain. All the while, Kyle kept the name Magnum Opus for the
shop he hoped to open one day.
Located on the southern coast of England, Brighton is one of the
largest settlements by the sea. It is also where Phil Kyle's Mangum
Opus Tattoo and Piercing now calls home. Open since November
8th, 2007, Kyle has assembled a crew every bit as talented as he is:
Lynn Akura (who has been tattooing all across Europe and the
United States since 1999), Inma (with her love for all things realistic,
in black and gray and full color), Adrian Willard (another talented and
top notch artist), Bob Done (Phil's apprentice), Tiff Badhairdo (piercing
and body mods) and Shone (manager and laser tech). Together,
these lucky seven make up the immense talent that is Magnum Opus
Tattoo and Piercing.
So how did you come up with the name Magnum Opus?
The name Magnum Opus is something I picked up from Latin, which
basically means "ones greatest work of achievement." It's a name I
started to use on the road at conventions when there was no shop
at that time.
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 Magnum Opus |
 Tiff Badhairdo |
 Shone |
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How did the London Ink show happen for you?
A friend of mine mentioned me to the production crew, and I was
contacted several times, and later interviewed and filmed while tattooing.
After that it was a "goodbye, we'll call you" kind of thing.
Weeks later, I got a call from the producers, and it was on. Overall,
it has been a great learning experience, and I would have regretted
not doing it.
What was it like during the first weeks of filming?
At first it was odd, but I see as the episodes go on,we are a bit more
relaxed, getting used to the cameras and lights in our face while we
are tattooing and all that.
What is the attraction of tattooing in
England and Europe as opposed to the United
States?
Well, I don't now if its a pure attraction to just tattooing
in UK and Europe...I mean being that I spent so much
time here in Europe when I was a kid, I always knew
sometime I would end up over here for good. Tattooing
here is great though, the scene is strong and people are
getting some great tattoos, and the tattooers all over
Europe and the UK are busting out some incredible
work. It's definitely a positive thing for tattooing.A lot of
tattooers from the US like coming to Europe to work
conventions and guest spots, it's definitely just a nice
change for a bit.
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When and what was your last tattoo?
My last tattoo? I haven't had time to get tattooed! I
haven't really been tattooed in like five years or so. I am
too busy making tattoos. But I do have plans to finish up
what spots I have left...we'll just say they are reserved
spots! I know who I want to fill them, now its just a matter
of getting the time to do it.
You look like you have a right laugh with your
crew, do you all go out to the pub together?
Do you guys have time to hang out?
Yeah, we try to hang out as much as possible...it's kind of
shit when you just work together all day and, at the end
of the day, everyone goes home in their own direction. We all
get along great and have a lot of fun. Just recently, we all went
to the Milan Convention and we all stayed in the same hotel
room, which was a lot of fun. There is always a good laugh
between us all; so yeah we try to do a lot of things together,
whether it be work, painting projects, or just having dinner or
a drink. It helps to keep a drama free environment at the shop.
And plus, we are all friends, not just co-workers.
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 Tattoo by Phil Kyle |
 By Tiff Badhairdo |
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What's next? Or are you happy right now where
you are?
Next? I think we all have the same goal at the shop: pushing
ourselves in and out of work, and just keeping it real. I also will
be in the filming of series two of London Ink sometime this
summer, which will be fun, because working with that crew is
also a lot of fun. I mean we just get on with our work, you
know? I am just absolutely happy with things...I couldn't ask
for a better crew at the shop. We have a lot of plans for art
expos in our Gallery, too. Just more hard work ahead of us,
but that's how we like it! We all like to keep busy. So yeah,
happy it is.
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Magnum Opus Tattoo and Piercing
33 Upper North St.
Brighton, BN1 3FG
England
For more information, go to www.magnumopustattoo.com or www.myspace.com/mottheshop.
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