Meet Jordan Olivera

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jordan Olivera and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordan, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The first thing that comes to mind is reading an interview in Athens Food & Culture regarding the owner of The Royal Peasant in Athens, GA. He was asked “What made you want to open your own restaurant instead of working for someone else?”
His response really sat with me, saying “My father always told me there are two types of people in the world – the people who sign the front of the checks and the people who sign the back. He told me to always be the person who signs the front.”
The possibility of running my own business started to become something I was thinking more about. In my early years off tattooing and my apprenticeship I found myself moving from shop to shop strictly based on the attitudes of those who owned them. It was a very much “do it the way I say to do it” mentality. That just didn’t work for me. I didn’t respect the people that I worked for, and it’s hard to make money for the people you don’t respect.
I realized I didn’t really align with most of the shop owners. It wasn’t that they were bad people, They just weren’t really fostering the sort of creative environment that I was looking for. One particular incident with my last employer was the deciding factor in knowing I was done with working for someone else. It was time for me to go ahead and try to do this myself. Six months later I opened the doors of my own tattoo shop, where those who want to learn, create, and have the freedom to do so, do.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started tattooing because I needed something to do. For years I was in a band with my two brothers, playing shows, writing records.. and when that all came to an end, my younger brother and I were left with sort of a “what do we do now?” situation. He started dating a local tattooer in town, and it was the first behind-the-scenes look we got at what it would be like to be a tattoo artist. I had always gotten tattoos in my life but it was always something that “they” did.. and we never thought it was something we could do. The more I was exposed to the tattoo culture and what it really was, the more I was drawn to it. (no pun intended..) I could see the parallels of tattooing and making music in collaborating with other creatives, traveling, getting paid to create art, and being your own boss. Tattooing checked all those boxes.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Here in Athens, GA some of my favorite spots are The Oglethorpe Garage, The Rail, Last Resort, Royal Peasant, Ben Burton Park, and of course, Happy Ending Tattoo.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Derek Olivera, RIP.

Website: happyendingathens.com

Instagram: @rusty_dagger_tricks