Hundreds flocked to get new tattoos on Friday the 13th. Here's why.
BROCKTON — For some, Friday the 13th is a day of bad luck. But for those looking to get tattoos, it’s quite the opposite.
Last Friday, Oct. 13, around 250 people flocked to K&M Tattoo Studio in Brockton to take advantage of their ‘Friday the 13th’ sales — the best one of the year, said shop manager Carlos Cruz. Customers were able to walk in without an appointment, choose from five pages of flash (pre-designed) tattoo options, and walk out with brand-new ink in no time — all for $31.
K&M Tattoo Studio is one of many studios in the Brockton area that run special deals on Friday the 13th, which has come to be known as the unofficial ‘Black Friday’ for getting tattoos.
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the next Friday the 13th won't happen until September and December of 2024. So mark your calendars and be ready next time this unofficial tattoo holiday arrives.
More: It's Friday the 13th. Here's why there are long lines at local tattoo shops.
Here's more information on the Friday the 13th tattoo holiday.
How much is the Friday the 13th tattoo discount?
At K&M Tattoo Studio in Brockton, Xotic Creation Tattoo in Whitman, and Fall River Tattoo Co. in Fall River, customers were able to get a flash tattoo for $31 — a price that comes from switching the numbers in 13, according to Xotic Creation Tattoo owner Freddy St. Georges.
"It's kind of like a customer appreciation thing," Bruce Deslauriers, owner of Fall River Tattoo Co. told The Standard Times. "We lose money doing it. But we have 10 times more fun than on any other day."
According to reporting by USA Today, the average hourly price most tattoo artists charge is anywhere between $100 to $200 and up, making Friday the 13th's discount way more than half off. While many tattoo shops run special promotions throughout the year, on Friday the 13th, tattoo seekers are almost guaranteed to find universal promotions at a shop near them.
At K&M Tattoo Studio, it's their best deal of the year. “We run flash deals throughout the year, but even those would be around $50 to $60,” said Cruz.
Even shops that don't participate in the $31 deals still have great discounts on Friday the 13th. Grand Flourish Tattoo in Brockton celebrated with minimally priced 'spooky' themed flash tattoos for $100 to $150. The Grey Witches’ Gallery and Tattoos in Wareham offered more than 500 different small tattoo choices for $50 each.
How many people got tattoos on Friday the 13th?
By 9 a.m., a line of 80 people had already formed outside of Fall River Tattoo Co. Deslauriers, the shop's owner, said that over the four years they’ve been open, their record for Friday the 13th tattoos was 500 tattoos in one day.
“Depending on the season, we typically do five to 20 tattoos a day,” said Cruz. “But on Friday the 13th, we do significantly more, between 200 and 250,” he said. Last year the line wrapped around the building.
This year, eight tattoo artists, including two from K&M’s Taunton branch, worked a 12-hour shift to fit everyone in. “It wasn’t too bad this year. We would have maybe five or six people waiting in line since we had more artists,” said Cruz. “The people are awesome.”
At Xotic Creation Tattoo, anywhere between 60 to 100 people showed up, said St. Georges, the shop's owner.
What were the most popular tattoos designs on Friday the 13th?
According to Cruz, the most popular designs at K&M Tattoo Studio were a goldfish and a bumblebee. At Xotic Creation Tattoo, it varied from crosses, outlines of graves, and the number 13. At Grand Flourish Tattoo, it was a ghost with pumpkins, said studio manager Emma Nikolettou.
Why is Friday the 13th a tattoo holiday?
The modern model for Friday the 13th as a tattoo holiday is often credited back to co-owner of Elm Street Tattoo in Dallas Oliver Peck.
Peck previously told Vice that he "definitely wasn't the first person to do it," saying he drew some inspiration from fellow artist Dave Lum's Halloween specials, but that he did "make it an event." He threw his first major Friday the 13th function in 1995 at the now-defunct Pair O' Dice in Dallas, a marathon session of tattooing the number "13" on as many people as possible in a 24-hour period.
While some people still get the number "13," the tradition has largely stuck because it allows tattoo shops to expand their clientele in a fun way. “It really enables us to not only do a bunch of really good tiny tattoos, it's for us to be able to meet a ton of people. And that's really good for us because we're a newer shop," said Braley, owner of The Grey Witches’ Gallery and Tattoos in Wareham.
When is the next Friday the 13th?
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the next Friday the 13th will happen in September and December of 2024.
Mark your calendars if you're planning to get a tattoo!
Information in this article includes additional reporting by USAToday and Seth Chitwood of the Standard Times.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton tattoo studios celebrate Friday the 13th with $31 deals
