Marlon "Chito" Vera on His "Awkward" Tattoo, Getting Tattoo'd by Mister Cartoon

Legends of tattooing. He's one of the biggest. Yeah, we did one sit and that was painful. That kicked my ass. Is the back more painful than the arms? Oh yeah. Really? The arms are easy. Yeah, the arms are pretty easy. I basically... you feel it but you're not crying on my back. You were crying? There was no crying but about two. There were points that my arm were shaking. Really? Without moving it. Wow. See, it's weird what parts hurt because the elbow hurts a lot. Like the inside of the elbow, that shit hurts a lot. I was like, I thought that was numb because you think about how many times you hit things with your elbows. It doesn't hurt at all. I crack head with elbows but the little ink, it will make you pay. It's crazy. It's weird. Yeah. I have my full leg, a dragon. Yeah. Top to bottom of my leg. That's also awful. Really? Leg is awful? Like some parts in the tide where the sun don't go. Where the sun doesn't go. You know what's funny about my leg tattoo? When this guy was tattooing my inner thigh, he was pushing my balls aside so he can ink. Right. And I was like... He's touching your balls. Kind of. He was pushing them away. Well, he's touching them. A little bit. And this was the crazy part. When I was there, I was just like... Because normally I get tattooed right after fights because that's my rest time. And I was just thinking, this is painful. This is awkward. I was just thinking about what's worse. The guy pushing my dick away or the pain right there because it was so painful that I was like, wow, I'm hurting. Well, the guy pushing your dick away is just weird. No, but... That's not painful, right? No, it's not painful, but it's very weird. It's painful in a way. It's weird if it feels good. You're like, damn, this is enjoyable. Yeah, you don't want that. That would be a problem. Well, maybe you do. Maybe you do. No, it doesn't happen. Not for you, but for some people... Happens. But I was like, that... It was painful and awkward. That was hard. It was hard too. I was just like, please finish that part quick. So, who did your leg? This guy called Mark Nava. He's really good in Japanese style. And he's like a mile from my house in Costa Mesa. Oh, well, Costa Mesa, that whole Los Angeles system, that whole Southern California area is amazing for tattoos. Yeah, and I've been lucky most of my tattoos. You know, some people got some tattoos that they're like, they just get it because they want tattoos and then they're shit. Yeah. I'm lucky. Even with everything I got in Ecuador, it's just clean and it's all what I want. How much of it did you get in Ecuador? I get basically all these arms. Mark Nava did just the snake and the spider in the back. Then the rest is all in the neck quarter. All these arms are in the neck quarter besides the hand. This is Sean Topper, not a good guy around in Costa Mesa area. Then my back, Mr. Cartoon. Having a back piece like your back piece, we just filmed it. We just took a video before the podcast, but Mr. Cartoon... That's a bad motherfucker. Legend. Legend. Of all my tattoos, that's number one. How hard was it to get in with him? Well, every time, he works with Ruka, with the brand. He comes busy all the time. Every time he comes around, I'm like, come on, dude. Come on, dude. Get me in. He's pretty chill, you know? Is he? Yeah, he's pretty cool. Then his leg will get talked to my assistant, and I just harass the fuck out of this guy. I'm like, yo, get me in. Basically, he wasn't tattooing during the pandemic. He wasn't doing nothing. Really? And that was his first tattoo bag. Oh, wow. So he's just chilling? He's just chilling. Wow. I guess he can chill at this point, right? Oh, yeah. He's a bad motherfucker. He's a bad motherfucker. He don't need to tattoo more people. No. So I'm glad he tattooed me. That's amazing that he did. Yeah, when you get a guy like that, man, God, he's just a legend. And I'm going to keep finishing my bag because I got spots in the sides. I'm going to finish with him. Did you do it at his studio? Yeah, in Santa Monica. Does he have pictures on his walls of all the people that he's tattooed? Dude, when I was there, I was tripping. There's like Eminem in one side. Then all the art they have, they have like a barber shop that he owns next, like literally next door. And the seats are like from the 80s, like original paint, but him, I was like, wow, these guys tattooing me. Wow. So when I get to the shop, he's like, you want to smoke? I'm like, fuck yeah. He gives me a joint of this. I don't know why he's smoking. And I was like, bro, this is a strong, pure gasoline brother. Pure gasoline. When he started tattooing me, I was just like, I was way too high. I was way too high. It's sensitive when you're high, right? Do you feel it more? Oh, that's why I was freaking out. Yeah. Drinking, though, drinking, you barely feel shit. I never drink during tattoo. Really? Ever. Ever. I might start doing that now. Yeah, it's a good move. Because it dulls the pain quite a bit. I definitely smoke all the time I get it to two. And that's how it hurt. Oh, it hurt. More. Yeah. Because you're like, you're super sensitive when you're high. You're sensitive and then you're like, you feel your hurry going up and then the pain hurts. And then because sometimes with them sober, my hurry goes high because your body's going through some shit. Yeah. Your body's also like, hey, bitch, run away from this pain. Why are you sitting still? Maybe when I get my neck done, that was when I was like, I need to get the fuck out of here. How is the neck the most painful? The throat is pretty fucked up. Every time you swallow, good luck. Yeah. Right. And they're getting in there. And then my head was falling from the fucking table. Oh, because you have to lean back. Yeah. Oh my goodness. Yeah. So I was like, I won't do my neck anymore. Thank God it's done. Neck pain is weird pain because like your body's like, this is a bad place to have pain. Like you shouldn't have anything around here. This is vulnerable as fuck. I know. I know. Sean Shelby when he saw my first tattoo. You fucking idiot. Sean Shelby said that. Yeah. He's like, you won't be able to get a job. I'm like, I don't need a job. You won't be able to get a job. You give me a job. I was like, you give me a job. He was more, he was more debating me to don't be an idiot. I was like, hey, I'm going to be in the UC for a long time. That's such a silly thing to say. Sean Shelby, you silly goose. We were laughing about it after the Frankie fight. He told me like, hey, you're good. I'm like, I told you I'm an idiot, but I told you. That's so silly. He was laughing about it.