“Looking for a dime and found a quarter…”
This line is from the song “Something From Nothing” by the Foo Fighters and I keep thinking about the line as I write this post.
Florida has some cool Tiki bars (including the Mai Kai!) that I wanted to check out. I also wanted to reconnect with an old friend of mine, so I booked a flight down to the Sunshine State.
One Tiki bar on my list has been the Kreepy Tiki in Fort Lauderdale. From what I’d seen online, it looked like a great place. Dave (my old friend and photographer) and I headed up from Fort Myers to check it out. We pulled up to the bar and it sadly it was closed…
I checked the bar’s website and it said that it would be open, so I wanted some answers. My buddy Dave pointed to the tattoo shop that was next door. Maybe they might know something. We went inside.
Standing at the counter was a guy named Jaksin Valiente…
This guy was covered in tattoos all the way up to his neck…
I figured he must be the owner of the tattoo shop. I was right! Jaksin is the owner of Kreepy Tiki Tattoos and it ends up that he used to own the Kreepy Tiki Bar. I asked Jaksin why he sold the bar. Jaksin stated that he wanted to concentrate all his efforts on his tattoo shop.
As we were talking, I noticed that the tattoo shop was heavily decorated in Tiki: bamboo, thatch, and all!
There were tons of Tikis all over the place!
Then an idea popped in my head: I needed to do a post on Kreepy Tiki Tattoos!
I asked Jaksin what got him into Tiki. He said his love for Tiki stemmed from the rockabilly and hot rod scene. This totally made sense.
Jaksin also has a love for old carnival sideshow art and has his collection of artifacts displayed around the shop.
Jaskin mentioned that he opened a second tattoo shop called Kreepy Tiki Aloha about a year ago. It’s above downtown Fort Lauderdale and if we love Tiki, we should go check it out.
So that’s what we did! Kreepy Tiki Aloha was totally cool and the décor of the tattoo shop was totally Tiki!
Look at this couch!
I went to Fort Lauderdale to check out a Tiki bar and found Tiki-themed tattoo shop instead! That’s even cooler!
Thank you Jaksin for taking some time out to answers some questions and take pictures of your awesome tattoo shops!
If you live in or around Fort Lauderdale and are looking to get some work done, you need to go to Kreepy Tiki Tattoos or Kreepy Tiki Aloha!
Here is Kreepy Tiki Tattoos’ website.
And Facebook Page.
I’ve checked out both pages and I can tell you that their work is truly outstanding!
All the pictures were taken by Dave Gittleman of Gittleman Studios.
Here is the Gittleman Studios’ website.
And Facebook page.