Hands down one of the best Tattoo Parlors in SoCal, all hand drawn and painted Tattoo Flash, friendly experienced staff and a Tattoo icon in the City of Angels. Bob(dad) and Charlie(son) Roberts have been tattooing for a very very long time and they still do it old school, no bull shit, Bob, Charlie and the their tattooers won't just tattoo anything on anyone just to make the cash, they make sure any design a customer wants to get will be the right fit for the right spot.They're so proud of the art that comes out of Spotlight, they'll turn down putting on a tattoo if they feel it won't work and that comes from much respect for the art of tattooing and years of tattooing experience. Come by and see some Tattoo History and get inked.
Yah that last bit was cheesy but what the fuck.
I came here for my first tattoo (at 36 years old) I cannot say enough about what a wonderful experience the whole thing was. Bubba took the time to explain, give suggestions, and listen to my concerns. Â After reading other yelp reviews of this place I thought I was going to be scared out of my mind, but I was not intimidated or uncomfortable in any way. Â Thank you Bubba- I love my tattoo! and I know I and/or my friends will be back!
Review Source:Got my chest tat done here through an appointment. Â I had the outline done two months ago and needed to finish it off, because the original guy messed up the shading. Â There was a guest tattoo artist, Alex Trufant that took the challenge. Â 7 hours later it was complete.
During those 7 hours, most of the staff came up to check in and they were all really cool.
I recommend this place.
Hi my name is Greg, and just had a design put around a old tattoo. stars and more clouds around my screaming eagle tattoo. The artist was Bubba i told him what i was thinking he gave me his thoughts. And did a kick ass job. It looks f.....kin awesome. I feel they could have had a couple topless girls just hanging around would have been nice better then tattooed guys. I was a little afraid cause well its a tattoo its going to be there for the rest of your life. But he assured me he was all warmed up. And pow killer job Bubba. You guy got 4 out of 5 stars from me. Greg Robert he worked on me for at least a hour. well worth it. He just got here from Dallas tell him Greg said hi.
Review Source:Went in with a detailed picture of what I wanted, Baby Ray gave me a price, I left a deposit, Â and we made an appointment for the next day.
I specifically told him how I wanted my tattoo and with the reviews and self-credit he gave himself, I was confident that he was going to do a great job. WRONG. He asked for the money before he started inking, $200 MORE than his original quote. NOT COOL. I told him what we agreed on yesterday and he acted like he forgot or something. The entire time he kept stopping and would go on and on about how great his work was and about who he was. Mid-way on my tattoo, needle on me, he tells my boyfriend to go get more money as his "tip" (because the deposit and his quote wasn't enough). He did not make me feel comfortable at all, even made sexual jokes about my movements and noises at times. At the end, I told him to add more and instead he pricked me 4 times with a needle and laughed about it, as if it was a joke. When I looked at the mirror I was NOT HAPPY at all with what he did. He went over another tattoo I already had that I told him NOT to, and it was messy (there are random lines outside of what I have). He over-shaded everything and it DID NOT look like the picture I presented him with at all. He kept saying how lucky I was and what a deal I was getting. I have other tattoos that I love, but this tattoo I absolutely HATE. HATE HATE HATE IT. Sucks for me, it's on for life and I have been looking for other places that can FIX the MESS HE MADE. Go to anyone else BUT Baby Ray at this place. Thanks for wasting my time and money.
One of the best shops in So Cal. Bob Roberts is a legend. Baby Ray is a great dude and tattooer. Too bad Bryan Burk doesn't work there anymore, but he owns his own studio. Juan Puente is now at Blackheart Tattoo. Either way its a great shop. If you truly want a good tattoo, get your ass to Spotlight.
Review Source:Baby Ray is the shit, man.
Got my first tattoo from him, and wow, I could not be more happy with it. Â I walked in with my buddy, who was also getting his first. Â We were both getting tattoos in Hebrew. Â I was getting it on my side, he was getting it on the inside of his arm.
What can I say about Baby Ray? Â The man is a surgeon when it comes to this stuff. Â Barely hurt, no bleeding, and finished within 30-40 minutes. Â It's true what other people have said; he takes his time preparing. Â Once he gets going, he goes. Â But seriously, what's the rush? Â You're getting something that will remain on you for the rest of your life. Â Do you really want to rush the guy? Â Plus, the man is fascinating when you talk with him. Â He loves classic cars, music and he has a daughter who has diabetes. Â I'm diabetic also, so we talked about managing diabetes and all that stuff. Â Point is, if he is willing to share with you, whether you're interested or not, make a fucking effort to care. Â You're putting your tattoo in his hands.
Price-wise, he is fair, and I genuinely believe that he gets more pleasure from seeing you happy than from the money he makes or how good he himself thinks he did. Â He's happy when you're happy.
Also ran into the legend Bob Roberts while my buddy was getting his tattoo. Â Both of these guys are historic in Los Angeles culture. Â If you care about your tattoo, don't go to some glitzy place in Hollywood to pay more for the bells and whistles of the parlor. Â Get it done right.
Went to the shop to get a small tattoo (about 2"x3"). Sat down with baby ray the morning that we arranged, around 10AM. After 2 hours of waiting for him to get coffee and energy drinks, price negotiations, listening to his stories about how good of friends with Metallica he is, how he bought a 4 carat diamond for the price of a 1 carat diamond, and then repeating all of his stories belligerently we decided to leave. We also endured him being a pervy creep to my girlfriend and him asking for an additional $200 for the tattoo that we had already agreed was worth $250 (which was already a lot to ask for it), which would have made it $450. Now, I understand that this place is badass and OG and all that shit, but please. FTS. If you want a rad tattoo from this place, bring ear plugs and make sure you don't bring a penny more than you're prepared to pay. Also, leave your girlfriend at home.
Review Source:Walked in with art, made and appointment for the next day - we agreed on a price. Â Baby Ray took care of me.
Some tattoo artists really think that since you are trapped in a chair, you think that they are interesting. Â Baby Ray - he kept stopping his work and blathering on and on about shit that I just didn't care about - about his personal life. Â I don't give a shit if he was in prison or rolled with gangs. Â I'm from Detroit, this shit does not impress me.
When my tattoo (realistically a 2 hour job) became more like a 5 hour job (I've had plenty of tattoos, so I appreciate the art and have a reasonable idea of time) Baby Ray started moaning about it being a $500 job, rather than a $300 job which he originally quoted. Â Several times, trying to get me to agree to pay more.
It came highly recommended, I'm happy with the product.
I'll never go back.
I will never return.
if you want customer service, call india. if you want a receptionist, call
a doctors office. if you want a tattoo, go INTO THE SHOP and ask for help. dont just stand there and hope someone is going to talk to you. cause it probably isnt going to happen. Â this is old school, folks, no reality tv here.
this place is the shit, and has been the shit for 40 years. if you want a tattoo from bob roberts, he will tattoo you. you dont have to have a weepy  story about the meaning of your tattoo. pay the dude money, and he will put art on your arm.  everyone that works there is totally solid and all of them have chops.  they dont charge hugely exorbitant bullshit prices either.  you pay for what you get, which in this case is worth every penny.
so many people have said the "vibe" there is that everyone is too cool and dont want to tattoo. not true. but you are gonna have to take your diapers off and be up front. Â what do you want? how much money do you have? yes, it takes balls not to be babysat, but you are going to walk out of that shop with something you can be proud of the rest of your life.
i recommend steve serazio, who can do anything, and has given me some of the best tattoos in my life, and charlie, who is
deceptively stealth in his awesomeness. Â
man up, people. go in there and never turn back.
advice: never call the shop. no one wants to answer the phone, and everyone books through their cell. go into the shop, talk to someone,
look at the photo books from each artist, get the cell number. Â get it?
no one will EVER call you back. go IN.
marco cerretelli is now at his own shop, he is the shit too, take a look at his website and contact him through that.  <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarcocerretelli.com&s=70bdf006023d4666ddc6427bf2cca29e14f89dfaabfdd9567cf2a3c8a540df02" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://marcocerretelli.c…</a>
I don't really give a **** about the "experience" of getting tattooed.  It comes down to whether or not the guy/gal can do the job.  HOWEVER, and it's  a big however, it says a lot when you walk into a place and feel a) welcome  b) like the owners/employees take pride in their environment-- this usually means they will take pride in other endeavours. c)that the people working aren't too cool to actually put some effort into their clients.
I'm older now than when I got my first tattoo there, way before Bob took off for Amsterdam to open his other shop. Â And I got one in his Amsterdam shop too. Â So, you know, here in LA, 15 years later, I don't need to spend my energy trying to figure out bad attitudes and trying to "fit in" or be "cool" enough when I am just trying to see what kind of artists are there now. Â I will never step inside that shop again. Â And it's unfortunate because there might be some good work there, but you would never know it by Charlie's don't- give- a-crap attitude. Well, I care a lot about what's on my body and the kind of energy inside of the person who puts it there...
Got my first ink done here by Charlie, son of Bob Roberts. Charlie is a really laid back, no-frills dude. I think that pretty much sums up his artwork too. Very traditional and no-frills. Technically he knows what he's doing, he has the experience to back it up and his lines are super clean and not sloppy at all.
So if youre looking for a cookie-cutter type Americana-style deal then I recommend this place. Unfortunately I wanted something completely different with scripting very technical. Charlie did an decent job but only after I made him go back to the drawing room 3 times to edit his original sketch. I was ultimately very pleased with the outcome and he did a good job of adapting to a different style.
Note: I also highly recommend Marco Cerretelli who is probably one of the best tattoo artists in LA, his scripting is better than even Mister Cartoon. However dont come in to Spotlight asking for Marco because he's parted ways from this place.
When I think of Spotlight Tattoo, I think of the scene from Grease - poor Sandy in her night gown wistfully looking into the kiddy swimming pool singing the heart-felt ballad "Hopelessly Devoted To You." Â
Only it's not the face of John Travola reflecting back at me, but that of Juan Puente of Spotlight Tattoo - he is my Danny Zucco. Â I am hopelessly devoted to him.
I was fairly nervous for my first tattoo experience but Juan kept me incredibly relaxed...even during the "holy-hell" painful parts (a tattoo needle rattling along the spine doesn't tickle). Â The tattoo came out beautifully - amazing. Â Love and devotion kicked in immediately thereafter.
I went back again for tattoo #2. Â I brought in a very detailed drawing and Juan took the time to make several minor but imperative adjustments to make sure it was a masterpiece. Â The Mona Lisa ain't got nothin' on this one - the tattoo is perfection.
I've brought friends from out of town to him for their tattoos. Â They have gone home with the best souvenir possible - body art from the Picasso of tattoo artists. Â They are all thrilled and now official members of the Juan Puente fan club.
A word to the wise...definitely call ahead and make an appointment. Â You may have to wait a little while but it will be well worth it. Â You can't rush art.
I went in unannouced on a Sat. night & was able to get 2 lil tats from Marco. He was nice & did a great job! His tracing was AMAZING! He's a good example of someone who's not a tattoo artist: but an artist who tattoos. I'll definetly go back to this place: it's close by & no-nonsense!
Review Source:Went back to Marco Cerretelli - who does awesome work. He took an hour to sketch out the design and make sure it was 100% perfect. He took his time to tattoo and added fantastic detail and beautiful shading. After seeing an artist like Marco at work, it's hard to imagine that people don't take the time to research their tattoo artists and ensure that you're getting a work of art. For the ladies - Marco's a cool guy and totally not creepy like some other artists we ran across. He even remembered our last visit a year ago!
Check out his work at <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.MarcoCerretelli.com&s=286d5eae535a952be9b03ca585ed1dae6f5573d1fb33ebb62bd5adc44f2dcae2" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.MarcoCerretel…</a> and call him directly for an appt.
And this review is a star higher than my last review, because they seem to have cleaned the bathroom. :) It now no longer inspires fear.
I made an appointment with Steve Serazio (btw, he's not on the Spotlight Tattoo website which they gotta update).  Anyway, I came down from San Francisco and was in the LA area and wanted to get another tattoo and  after much searching on the net, I settled for Spotlight.  Steve did a fantastic job on my tattoo of a pair of Sailor Jerry Boxers that are slugging it out.  He was quick, professional and easy going.  Highly recommend him.  PUT HIM ON THE WEBSITE DAMN IT!  hahaha.
Review Source:All the reviews for this legendary shop so far seem to be from some hardcore tattooed mofos. Â Which is totally swell but I'm going to give it an honest review from the perspective of an outsider to the tattoo community, a regular-ass LA kid who isn't on a body art odyssey. Â
The shop is great. Â It's a little scary, I gotta be honest. Â Not because it's dirty or the crew is mean or there's blood on the floor or whatever.... but simply because this place oozes LEGITIMACY almost as much as it oozes black ink. Â Proprietor Bob Roberts is nothing less than legendary for his tattoo work and as a centerpiece in the whole socal punk scene back when that shit was what WASN'T on MTV. Â So walking into this no frills shop as an east-coast transplant with only one tattoo on my body is a little bit like crossing the prison yard if you know what I mean. Â
That said, it's mostly mental, because these guys are unquestionably talented artists. Â The portfolios are thick and full of highly detailed work. Â They seem to be working mostly in a traditional style with the exception of Marco Cerretelli who is enormously talented and whose shit is outttt therrreeeee in an amazing way. Â
I got tattooed by Charlie Roberts, son of Bob, and a fixture at the shop for many years. Â Charlie is the real deal, there is no question about that. Â His portfolio was full of elaborate work. Â I will be completely objective here though - he didn't strike me as much of a visionary. Â My impression is that he's an expert technical craftsman with a shitload of experience, but the artistry or imagination wasn't quite there for me (or perhaps wasn't activated by my prosaic request). Â That said, I had a pretty clear vision of what I wanted so I kind of nudged his designs to where I wanted it and he went to work. Â
It's kind of a trip getting tattooed at 9pm in some slightly dingy back room of what used to be an asian massage shack while these heavily tatted eat-sleep-die-socal cats are hanging out smoking cigs and talking shit. Â At one point, I asked Charlie to clarify what he meant when he was describing something he could do with my tattoo, and the shop-rat sitting kind of ominously behind me said "Hey homie, this is the point where you say 'whatever you want Charlie!'". Â And you know what I said? Â
"Whatever you want Charlie!" Â
It's just that kind of place. Â If you can hang, which I did BARELY, it's a great place to get inked. Â If you're an 18 year old girl from Valencia, I suggest you head over to High Voltage. Â Don't forget your Sidekick. Â
$100 shop minimum. Â Don't use the restroom. Â Trust me.
Great shop, with cool folks. I started my tattooing odessy back in 2002 when I was studying in S. Korea. Once I was back in Los Angeles I began to read about tattooing and then began searching around. I got lucky that I ended up getting tattooed at Spotlight. I didnt know who they were or what their reputation was, but once inside their shop I realized that that would be the place.
 Since 2004 I have been going there to get tattooed. I've work by Baby Ray, Marco and Bob Roberts.
Bob Roberts is a legend in the tattoo community..I remember seeing his work in the magazines like 15yrs.ago,and it was so solid,and clean..
All the tattooers at this shop are real good..Go to the shop,and check out their portfolios in person...their website isn't that updated with their latest work..I hope to get tattooed at this shop someday..
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spotlighttattoo.com&s=67193113472ce2b4688bf4bc69ce6ae3152155cc64b0d5d401da6aa3a2144129" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.spotlighttatt…</a>
I will forever use Marco Cerretelli for every tattoo I decide to get! He is soo great with detail and shading. My husband and I got anniversary clock tattoos, and I recently got a Lion tattoo on my birthday. Both look amazing and the detail is just awesome. It was a great experience getting tattooed by Marco while listening to his rad Italian tunes from his ipod. If you are interested in getting tattooed please go to Spotlight and ask for Marco. You will not be dissapointed.
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