Coy Fish Tattoo Shop celebrates its 10 year anniversary this month.

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The sound of that needle is coming from Tony Zan at coy fish tattoo
Shop, he’s inking up Reignald Ross, a Leimert park resident who’s getting a tattoo in an unusual spot.

“I’m actually getting a tattoo, it’s gonna be a baby angel on the
side of my face. The baby angels is gonna symbolize what I’ve been
through, through thirty years, said Reignald.”

And while Ross is getting his tattoo done, don’t be surprised if you
find a bubbly three year old girl running around the shop. Things
are done a little differently at this family owned parlor. 25 year
old Aida Campos is the owner and her 3 year old daughter Dahlala,
Loves to hang with the customers. But it didn’t start with Aida, it
was her mother, Silvia Campos who opened up the shop ten years ago.
According to Aida, she did it to help her brother stay out of trouble.

“My uncle was a tattoo artist and he was working out of our house
so my mom had some money saved up so they entered a partnership
and they opened it together. He’s always been an artist he’s always
been drawing and painting so he picked it up as a way of doing
something positive with his life instead of going in and out of jail
like he used to.”

Silvia Campos didn’t have any experience in the industry. Before
She opened up her shop in 2002, she had worked at a non-profit
organization helping disabled children. Now the Campos family
Owns two tattoo shops. The other one, purified ink is in Carson.
It’s unusual to have a female ownership, in an industry that is
largely dominated by men. But Campos has found it advantageous.

“We have moms bring their daughters to get piercings which there
usually afraid but when they come they see there’s a female piercer,
Its female owned, there not gonna be disrespected in our studio, said Campos.”

And no one knows what its like to work with the Campos family
Better than Tony Zan. An employee and friend of the family for
seven years.

“You feel comfortable working around these people, you feel like
you are part of the family. You know they, they trust you, they
respect you as an individual they respect your choices and they
respect your ideas for the shop. So you’re not just working for them it
feels like you’re working with them, said Zan.”

While this family is incredibly close, everything isn’t always peachy
at the shop.

“You know we pull each others hair every now and then because we
see each other all the time, you know you wanna give them respect
And patience but at the same time its business so it’s a little bit more
difficult, said Campos.”

Aida hasn’t just learned the trials of working with family, but also
many valuable lessons working in an industry that isn’t always
respected. She would like to pass that knowledge onto Dahlala.

“I would really want her to pursue something that she loves and
not let anyone tell her not to do it. Because that’s what happens
in this industry everyone tells us o that’s not a real job, and they
don’t realize that this is an art form this is definitely what were
passionate about and at the end of the day I know that I’m doing
what I really wanna with my life and at the end of the day I’m
bringing happiness to others by doing so, said Campos.”

The Campos family will celebrate the shops ten year anniversary on
April 20th. With live music, live piercings, and of course live tattoos.