Meet Miguel Mora | Tattoo Artist & Social Media Bartender

We had the good fortune of connecting with Miguel Mora and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Miguel, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I had worked in a corporate environment for a little while before, and even had a pretty solid Bartending career before Covid. But after everything happened with the Pandemic, I decided with the amount of time I spent working for other companies, I could’ve put my art and skills towards something on my own. So it sparked the idea to officially go into this 100%

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The challenges that I faced to reach this point in my career wasn’t easy my any means. My biggest obstacle was myself, and as an artist its never easy to realize that. But I think what sets my artwork apart from others its that it has a great blend of reality and imagination. I would call my style “Modern Traditional” which (to me) translates into “Old School” style tattoos, being modernized into some clean, fine-line detailed works. One of the biggest lessons I learned, was to never stop learning. I took a brief hiatus from Tattooing, and when I came back I realized the technology was different, in that brief amount of time the products of tattooers were 10x better than before. I was lucky enough to land in a shop with great artists, and even better attitudes. What they’ve shown me has progressed into what my artwork is right now, and what will continue to help me grow in the future.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
OH MAN, where WOULDN’T I take them.. I’m a big foodie so I would have to visit all of my favorite spots. But first, the sights. I would have to do wine tasting in Jerome on Monday, then Sedona on Tuesday (where we’ll visit Pisa Lisa for some amazing Pizza and Wine and then burn it off at Slide Rock.) Wednesday in Flagstaff of course, and then head back into town for the weekend. Now that we’re in town, we would visit all of my favorite people, places and things. Our Thursday East Valley hangs would have to consist of visiting Matt & the boys at The White Rabbit in Gilbert for some Speakeasy libations, then make our way over to my good friend JJ at The Brickyard Downtown for some Craft spirit goodness. Scottsdale would have to be on the map, where we’ll have amazing food at Francine, walk around Scottsdale Mall and then catch some fire breathing Calavera Catrina’s at Toca Madera. Friday would be an Arcadia hangout day where we’ll have breakfast at Hash Kitchen, drinks at The Attic and lunch at Nook (all next to each other.) Pre-dinner cocktails at Vecina with Cody, where we’ll end up staying for food because Chef James Fox and Eric Stone make THE BEST Ribeye you’ve ever had in your life. Then we would end our shenanigans somewhere around Little Woody or The Bar (probably The Bar.) Saturday morning would probably be a little more chill, where we’ll hang around downtown. Breakfast at Fillmore Coffee Shop, Lunch at Trapp Haus BBQ, Beers at Greenwood Brewery, dinner with Chef Ivan at Anhelo and then we’ll visit Bitter & Twisted for some insane cocktails. Then visit my buddy Andy at Little Rituals for some amazing creations (and a REALLY good Espresso Martini.) We would probably float around downtown until we either ended up at Valley Bar or Welcome Diner. Sunday would be recovery, and the only thing I’d want to do is visit John Sagasta during Beats & Brunch at Jobot Coffee Shop. I would see my friends off, and then sleep for the next few days.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
As always, I would love to thank my beautiful girlfriend Stephanie. Who has been there 100% of the time to cheer me on as I continue this journey in my career. It hasn’t been easy, but she’s always had a smile on her face (even when it got real hard.) But I’d also like to thank my two buddies Andrew Ehmann and Matthew Pladge who encouraged me to actually make the full jump into doing this. Thank you boys.

Website: www.miguelphx.com
Instagram: @miguel.phx
Facebook: Miguel Mora