The first client in Liam McLean’s diary today is his wife, Aimee.
“Are you nervous?” I ask her, while her husband wipes the numbing cream from her leg.
“No,” she says, opening up TikTok on her phone. “I trust him”.
She puts on her headphones and lies back, seemingly unbothered by the needle now entering her skin at a rate of 6,000 strokes per minute.
Noticing the other tattoos on her body – she has around 30 – I realise this is not her first rodeo.
We are at Carpe Diem Tattoo Studio on Arbroath Road in Dundee, where Liam has worked for three years.
Dundee tattoo artist left police to follow passion for art
The 34-year-old has a look of concentration on his face as he carefully follows the intricate outline of an elephant on his wife’s calf.
It is a nod to Thailand, the couple’s favourite country, which they visited on a round-the-world trip in 2012.
Liam, born and raised in Stobswell, discovered his passion for tattooing by accident, in 2021, after six years in the police.
He enjoyed his role as a community officer in Dundee, but the pressure of being on call 24/7 as a negotiator – often helping people in crisis at the Tay Road Bridge in the small hours of the morning – took its toll on his mental health.
He started drawing in his spare time as a stress reliever.
And it turned out he was pretty good.
“I started doing commissions for people,” he says. “Just doing family portraits, tributes, that kind of thing.
“Then Andy, the owner here, saw my stuff online and asked if I fancied giving tattooing a go.
“As soon as I tried it I just fell in love with it.”
But becoming a tattoo artist would mean giving up his stable police salary and pension.
“I asked Aimee what she thought about it, whether I should give it a go,” he says.
“And she was like, ‘You know what, we are a team. Go for it.’
“Then I thought, ‘I’ve only got one life. I’ll just hand my notice in and go for it.’
“It was scary but it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.
“I am unbelievably happy now.”
The couple got by on Aimee’s nursing salary while Liam completed his unpaid apprenticeship at Carpe Diem under the tutelage of owner Andrew Burns.
Liam becomes co-owner of Carpe Diem Tattoo Studio in Dundee
It was a risk that paid off.
Liam is now set to join Andrew as a co-owner of Carpe Diem at the beginning of October.
It comes as the studio opens a new branch in Carnoustie.
With Liam on board, Andrew will be able to split his time between the two sites.
Andrew says: “There are no other tattoo shops in Carnoustie.
“There should be an appetite for it because we get a lot of clients from Carnoustie coming through to Dundee.
“It will save people traveling.”
Seven self-employed tattoo artists rent a space at the Dundee shop, while two will be based at the Carnoustie site.
Andrew was in the right place at the right time when he opened Carpe Diem Tattoo Studio in 2013.
“Tattooing was really becoming a big thing in the late 2000s,” he explains. “So I got established early on.
“I never planned on having a big team of people but it has just grown as the years have gone on.
“I don’t see [the tattoo industry] slowing down at all.”
So what does a typical day look like?
Indeed, if Liam’s diary is anything to go by – he is consistently booked out months ahead – then demand for tattoos remains high.
So, what does a typical day look like for a tattoo artist?
“Every artist will work differently,” Liam says.
For him, it starts at around 9am, after dropping Aimee off at work.
“Firstly, I finalise the designs I’ve got for the whole day.
“Then I clean the place and make sure all my machines are ready to go.
“Then I tattoo from about 9am until 4pm or 6pm.
“Then I clean up and go home.”
After dinner, he will spend an hour replying to booking requests and filling his diary.
Finally, in front of the TV, he will sketch out some designs.
They are long days, but Liam doesn’t seem to mind.
“You do get your wee stresses,” he says.
“But I count myself lucky, there are a million other jobs more stressful.”
‘You get plenty of weird requests’
Liam’s passion lies in designing one-of-a-kind “storytelling” pieces.
“People tell me their full story or a mix of ideas and we will collate them and make it into a unique piece.
“That’s what I love to do.”
But not every day is like this. There are still plenty of “weird requests”.
“A couple of friends came in and told me a story about when they were on a night out,” he says.
“When they woke up the next day, one of them had peed the bed.
“But they were that drunk they didn’t know who had done it.
“So they came in and got ‘Who p**sed the bed?’ tattooed on them.”
Generally, he doesn’t mind doing the “stupid” ones. But he has his limits.
“If it is an 18-year-old or someone who has been in a relationship for two months coming in saying, ‘Oh we will get each others’ names’ – I tend not to do that.
“Nine times out of ten, they are going to come back and either want it lasered or covered.
“That’s just young love.”
This is also his main advice for anyone considering getting a tattoo.
“Avoid names of partners no matter how long the relationship is.
“If you are going to get something then maybe get a symbol that means something to both of you.
“And then if you split you will still be happy with your tattoo.”
‘There are some tattoos I regret’
Liam himself is heavily tatted.
He started getting them at 16, but the obsession grew when he joined the team at Carpe Diem, who will often tattoo each other.
His right arm is dedicated to his family, with a depiction of his childhood teddy bear (he still has him to this day), a lily for his mum (her favourite flower) and an image of him and his dad on a golf course (their favourite sport).
His left arm shows landmarks from countries he has visited with Aimee, including Thailand, Japan, North America and Australia.
There are some he regrets, which he got when he was younger, including a tribal-style tattoo on his back.
“It has just aged so bad, but back then it was kind of the popular thing,” he explains.
“But if I had a blank back now, now that I know about tattoos, I wouldn’t just go along with a trend.”
Liam also launched a new clothing line this summer, Live Positive, which is available to buy online and in the studio.
It inspires people to overcome challenges and appreciate their lives.
Listening to him talk about his life as a tattoo artist, it is clear this is a motto he lives and breathes.
“We are just a bunch of friends in a fun environment who do art all day and listen to music,” he says.
“I wouldn’t even call it a job.
“I would do this for free – I am just lucky enough to get paid for it.”
Conversation