IT'S WILL MAHONY
NYC’s sweetheart; Will Mahony joins DECAL to talk tattoos (and numbing cream).
Interview by Azra Schorr
Photography by Matthew Yoscary
Featuring Will Mahony
What’s your name?
Will Mahony
What’s your sign? Or big 3 if you know it.
Taurus - I’m not sure about the other stuff. A hinge match did it for me years ago, the whole chart, but I didn’t retain the information.
How are you feeling?
Good, today was the first time in months I woke up before 9:00 am.
Where are we right now?
At my computer.
What are you drinking?
Drip black coffee.
How is it?
Incredible, I have it in this cup that keeps it hot, it’s amazing.
How many tattoos do you have?
Probably about 4 too many.
Describe your tattoo style in one word.
Half of them I’d describe as ‘teenager walks into store and picks flash in 30 seconds-core’ the other ones are really good
Which is your favorite?
The stars
Do you regret any of your tattoos?
I think some of them suck, but regret requires care and I just don’t really care at the moment.
What do you look for when choosing an artist?
At this point I only go with real artists, no fake Bushwick bullshit. I used to look for cheap artists, now it’s just skill and if they’re chill over DM that helps. I want an artist who I can go for drinks with after type shit.
How do you decide on what to get?
Back in the day, looking at their flash 30 seconds before we put on a stencil.
Now I make elaborate mockups in Photoshop and really think about it.
What’s your pre-tattoo ritual?
Back in the day, drink. Now? Numbing cream and sound canceling headphones lolz.
Do you listen to music while getting tattooed?
Yes, and podcasts, and I doomscrool.
What do you listen to?
Anything heavy, some nice emo too. Like I said sometimes I doomscroll but I tend to giggle a lot cause my feed is hilarious so I end up moving, so sometimes I gotta cut that out.
What is your next tattoo?
Massive back piece.
Any closing statements?
Use numbing cream, idgaf if it makes it 20% more annoying to tattoo, that shit works. I’m too old and my life sucks too much to be voluntarily torturing myself when I can just put on this magical goo that literally works amazingly
