Adriaan Machete is not your average tattoo artist. Then again, you don’t leave Berlin’s underground art scene for the beaches of Hawaii, bounce between elite studios in California, and go by “Magic Dimensions” if you’re thinking small.

His style is loud. Ornate female portraits. Mandalas. Sanskrit. Color everywhere. He’s a technician with a spiritual streak and a clear ambition to push tattooing into new territory. He’s not just making tattoos. He’s building something more intentional. Ritualistic even. Tattoos, for him, are tools for transformation.

He says the body is more than a canvas. It’s a portal. And no, that’s not a marketing line. He’s spent time in Nepal studying Hinduism and Buddhism. He’s trained in yoga and shamanic healing. He’s one of those people who will casually say things like “every tattoo is an energy exchange” and mean it.

In most cases, I’d roll my eyes. But with Machete, it works. Because it’s not a gimmick. He lives it. And people are buying in.

Since moving to Hawaii, Machete’s been invited to tattoo and judge at one of the country’s top tattoo conventions. From there, he’s heading to studios in San Diego and San Francisco. The plan is to keep expanding, starting with the West Coast and then hitting the East.

He wants to tattoo in the top shops across the country. He wants to reach more people. Build a larger audience. Not just for the art but for the philosophy behind it. And yes, he’s thinking bigger than tattoos. He’s already collaborated with fashion brands and wants to dive deeper into the design world.

This is not just about ink. It’s a system. A mindset. A brand. Tattoos are the entry point.

Machete has a clear audience too. Women are showing up for his large-scale pieces in ways the industry didn’t expect. Arms. Backs. Legs. Full bodysuits. There’s power in it. Visibility. Reclaiming the body through art, especially in a society that’s finally starting to treat tattoos as legitimate self-expression instead of rebellion.

He credits his early mentors back in Germany for showing him how to treat tattooing as more than a craft. They were among the first to merge the neo-traditional style with the elegance of Art Nouveau. For them, lifestyle and art were inseparable. That philosophy stuck.

Now, after years tattooing across Europe, Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Barcelona, he’s shifting his focus west. Sponsored by PEPAX, booked at top conventions, and steadily building a name in the States, he’s entering what he calls a new chapter. It’s more like a strategic rollout.

He’s not just talking. He’s moving. And he’s got a point of view. That alone makes him worth watching.

When I asked what keeps him grounded, he didn’t pause. “Everything is possible,” he said. “Love is the force that moves the world.”

Is that a little too poetic? Maybe. But if you can say something that corny with a straight face and still build a global following, maybe you're doing something right.

In an industry full of noise and copycats, Adriaan Machete has done something surprisingly rare. He’s made tattooing personal again. He’s made it mean something.

And that might be exactly what the industry needs.