Creating a lasting impression takes focus
No partying or late nights, but Ling wouldn’t want it any other way
IT’S WEDNESDAY. 10am. And already the Fallen Heroes tattoo parlour in Parkhurst is buzzing with activity. All eight of the tattoo artists here are fully booked for the day.
It’s not a rare busy day during the week. This is what it’s like every day at Fallen Heroes.
Artist Candi “Ling” van Niekerk has two clients booked and two consultations during her lunch break.
Thabo Tshabalala has come in for a two-hour session, for his flower of life tattoo to be touched up. He also wants a smaller tattoo to fill a space on his arm.
Van Niekerk puts on her favourite beats of drum and bass. This, she says, gets her in the zone before she starts her art.
The room is bright with fluorescent lighting. Paintings and several mirrors adorn the walls of her work space, and an intrusive but grand chandelier hangs from the roof.
As Van Niekerk begins her work, she announces confidently that Tshabalala’s job won’t take long – about an hour and a half. “This is not too complicated.” The 26-year-old has been working at Fallen Heroes for two years.
And this Joburg joint has become one of the most popular tattoo parlours in the country.
Van Niekerk loves her job. It is demanding. She rarely gets a proper lunch break. But she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
“It’s cool, I get to meet people from different walks of life every day. It’s a chilled environment, it’s very clean, and it’s not like those dingy tattoo parlours you see in the movies,” she giggles.
Being a tattoist is a dream come true. It’s all that she has wanted to be since she was a teenager.
“When I was younger I would go to plenty of rock gigs, and I was surrounded by people with tattoos, so it’s always intrigued me.
“My dad wasn’t too happy with my career choice at first, but he got over it. My parents are incredibly proud of how far I have come.”
Her first inking was of a cherry blossom – on her ankle.
“It was scary tattooing myself. Painful. And I had no idea how it would look,” she says. Van Niekerk has several colourful tattoos – one on each arm, one on the back of her neck, and several on her right leg.
She has had many crazy requests from her customers, but the one that stands out is a male customer asking her to do a cover-up on his butt.
“He wanted me to cover up the name of his girlfriend on his butt. He had a very hairy butt, so I had to shave it too. That was awkward.”
Just over an hour and a half has passed and Van Niekerk is just about done with her first client.
Tshabalala has a look in the mirror and is impressed. Another happy customer.
Next, Van Niekerk meets two potential clients. Back to back.
She has had only a few bites of her lunch when her next client arrives.
Kiara Pillay has come for a Harry Potter tattoo – more specifically, a deathly hallows tattoo on the back of her neck.
Van Niekerk changes her music from liquid drum and bass to rock.
“I love it here. You can dress the way you want, have bright purple hair, and show off all your awesome ink. It’s pretty rad.”
Van Niekerk has probably done a thousand artworks on people’s bodies, but by far her favourite was one of a protea for a woman who was about to emigrate to Australia.
“It was half line work and half water colour – it looked pretty awesome. One of the best things about working here is seeing the satisfac- tion on your customers’ faces when they walk out.
“I also tattooed a dragonfly on a 70-year-old woman – that was pretty cool.”
As much as she loves her job, Van Niekerk also loves her sleep.
“I need at least seven hours of sleep.
“There is no such thing as partying the night before, no ways. I need to be fully focused when I am tattooing someone, so I make sure that each day I come to work fresh and energised.”
Van Niekerk completes Pillay’s tattoo more quickly than expected, and has half an hour free before she knocks off.
Instead of taking a breather, she works on designs for her clients.
Although her shift may be over at Fallen Heroes today, she has a long evening ahead of her.
She drives off to Randburg Hoërskool, where she works up a sweat at Crossfit for an hour, before heading to Turffontein in the south of Joburg for roller derby training. Yes, roller derby – with roller skates.
Van Niekerk trains for three hours.
She arrives at her Kyalami home just after 10pm. Her partner is waiting with dinner.
“It’s been a busy, long day, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she says.