With Strong Ties To Fairbury, Mans Becoming A Standout Artist

By Taybor MillerThough he may not be from the town of Fairbury and through the connections of family and a growing clientele in town, Adam Mans of Red Cloud, is providing quality service for a great price as co-owner to Elite Tattoo in Lincoln.Adam, brother and brother-in-law of locals Chad and Tammy Mans, can be found working Tuesday through Saturday from noon to six located on 311 O Street. Being open for a mere two years, but able to provide such a service that Elite Tattoo was voted among the top four tattoo shops in the city of Lincoln in a short time span speaks to the quality of service at Elite Tattoo.Speaking on the journey of becoming a tattoo artist, growing clientele and the opening of Elite Tattoo has had some experiences that are unique to their own as Adam would say, “It’s hard to realize I’ve been doing this over 10 years, actually going on year 13 to 14 years of being a tattoo artist. I went on a long track of getting to become a tattoo artist.”After attending college in Hastings and receiving a degree in graphic design, Mans started working in the newspaper field, then to Syracuse to work in a printing company. He then went back to his hometown of Red Cloud, bought a Subway franchise and owned that for 10 years. It was while he was working at Subway that he got into the tattoo business and realized this is what he was supposed to be doing with my life. “I did a year apprenticeship, sitting and learning, taking it all in as you learn the hows, whys and what to do for certain things. There is no real school for becoming a tattoo artist, you basically find someone who’s willing to take on an apprentice that will teach everything they know.”The biggest lesson he learned as an apprentice? “If there’s one thing I’ve taken from all the years of work, it’s confidence. You have to be confident in what you’re doing, if they’re not, it’s going to show in the tattoo. You find out right away once you put that needle to skin if you’re the type of person who can do this line of work.” Communication is also key for being an elite artist.“A lot of the work comes down to explaining to people, that skin isn’t paper. The idea you have on paper, might not transition well onto skin. The aging of tattoos, the ink and skin will spread over time, is it going to look good after a few years or blend together and look like a mess. A lot of things go into the process of doing it. Each body reacts differently and you never know what it’s like until you get in there. That’s why I like having a good client base, much like the people from Fairbury who come to me and other towns, I know how their skin takes the ink, the familiarity helps make the quality that much better.”Speaking on the process of growing clientele and getting your name out is a slow burner, but a process that can gain traction faster than most would expect as Adam explained, “It’s hard in Nebraska, or say smaller towns. To be a specific artist, if you are, you better be the person to go to in state, doing something as specific as portrait tattoos, sure that I could see. However for best business possible, knowing everyone wants something different, so you can’t be limiting yourself in this line of work. I’ve learned you got to be pretty flexible, especially in this part of the country. That’s why when people ask about us, we like to say look at those who have had work done with us.”Being elite isn’t just a name, it is mantra for Mans.“We’re a high quality shop, and that’s something we pride ourselves on. It feels good knowing we were nominated in the top four places as best tattoo shop in Lincoln last year, so technically our first year of being in business had merited that acknowledgment, which I believe speaks to our message to tell people if you’re looking for consistent and quality work, find us at Elite Tattoo.”

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