FOUNTAIN VALLEY The spotless tattoo shop is far different from the smaller workspaces where Jose Lopez first learned his craft.
On the corner of Lilac Avenue and Harbor Boulevard, the new Lowrider Tattoo shop in Fountain Valley gleams with new paint, furniture and floors. It’s adorned with around-the-world artifacts and artwork.
The shop, filled with awards and trophies earned by the Anaheim native, is a proud reminder of his accomplishments as an artist. But it’s also a stark reminder of the experiences he went through to get there – years pockmarked by violence, depression and financial struggles.
Despite it all, Lopez, 32, has adopted a mantra of improving his life, constantly feeding his urge to learn and opening himself up to those who could draw inspiration from him.
Sixteen years ago, Lopez was shot in the back by drive-by shooters at a Halloween party. The senior at Garden Grove High School was paralyzed and permanently confined to a wheelchair. That same day, he learned that his girlfriend Carina – now his wife – was pregnant.
“It was a small bullet that caused all that damage,” he said.
Lopez had to start from the beginning, learning how to sit up by himself and strengthening his backbone through therapy. During his near three-month stay in the hospital, Lopez couldn’t do much but try to recover slowly.
After leaving the hospital, Lopez became depressed, often crying when he fell out of the chair and thinking his life was over. He killed time by drawing, something he dabbled in during classes but never thought he could take seriously.
Inspired by art he saw in Low Rider Arte magazine, Lopez decided he wanted to somehow submit his own art and win contests though the publication. He drew day and night. He drew when Carina took daytime naps during her pregnancy, and continued drawing when she went to sleep.
Though he initially worried about his ability to be a good father, Lopez’s daughter Desiree Vanessa – born in April 1994 – gave him the strength to stay afloat, he says. And Lopez, who slowly grew confident in his artwork, won first-place and $2,500 in the magazine’s drawing contest.
He then dabbled in tattooing out his parent’s place, honing his skills of black-and-gray fine line tattooing. He married Carina and later moved his family into their own place, which also became a place for his in-home tattooing business.
In 2000, Lopez opened a shop with some of his buddies, including Anthony Rios, a guy who first learned about Lopez’s art while he was serving time in jail. He later sold half the shop and took the Lowrider name with him. In 2005, Lopez opened up a shop not too far from the original in Fountain Valley.
Lopez built a clientele and reputation for his work. He shot up as a rising star in the tattooing realm, joining the ranks of world-renowned artists he had admired. He showcased his work at national conventions, the same ones where he and his friends stood and watched their idols for hours at a time.
His success caught up to him.
“It was so good that we were careless and celebrating too much,” he said.
The last two years were rocky. He was diagnosed with diabetes. He started using. His credit cards were maxed out. When the housing bubble burst, Lopez lost one of his homes. He’s on the verge of losing another.
But his artwork remained rock steady. Lopez has won hundreds of awards for his work, including 28 awards he won this spring from the National Tattoo Association. Tattoo enthusiasts from throughout the world including Australia and Europe have traveled to his shop to get tattoos.
Lopez eventually pulled out of his depression and decided to invest much of everything he had into his business, the one thing he knew was consistent and continued to inspire him. He bought a new building with $140,000 cash not far from his second shop.
In the last three months, Lopez and his team gutted the shop, a former carpet store, while working on tattoos to maintain the business revenue stream. The staff of 10 – six artists and four apprentices – will celebrate the grand opening of the shop Saturday.
“If you look at the positive sides, you can turn it around,” Lopez said. “I want better things in life. I want to better myself.”
