About Us

The Origin and Establishment of the Company

These days, it's hard to find a tattoo artist, even a beginner, who isn't familiar with Vlad Blad Irons products. This is directly related to the impeccable quality of our machines.

So, how was the company conceived and founded?

The words of the creator of these machines, Vladislav Barikhin: "Since childhood, I was drawn to all kinds of mechanical and electrical devices. From around the age of 6, my favorite toys were pliers, cutters, screwdrivers, and other tools that I kept in a small worn-out suitcase under my bed. My favorite hobby was wandering around construction sites and dumps with my tools, dismantling everything that I could put my hands on. From the parts I collected, I assembled something; I can't even remember what exactly... I only remember that my hobbies didn't please my mom, and she periodically tried to throw away mountains of wires, spare parts, and other children's stuff I stored at home. Later, I attended various clubs for model aircraft and electronics. In fifth grade, soldering electronic circuits from magazines became my favorite activity.”

"In those times of information hunger and lack of communication with skilled artists, I spent years learning how to solder needles correctly and quickly tune the machines."

In the distant year of 1998, my neighbor, a tattoo artist, assembled my first rotary tattoo machine. A month later, I made my first coil machine using a telephone bell. In 1999, I had my first encounter with a professional coil machine - the only one I still keep to this day. Perhaps it's needless to say that in those times of information hunger and lack of communication with skilled artists, I spent years learning how to solder needles correctly and quickly tune the machines.

"I heard only one thing - it doesn't work like this, you need to gently stroke the skin for many hours in a row."

So, already being a tattoo artist (then I thought making a decent coil machine was simply impossible), I tried several times to assemble a rotary machine, and in the end, my passion for mechanics was satisfied by assembling classic rotary machines. They were much easier to make, and for several years, I forgot about coils. At that time, I reached the point where my rotary machines, thanks to experiments with needle stroke length, could shade really quickly. But from all the familiar artists I heard only one thing - it doesn't work like this; you need to gently stroke the skin for many hours in a row... I tried to believe their words, but my tattoos healed faster, and I made them more quickly.

In 2000, I became the owner of my first studio, and this business, in addition to tattooing, kept me away from my machines.

A little later, I met Alexander Gryzlov from Kaluga (WTE). Together, we launched a mini-series of coil machines: he assembled them, and I tuned them. I returned to creating tattoo machines several times, all thanks to the people who revived my interest in this craft, which was occasionally overshadowed by the fact that tattooing and managing the studio required a lot of time.

In 2007, Alexander Mosolov "Sanych" provided me with his workshop and expertise! Thanks to him, I made my first fully handmade coils. From 2007 to 2009, I actively created machines, tattooed 2-3 clients a day, managed the studio, developed the tattoo supply business, and ran a piercing jewelry store. In short, I slept for about 5 hours and worked without weekends. In the end, I experienced burnout, depression, changes in businesses, and a couple of moves to go with it.

"Chasing everything means achieving nothing. That's why I made a very challenging decision for myself – to stop tattooing after 13 years, close the studio, and sell the remaining stock of goods from the tattoo and piercing equipment stores."

After recovering somewhat, I closed the shops and stopped making machines. I immersed myself in tattooing, leaving only a couple of trusted artists in the new studio who didn't bother my peace of mind. During that period, I dedicated my time to studying how the cool artists around me worked. It was then that I learned to create single-pass lines, pack color quickly and densely, work with gray washes, and more.

Several times a week, I asked to watch how artists who achieved results in their styles worked. Naturally, I observed how their machines worked and drew conclusions. It was during this period that I truly learned to tune machines quickly, understand why they worked the way they did, and not otherwise. Quite rapidly, I reached the point where the bunch of machines I had accumulated over the years (I always absorbed innovations and bought all the new and recommended machines, needles, and inks) no longer satisfied me. The machines I had made before still worked for many people, and they didn't want to replace them. But by that time, due to persistent requests from friends, I had sold all my machines (even the ones I had kept for myself to work with), so I had to start making machines again.

This time, all the previous experience was taken into account, and many things were immediately clear on how to proceed. I set up my own workshop, investing all the money into orders for components and frames, making everything much more serious than before. I had long known about the business philosophy of 'devoting oneself entirely to one process.' Chasing everything means achieving nothing. That's why I made a very challenging decision for myself – to stop tattooing after 13 years, close the studio, and sell the remaining stock of goods from the tattoo and piercing equipment stores. I focused entirely on producing tattoo machines.

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In 2007, when Vlad Blad, the founder of the VBI brand, decided to start making tattoo machines not only for himself and his friends but also for sale. They were the most powerful and productive machines in Russia and possibly the world. (It was us who set the trend among other builders in Russia and the CIS for producing machines that pack quickly without going over one spot again and again). Some American brands could also be tuned to work powerfully, but only the VBI brand came out already very powerful directly from the workshop. Among the ProTeam of the Vlad Blad Irons, there are numerous renowned artists who are willing to share their knowledge, life hacks, and valuable personal experiences that will help you grow in the tattoo industry.