Why Freakshow is the Best Tattoo Parlor in Fort Collins
As a tattoo fanatic, I have visited numerous tattoo parlors since I turned 18. Okay, to be honest, I’ve been going to tattoo parlors since before I was 18 for various piercings that I forced my mom to sign a waiver for. I now have 7 tattoos of varying sizes and styles. In all of the tattoo parlors that I have visited, Freakshow is by far the best in my opinion. Due to their range of artists, low prices, and short wait-times, Freakshow is the best tattoo parlor in Fort Collins.
Freakshow is a tattoo parlor located on Elizabeth, past Krazy Karl’s pizza. Sometimes tattoo parlors are intimidating to walk into. Freakshow, on the other hand, is full of laughter and smiles behind the constant buzz of tattoo machine. There is often quirky music playing and the artists crack jokes around each other and encourage you to join in; just don’t laugh when you’re getting a tattoo on your ribs. Once you walk in the door you are welcomed to its dark-circus theme, with cardboard cut-outs of a strongman and a circus tent. Freakshow is as strange and welcoming as an actual circus with a high emphasis on body art.
Artist Variety:
One great part of Freakshow is that they have a wide-range of artists. Their artists all have their own styles, but are willing to work within others. Freakshow is home to the guy I like to do my wording, Casey, and Topher, the man with a lightbulb tattooed by his eye, who does amazing lines. Other artist include Joe, Tyler, and Dan. They are all really good at working with their customers to form the tattoo to the customer’s specifications.
Recently, I sat through my friend’s appointment where Joe spent hours drawing her tattoo on her with a sharpie before he started tattooing. This was the first time that I had ever seen an artist work that closely with their customer to form the tattoo.
A funny thing is that the artists don’t typically remember the faces of their customers, but they do remember their work. There have been many times that I have been sitting in Freakshow waiting on one of my friends to get tattooed when one of the artists will see some of my ink and stare for a little bit and then say, “I did that one, didn’t I?”.
Short Wait-Times:
Another aspect of what makes Freakshow so great is that they have a very short wait-time. Typically, you can call Freakshow or show up at their shop and have an appointment set up for later that day or within the week. The latest I have waited for a tattoo at Freakshow was one week, but the reason for that was more from my schedule than that of Freakshow. See my article about wait-times for tattoos in Fort Collins here.
It is always encouraged to know which artist you want to tattoo you when setting up your appointment, Freakshow’s portfolios are online here, or you can go into the shop and look through a wider variety of pictures.
Low Prices:
Finally, Freakshow is great for their low prices. Tattoos are expensive, but they don’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. Freakshow does tattoos for $100 an hour. So, instead of just pricing the piece, Freakshow goes by the hour which is nice because the artists can typically tell you just how long a tattoo will take when you go to set up your appointment.
I have a small abstract lotus on my ankle that was done by another shop for $60. I sat through that tattoo for a total of about 15–20 minutes. My least expensive tattoos (yes that’s plural) from Freakshow cost me $80. The tattoos say “More than love” and “We’re all mad here” below my elbows. That’s 7 words and it works out to about $11.40 per word.
I’m not the only one who thinks that Freakshow is great. The google reviews section gives them 4.7 out of 5 stars, their Facebook has 4.5 out of 5, and Yelp gives them a 4.5. So, there are some people who don’t love Freakshow as much as I do, but for the most part they do. Giving Freakshow two srats, Ari Candelaria said:
My boyfriend has gotten all his tattoos here love them very happy on that end. We went in at 5:32 pm. I was wanting a piercing that day and was googling how bad it was going to hurt. We waited on the couch for 15 minutes. I laid down on my boyfriends shoulder and dozed off. He woke me up and we went home it was 6:08. Idk what the piercer was doing to the group in the room but that was ridiculous.
Unless you want to be bored while getting a tattoo that costs a lot and doesn’t have a lot of variety in the artists, Freakshow is the best tattoo parlor in Fort Collins. With their variety of artists, short wait times, and low prices, Freakshow has everything that a tattoo enthusiast would want. So, if you are in Fort Collins and are looking to get a tattoo, make sure to consider Freakshow for some custom body art.
