Alicia Cardenas is a true Denver Native—a proud Indigenous artist born and raised in the city who’s been working in the Denver body modification industry for nearly her entire life. She began working and apprenticing at Bound By Design in 1994 at the age of 16 and began piercing there professionally a year later. In 1997, she opened her first shop, Twisted Sol—Denver’s first custom tattoo and professional body piercing studio. She began her journey as a tattooer—in addition to her already extensive knowledge of body modification—in 2008, and in 2009, after twelve glorious years at Twisted Sol’s Cap Hill location, she and longtime shop manager Kevin Strawbridge moved down to Broadway to open Sol Tribe. Alicia is also a mural artist and cultural anthropologist who studies and collects a wide variety of cultural artifacts. When she’s not tattooing, scarring, branding, suspending, etc, she is often found painting ancient-inspired geometric murals around the city, lecturing about her cultural studies, or teaching classes on safety in the body art industry. She has been an instructor for the National Safety Council for twenty years, teaching classes on blood borne pathogens since 1999. One of her proudest achievements has been serving on the board of directors for the Association of Professional Piercers, of which she has been a professional member since 1999. She’s as passionate a community advocate as she is an artist, and loves volunteering and contributing back to her community. She is very passionate about bringing ancient ritual and blood rites into the modern era and is on a lifetime journey to educate everyone she can about them, as well as facilitate their practice. Alicia has deeply enjoyed her body modification journey with all its ups and downs, and continues to evolve daily in her love for the art and industry.

Casey Hosch has been an active fan and member of the body modification community for most of her life. Casey began transforming her passion into a career 10 years ago, when she graduated from hanging around Denver’s first custom tattoo shop, Twisted Sol, to working the front desk and apprenticing at owner Alicia’s second shop, Sol Tribe. She underwent rigorous training under renowned Denver piercers Alicia Cardenas and James Maldonado, each of whom has been piercing for upwards of 25 years. Her education and learning, while never truly complete, has served her well and grown immensely, as she is now the head piercer and shop manager at Sol Tribe Tattoo and Piercing. Casey has been an official member of the Association of Professional Piercers since 2013, and volunteers annually at the APP Conference in Las Vegas. She is a tireless advocate for and active volunteer in the community, representing the APP and her shop at educational events such as the American Public Health Association Conference and workshops for the Colorado Environmental Health Association. She is a passionate piercer who specializes in curated piercing projects, genital work, and children/infant ear lobe piercings, as well as a truly gifted shop manager who is integral to solving problems and ensuring the continued harmony and high vibrational function of Sol Tribe Tattoo. Casey enjoys doing stuff and things. Also, she likes dogs. A lot.

James "El Bato Loco" Maldonado has been piercing and spreading good vibes in Denver since 1996. He was first apprenticed at Denver's oldest tattoo shop, Bound By Design, but found his home at Alicia Cardenas' first shop, Twisted Sol, for many years. James also did a stint in the world famous and first ever body piercing studio in the United States, Gauntlet, in  San Francisco. James is a fully trained and well rounded piercer who can help you with all of your piercing needs including child lobe piercing and specialty genital piercing. In addition to piercing, James is a longtime Denver activist and Aztec Dancer. James has begun offering ritual piercing and cleansings for his clients; please inquire with him about a consultation. James is fluent in Spanish and is passionate about keeping his piercings attainable by all people of all walks of life. Because of the years James has been piercing he is an excellent resource for problematic piercings and anything piercing-related you could ever need!

Andie served (survived) a formal apprenticeship in 1998 and in 2001 began working and building clientele in Pennsylvania. She specializes in Japanese designs. She is also proficient in black and grey shading with fine line details. She is enthusiastic in taking American Traditional, lettering, and portrait tattoos. Andie is taking consults for bodysuit style tattoos and accepting both appointments and walk-ins. She has been living in Denver since 2016.

Jessie Super is a proud local born in Colorado and an overall mountain enthusiast. Since she was a child, she showed an immediate talent and interest in the arts. Single-mindedly perusing a creative career, she graduated from Metropolitan State University with a Bachelor of Fine Art in 2010, and has been tattooing since 2012. Miss Super specializes in designing custom tattoos, and enjoys doing a variety of different styles, from traditional American, to neo-traditional, illustrative, minimalist and fine line, to abstract, geometric, and watercolor. Jessie takes great pride in designing beautiful tattoos, providing a clean and safe environment, and maintaining a professional and positive experience for all clients!

Kylie says, “Hello & I love you!” Kylie is equal parts Deep South & Midwest (raised in Georgia & Ohio). She’s been drawing & painting since she was a 'lil baby & she ended up graduating from Columbus College of Art & Design with a B.F.A in Fine Arts & Illustration! She started tattooing in 2016 & has been loving (almost) every second of her journey! Being a queer Black/Mixed woman is a huge part of her identity & she’s here to challenge societal norms & break stereotypes! It’s super important that everyone feels safe & represented. Kylie’s art is inspired by nature, the occult, very gay things, the cosmos, and all that is cute & spooky! In her free time you’ll find her playing in the woods, cuddling her kitties, giving you compliments, or slurping ramen (anything soupy, really. Kylie loves soup).

Ohran's books are closed at this time. Ohran says hi! Ohran Ramadani has been a tattooer in Colorado since 2013 and started at Sol Tribe just this year. He doesn't have a specific style and considers himself a versatile tatter; he enjoys doing everything from black and grey, to neo traditional, to blackwork, and even color realism. He enjoys a good challenge and his favorite part of the job is meeting people and sharing stories with all his clients! Ohran loves philosophy, psychology, and anthropology, and tattooing has afforded him the gift of meeting people from every walk of life, from coast to coast, which he is very thankful for. Ohran loves to travel, and when he's on the road, he's gotta have his skateboard and camera on hand. Come in, say what’s up, share some stories with him, and he'll get a cool tat on ya!

Rio was born in Colorado in 1987, and first started tattooing at the age of 19. Through Rio's use of bold lines and colors, themes of nature, science-fiction , history, spirituality, and surrealism are interwoven into the traditional American folk tattoo songbook. However, this artist's true strengths lie in respect and empathy for the clients above all. As a youngster in the hardcore music community, Rio found friendship in the touring musicians they often played with, traveling frequently for gigs in other cities. Often feeling ostracized early on for being a queer tattooer, their work has an emphasis on LGBTQ+ identities and themes, with bright rainbows and sassy quotes often splashed across the skin of their clients. Their approach to tattoo involves ongoing consent and friendly, intuitive communication.