A young tattooist has been crowned champion after only one year in the business.
Talented 20-year-old Slaithwaite artist Adam Blakey wowed judges at Manchester Tattoo Show, where he won one of the top gongs for his work.
Adam, who works at Slawit Ink on Carr Lane, fought off competition from around 40 entrants from across the world to get the trophy for best colour tattoo.
It was a shock for Adam, of Leak Hall Lane in Denby Dale, who was competing against those who had been in the business longer than he has been alive.
He said: “I was just shocked.
“It was my first ever convention and I didn’t expect to win so early on in my career.”
It was his full forearm tattoo of two characters from Guardians of the Galaxy, Rocket and Groot, which won him the accolade, which he laboured over for five and a half hours during one day at the Manchester Central events centre, which was attended by 160 tattooists.
Adam said: “Normally I’d spend about seven hours on a piece so big so there was a lot of pressure.
“It was one of our studio’s regulars that agreed to have it done and I’m really pleased with the result.”
Many of the tattoos created by Adam are of fantasy characters.
He has worked on images of Wolverine, from the Marvel comics, Iron Man and Alien.
He has also produced images as varied as a brightly-coloured robin and a bottle of Jack Daniels, to meet customer requests.
The award will act as a permanent reminder of Adam’s rapid progression, which has seen him jump from novice to pro in under two and a half years.
