The metal letters that once spelled “Be True” on the marquee of the popular Be True Tattoo studio on Johnston Street now lay piled up in the parking lot, next to where the rubble from a car crash that nearly destroyed the shop recently sat in a large metal dumpster.
Following an abrupt closure in September, the shop is slowly emerging as something new. All of its artists publicly quit in September, citing allegations of sexual assault against its then-owner. Those artists, hailing from Be True and its sister studio Instant Classic, have found a home again at the Johnston Street location, now working under the brand — and ethos — No Masters.
“I think a fresh start is really what we all needed,” says the shop’s new owner, former Be True and Instant Classic Manager Cypress Dickerson…