The Hive SLC Tattoo & Aftercare
"I did not create a business. I created an art project. Something that is living, breathing, giving artists the opportunity to pursue it as a career, and having them work in a safe place where they can feel fulfilled. It’s taken on a life of its own, and it keeps evolving. I could not be prouder of what I was able to create.” For Mason Atlas, the founder of The Hive SLC Tattoo & Aftercare, tattooing has always been more than ink on skin. It is a dialogue between art, culture, and the human experience - a collaboration that changes both the artist and the client.
Mason’s shop hums with that living dialogue philosophy. There are plants that soften the corners, light that spills across golden mountain wallpaper that he designed with his wife, and a steady sound of tattoo machines blending with quiet conversation and laughter. It feels like a community, not a parlor - open, and deeply human.
Mason’s story begins far from Utah, in Florida, where creativity was encouraged but not always considered practical. He studied fine arts at the University of Central Florida and spent hours flipping through tattoo magazines at Barnes & Noble when he should have been studying. The first time he saw a needle etch a line of ink into skin, he felt as though he were watching a kind of alchemy. “It was magic,” he said. “To see an image move and stay, I couldn’t believe it was possible.”
At that time, tattooing still lived in society’s shadows. “We were the outsiders,” Mason recalled. “Our shops were next to liquor stores, check-cashing places, and strip clubs. People came in who didn’t fit anywhere else - bikers, misfits, dreamers.” But he stayed. He apprenticed for years, sweeping floors, cleaning needles, walking shop dogs, and absorbing every detail. “I was an observer,” he said. “I had to remember every line, every mistake, and then ask better questions next time.”
What began in those gritty Florida shops evolved into a global education. Over the next decade, Mason tattooed across continents - Iceland, Germany, Switzerland, Malta, Kenya, and Australia - learning not just technique but the soul of the art form. Iceland, in particular, changed everything. “They didn’t have many tattooers then,” he said. “We tattooed priests, business owners, parents, and government officials. They were people who had never imagined themselves getting tattoos. I watched a whole culture shift in real time.”
Each country offered its own lessons. In Switzerland, he was taught precision and professionalism. In Germany, he was shown the beauty of small-town loyalty, and Australia gave him endurance and speed. Mason learned what to carry forward and what to leave behind. “Everywhere I went, I saw something worth protecting and something worth improving,” he said. “By the time I came home, I knew exactly what kind of space I wanted to create.”
That space would become The Hive. Mason and his wife, Tam, an interior designer, moved to Utah, drawn by the mountains and a new beginning. After years working in other shops, Mason longed for a place where creativity, mentorship, and community could coexist. He opened his shop in 2019, naming it for what he hoped it would embody: collaboration, industriousness, and growth. “I wanted something rooted here. Something that felt collective and alive.”
The “Aftercare” part of the name was equally deliberate. Mason had long felt that tattooing’s healing phase was too often neglected. “People would get a tattoo, and then the care afterward was an afterthought,” he said. “But the tattoo isn’t finished when you walk out the door.” He began studying skincare with aestheticians and surgeons, refining a holistic system of tattoo aftercare that focuses on hydration, exfoliation, and natural healing. “We use products that are plant-based and tested by us. It’s not just about selling something; it’s about helping people protect their art and their skin.”
Every detail of The Hive is purposeful. The open floor plan, the golden mountain mural printed on reflective mylar, and the long, welcoming high-top counter where clients can sit before their appointments all reflect Mason’s belief that the process should feel safe, transparent, and beautiful. “I wanted people to walk in and feel immediately comfortable. Even if it’s their first tattoo, I want them to see what’s happening, feel the energy, and know they’re in good hands.”
The shop is home to twelve artists, each encouraged to develop their own voice within the collective. Apprentices share stations to learn collaboration from day one, and seasoned artists mentor newer ones without ego or hierarchy. “If one of us wins, we all win. We share ideas, celebrate each other’s work, and take pride in the process together.”
Through his decades in the industry, Mason has watched tattooing transform from rebellion to fine art. “When I started, tattoos were a statement of defiance,” he said. “Now they’re part of how people express identity and connection.” Yet, at its best, he believes the art form has never lost its intimacy. “Tattooing is storytelling. It’s how people claim their bodies, mark their memories, and connect to something larger than themselves.”
That spirit of connection continues to shape Mason’s vision for the future. Beyond running The Hive, he has begun teaching portfolio classes for emerging artists and dreams of developing courses in creativity at the University of Utah. “I don’t just want to teach tattooing,” he said. “I want to teach people how to conjure creativity - how to find that spark and use it to solve problems, tell stories, and express who they are. Tattooing is my example, but creativity belongs everywhere.”
It is a full-circle ambition - to pass on not only the craft but the curiosity that drove him to cross oceans, cultures, and decades of artistic evolution. "If I had to sum it up,” Mason said softly, “we just truly love what we do. We want every person who walks through that door to leave feeling proud of the skin they’re in. That’s what The Hive is - a living piece of art that keeps growing.”
