I have always been fascinated by those able to reinvent themselves time and time again, able to live more lives than cats and yet remain true to their nature. It’s for this reason I often find the stories of expats charming, particularly the reasons that pushed them to leave their countries and reinvent themselves in Italy (although, and sorry for being blunt here, they are often a bit repetitive). So the man whose story I will tell today is not the usual wealthy foreigner with a pretty retirement villa overlooking the rolling hills, nor an Erasmus student falling in love with a local and not going back home. Ben Williams is, in fact, a tattoo artist.
In order to tell you how Ben found himself in Italy, I need to take you on a trip down memory lane, to roughly 15 years ago. At that time, the northern Le Marche province of Pesaro and Urbino was quite renowned for its boat building industry, and many foreign companies and designers in the early 00s were crafting luxury yachts on our shores. This industry is still active of course, but back then it was truly booming, to the extent that many companies had relocated their workers to Le Marche. Several of these companies were British, so at the time, a large community of young British workers settled here. Coincidentally, my husband’s first job in Italy in 2008 was at one of these boatyards; and Ben Williams, who had also landed that job quite randomly, happened to be one of his colleagues.
We used to hang out with Ben quite a lot back then, and already one could tell that he was no regular expat. He was definitely into art, always busy with a new project. Also, he was known as the Englishman with the French accent. That’s because this expat is himself the son of two expats, who, when Ben was just 9, relocated the whole family from native northern England to the countryside near Toulouse, France. As soon as Ben’s father got a grasp of the French language, he opened his own carpentry business there, while Ben and his sister adapted to the French lifestyle, learning the language and making friends. As academia did not particularly inspire him, Ben’s parents thought that he’d be better suited in a practical setting, so at the age of 15 Ben was sent to study at Revel (Lycée des métiers d’art, du bois et de l’ameublement) in Toulouse, one of France’s most renowned carpentry schools. At such a young age Ben was leaving home, moving to his own place in the city and, as a teenager, he was living alone and looking after himself. My guess is that this experience provided that imprint for independence, adaptability and creativity that still defines Ben as I know him now. For 5 years Ben got the chance to express and refine his creativity and learned ebanistery, sculpture, restoration and inlay. In contrast to his old school, he excelled so much that one of his teachers regularly passed him paid work to do at the weekend.
At the age of 20, and while still studying in Toulouse, Ben received a call that would change the course of his life. A friend of a relative was urgently looking for some young men for a seasonal job in Italy: a boat building position in northern Le Marche, a region of Italy Ben had never even heard of. It was a matter of basically leaving in a few days so Ben, intrigued, packed his bag and left for the coastal city of Fano. Here his amazing manual skills came in handy at work, and he fell in love with the place (and later on, with a local girl). He decided that he would find a way to stay in Italy even after the end of his employment agreement, which he managed to do by doing odd jobs here and there and, after some time, returning to work in boat yards and even F1.
It was around this time that Ben set foot in a tattoo studio to get his first ink done. He still clearly remembers being smitten by the general vibe of the studio, the needles, the flash artwork, the prepping ritual, the repetitive sound of the machine. He still recalls pestering the tattooist with many questions. Something about that world immediately struck him, although it would be a few more years before he would hold a tattoo machine in his own hand.
In the years that followed, whilst working in other jobs, Ben used his spare time to experiment with various artistic techniques such as painting, drawing, murals, and serigraphy. He joined a collective of local artists, with whom he carried out a variety of creative projects, and truly started to feel at home in Fano as part of a chosen family.
At that time, another English tattoo artist called Christian “Hold Fast” Forrester (R.I.P.), also lived in the area. Funnily enough, he also arrived in Le Marche as a boat builder, but then became a professional tattooer, and Ben turned to him quite a lot with questions and ideas about tattooing. Ben eventually decided to purchase his first machine, and started practising on his then girlfriend and some brave friends.
While training at home, Ben’s passion for tattooing got so strong that he committed himself to finding a way of becoming a professional artist. He started to contact studios all over Europe, looking for opportunities as an intern. After many calls, and through a lot of determination, the studio that offered him such a position turned out to be Warewolf Tattoo near Toulouse, France. Like many years before, Ben quickly packed again and left for another adventure. While working at the French studio, he assisted in organising bookings, preparing the stations, and greeting customers, but quickly moved up to drawing flash artwork and doing his first tattoos professionally. Another tattoo studio near Toulouse called WIP Tattoos (now closed) also gave him some work, so in just over 12 months, Ben significantly increased his skills and portfolio, eventually managing to create his first portfolio of professional tattoos.
Soon enough, Italy started calling again. The possibility to return was offered thanks to another call where a job, at no less than Ferrari F1, provided the means that would allow him to relocate. Ben decided not to live in Maranello though, and moved straight back to Fano. He was based there at the weekend, and stayed in Maranello from Monday to Friday whilst working. He immediately started looking for a weekend tattooing job, and, thanks to his professional credentials, found one soon enough in Marotta, where he started tattooing his first customers in Le Marche. Ben excelled, and in time he also developed his own style, so the studio owner offered him a full-time position, Ben left his job at Ferrari and finally fulfilled his vision of working as a full-time tattoo artist. The studio, Ravana Tattoo, did so well that they decided to relocate to a much larger studio in Senigallia, where it can still be found today.
Around the time the pandemic started, an eclectic new tattoo studio called Sleepwalker Tattoo Collective opened in Fano. Here you can get tattoos, piercings and body modifications, but also see art exhibitions of various types, from painting to ceramic and everything else between.
Ben, now looking for new opportunities, approached the founders looking for a new studio to collaborate with, and they snapped him up in no time. For me, this creative hub is very true to Ben’s essence, being as it is a container for all-things-artistic. The environment is also one of the friendliest and most down to earth of any tattoo studio I have ever visited. It’s the kind of place where you not only want to get tattooed, but also just hang out and enjoy. Sleepwalker is, in my opinion, the perfect fit for such a well rounded artist as Ben, and to this day he still works there. So if you are in Fano, please book an appointment and go meet those guys.
Ben is not even 40 and has already lived a thousand creative lives but, despite still being quite young, his work ethic remains very old-school. It doesn’t fit the mould of the dominant culture, which is focussed mainly on the here and now, with the ‘all talk and no walk’ way of social media that has taken the modern lifestyle by storm. As opposed to these latest trends, Ben’s professionalism consists of competence and years of hard work and humility, which have allowed him to reach his professional goals. This is to say, that if you get tattooed by him, you will get the best of the best in terms of good work practices and ethics and, believe me, I am not only saying this because he is a dear friend.
If, like me you have a genuine interest in the world of tattoos and follow the national and international scene though social media and conventions, you will have noticed that the scene (like many others) has been invaded by hordes of unskilled rookies with little artistic talent, but who are very capable in using social media to create a followable character or style. The kind of artists that would not hesitate to tattoo the hands and faces of some impressionable 18 years old, eager to emulate the latest icons. For many of them, it’s about understanding what’s in, what sells, what gets you followers, and those with real talent are suddenly pushed into the background. Call me a romantic, call me envious, or simply old, but I still appreciate the value of hard work and competence, especially when it comes to having someone permanently modify my body. This is why I truly embrace old school tattoo artists like Ben Williams, who, thanks to years of practice and preparation in the arts, have managed to become impeccable in terms of technique and professionalism. It may be a less common preference nowadays, but I strongly believe that there is something to be said about being phenomenal and not just phenomenons. Ben Williams is definitely phenomenal, and we are lucky enough to still have him in Le Marche, so pay him a visit at Sleepwalker before he gets another one of those calls, packs his bag and leaves for another adventure.
FOLLOW BEN AT THIS LINK
https://www.instagram.com/benwilliamstattoo/
You can find Ben at Sleepwalker Tattoo Collective with Matteo Cascetti, Margot$, Mosisxdue
He also regularly collaborates with:
Magenta Tattoo Lab, Parnassus Tattoo, Street Dogs/ Tattoo & Mods
Written by Elisa Generali, proofread by Peter O’Donoghue.
Photos of Ben at Sleepwalker and Sleepwalker by Elisa Generali, other images provided by Ben Williams.