I went to FTW Tattoo Parlor in my 18th birthday for my very first tattoo and had a great experience. My artist, Sean, was very reassuring and was able to keep me from getting too nervous. He was very easy to talk to and did an amazing job on my little little tattoo. Would defiantly recommend him to anyone looking for a personable artist. Read Less

I've been coming to get tattooed here for about 7 or 8 years now and it just dawned on me that I've never given them a review on Yelp. Sean is my guy. He's done six tattoos for me over the years and I love every one of them! Very professional but super cool and sociable at the same time. I highly recommend Sean and FTW in general as all the artist that work here are passionate about their work and it shows in the end product. Satisfaction guaranteed! Read Less

FTW is great - it's clean and friendly. Carolyn's done two pieces for me, and they're by far my favorites - she's incredibly talented.I no longer live in Oakland, but still come to this shop. Can't recommend them (and Carolyn in particular) enough. Read Less

I have a walk-in today. The shop is super clean and dope. There are many flashes, different styles to choose from. The artists and even customers were so nice and friendly. I was not sure I really wanted my tattoo, but after Joe Gettler sketched it, I'm in love w the tatoo. Joe was very talented. I gave him a general idea of what i wanted, and he added more details, making it look more beautiful. The price was very reasonale. Will recommend to friends and come back for more! Read Less

Recently went in to have Carolyn do some work on my arm. I was from out of town so she had me send her a 100 dollar deposit to save the date. The experience was great, Carolyn was super cool and I love what my arm looks like now. Read Less

Helpful, knowledgeable staff who are all great artists. Pick one of the hundreds of hand painted flash designs from the walls or talk to one of the employees and they can help you. Get some ink on you! Read Less

I did a walk-in here, and this place is great. All of my tattoos came from different places and this place has awesome vibes in the whole shop. These are the kind of people you want to be tattoo around. The shop set up is great as well, I got to watch someone else get tattoo as I was instead of facing a wall. Read Less

Go see Sean for your next tattoo. I've been going to him since 2009 and I love the work he's done. The colors are bright and the lines crisp year after year. He's extremely gentle and kind, fun to talk to and a great artist. FTW has a relaxed welcoming atmosphere. I've been to other great shops in Oakland but FTW is my favorite. Read Less

I love love love these guys! Fantastic work, great work ethic. CLEAN!!! AND real people! Community is the feeling I get when I walk into their shop.I love getting worked on by Carolyn, she is extremely creative and talented. Light hand too!I cant wait for my next appt with her!!! Read Less

FTW is the best tattoo place.  My boyfriend and I have been going there for 3 years now.  Sean, Adrian, Carolyn and Matt are great!  They are very professional and fantastic artists.  We gave them the basic concept of what we wanted and they took it to the next level.  Thank you so much and we'll definitely be back for more. Read Less

Don't know why I haven't yelped yet. Been coming here for almost 6 years, from my first tattoo to my last and all the ones in between. I go to Sean, he does a amazing job, as the looks of the other artist works they do amazing jobs as well. Sean did all my work; 2 sleeves, 1 leg, full chest and side rib. You can give him a picture to draw up, or you can give him your ideas and he makes a beautiful collage. I Have an appointment with him I'm Wednesday, can't wait for it. Definitely worth checking out! Read Less

I've gotten all my tattoos here and I don't think I'll be going anywhere else. September 2009 and got two tattoos done by ellie. My treble clef bass heart on my wrist and a cursive j on the front of my shoulder. Back then their minimum was $60 and got both done on the same day.Summer of 2010- walk in again and I don't remember who did my art but he did my most colorful piece yet at my nape. Three stars and half a sun to represent my Filipino heritage, three sampaguita flowers that represent my mom, dad and brother and an S M that represents my middle and last name. The tattoo I get the most compliment for.Jan 2012- I remember it's super bowl Sunday I walk in and Ellie did the flower on the corner of my shoulder in honor of my late grandmother.Feb2013- 21st birthday gift again I don't remember who did my foot piece but it's another favorite. Paper airplane with travel often over my right foot.I've been consistent on going routinely and I've been long over due. I'm just waiting for some hand writing from my grandfather in the Philippines and I'm going back. All the time I went for my tattoos I've been a walk-in. Generally small pieces they would have me come back after maybe an hour to draw up my customized pieces but that was about it. Read Less

I got my third tattoo here on a whim (I was visiting the Bay) and I'm so happy I did. Joe did an amazing job and I got exactly what I wanted for a good price. I walked in and showed him what I wanted and made an appointment for that same day and it came out great. Read Less

Matt you were wonderful!!! Yes it hurt like hell but you talked me through it ! I appreciate you and the kindness that you showed me today it really meant a lot ! All I gotta say is WISCONSIN men ROCK !!!' ✌️✌ Read Less

Great place to go to get some excellent tattoo work done at a very reasonable price. My guy is Sean Perkinson. I'm always very satisfied with his work plus he is such an awesome dude! Very down to earth and no bullshit I'm cooler than you attitude. Thanks Sean! Read Less

After quickly calling ahead to see if they had time for a walk-in, I was able to stop by FTW yesterday evening and walk out with an awesome tattoo that I've wanted for ages. Unlike other shops I've visited, I felt completely comfortable asking for a small, simple tattoo here -- Joe (my artist) and Matt (another artist who was also hanging out in the shop during my visit) made me feel extremely at ease. They didn't judge me for being nervous or laugh at my ideas, and they were all-around nice guys who I enjoyed spending an hour with.  Though my idea was simple, Joe took his time sketching out what I wanted and ensuring that the placement/sizing was perfect for my arm. And the finished tattoo looks amazing! The lines are straight and clean, which was my main concern when finally springing for this tattoo -- thanks to Joe, I got exactly what I wanted. Overall, I had an extremely pleasant experience here and will come back if I decide to add any more body art to my arsenal! Thanks, guys. Read Less

Sean is the best (although all the artists are amazing) I've been going to him for the past 3 years! This place is a very affordable price & also I'm HUGE on clean places- I've never gotten a tattoo anywhere else besides here because I trust their equipment and they're very clean! Read Less

Great, nice artists. I was tattooed by Carlos. I found his art through Instagram. I wish the shop was bigger and 2hr parking was better, but in the end all that matters is the tattoo! I would go back for sure. Read Less

This shop is fantastic. All the artists are super cool and down to earth, no "too cool for you" vibes. The quality of work is top notch and the rates are reasonable.Highly recommended. I've been tattooed by Jason & Carolyn, both are super friendly and great artists. Read Less

All the artists here are very talented. It ranges from Gangster Japanese to traditional Japanese to Traditional to Contemporary styles. It's a shop on the smaller side but that does not take away in it's quality. The guys here are very witty so stay on your toes! But being cash because they are not with the credit card times. And last but not least, don't forget to tip your artists! Michael Bennett, who is a their newest member, is my artist! Read Less

I walked in after I visited another shop, which wasn't able to schedule me.  I then realized that my friend had constantly spoken well of FTW Tattoo, so I got to hiking.  Upon arriving, Alex Matus, the really cool tattoo artist up front who is into metal, greeted me.  She asked what I would like and referred me to the portfolios.  I checked them out and for what I wanted, I fixated on Jay Watkins' work.  Jay was right in front of me and I got to speak to him on the spot.Jay is very friendly and easy to work with.  He visualized what I wanted and couldn't do one element and showed me why.  He was right and his idea actually flowed way better.  We settled on an idea and I also scheduled an appointment for my friend to get tattooed after me.  Jay is very thorough with his artwork and took his time.  Both tattoos he did are amazing and we love them.  He works clean, changes his gloves, does all the stuff you'd expect.  His drawing was perfect the first time for both of our tattoos.  I can't say enough good things about Jay as an artist.  He really is easy and comforting to work with. Jay also makes his own machines, so he's got an understanding of how his equipment works beyond just turning it on and going.  That's something I appreciate in an artist.This shop is so friendly and chill to be in and they have amazingly good vibes all around.  I will be getting more tattoos here for sure.  Park around the corner to avoid meters. Read Less

I was referred to this place from a friend and he was right, this place is a legit tattoo parlor. I was a walk-in, and the gentlemen welcomed me as soon as i walked in. Adrian ended up being the guy that did the work. He listened to what i wanted, went back and forth until I loved it, and he felt it would work with placement. His lines are amazing... there are no stop/start parts, looks like he never lifted the machine. He even started with the more sensitive areas so it wouldn't be too bad. I will be back for sure!! I HIGHLY recommend them!!thanks for the great tattoo FTW (Adrian) Read Less

5 sessions and 20+ hr later and it's finally over. I want to thank fellow yelpers for leading me here. after searching yelp, and looking at each artist portfolio I chose jason to be my tattoo artist. I came in with an idea of what I wanted done (back piece) and about 2 weeks later he sketched it up, better then what I envisioned. I wanted a tiger with a phoenix in a yin yang position with a koi fish beneath it. i've gotten so many compliments on the work. he did a kick ass job on it. my sis liked his work so much she came and got a back and arm piece of a koi fish.this shop is clean, friendly, and professional. although i only delt with jason, lying there for that many hours, you can't help and look what other people are getting. i got to see the other tattoo artist work, and i have to say, you can't go wrong with any of them.again thank you yelpers for this great place. will definitely come back here to get inked. Read Less

Had a really good experience with this place.Went looking for someone to tattoo myself and my friend last weekend. It was kind of a last minute decision but we figured some place in Berkeley would be available for walk ins. No such luck. After trying NUMEROUS places, I called FTW and spoke to a very nice man who said he would call his partner to see if she was coming in and call me right back. About 10 minutes later, I got a call back and was told I could go in right then. Perfect! The place is small, clean and has easy street parking. We met Ellie who came in early specifically to do our tattoos. She was great! She was very down to earth and real with us. I had planned on getting my tattoo on the side of my foot but she explained that this particular area did not hold ink well and did not recommend doing it in that spot. I took her advice and I'm glad I did! She was extremely patient with us and really took her time to make sure everything was how we wanted it. She also suggested some good shading options that I happily took. My tattoo looks amazing and so does my friend's. While we were here, my boyfriend fell in love with some drawings done by Andre and I am pretty sure he is going to come here for his next tattoo very soon. Prices were comparable. I just never expect good customer service these days and wonderful, down to earth people, but these guys really proved me wrong. They went out of their way to make us happy. Thank you so much!! Read Less

This shop contains not only pleasant and personable artists but articulate, dedicated and incredibly talented artists. I have a huge piece of a phoenix done on my back and I love it. So does absolutely everyone who has seen it. Jason has done two tattoos for me. I learned about him through a friend of mine who has a whole shoulder-to-wrist sleeve of a dragon. Jason is a briliant artist and is incredibly interesting to talk to. I have ten hours of work done on my phoenix and everytime I go in it is a perfect experience. FTW came highly recommended to me- and I highly recommend it as well! Read Less