Adam Guy Hays has been tattooing for over two decades now.

After all of those years, what does he think it's all about? Gratitude.

"I think of tattooing as stair steps. It's not this straight vertical climb up a mountain," Adam said. "Sometimes the steps are longer or higher than others. When you achieve growth in your career, it's so hard not to see it for what it is."

He constantly reminds himself where he came from, which helps him remember how lucky he is. 

"My dad broke rock on a tractor for like 50 years of his life. He installed tanks in the ground that people go poop in," he said. "I grew up doing that with him. Now, I sit in the air conditioning and draw cartoons. This is an amazing way to make a living." 

It's been a wild ride for Adam, one that has taken him everywhere. Something difficult to visualize when he was a child growing up in desolate West Texas. 

While it may not have been an ideal place to grow up, it helped him find art at a young age. The town he was raised in had only around 3,000 people, so he always looked for ways to spend his time. That is what led him to start drawing as a kid. 

"We lived out on a dirt hill in the middle of nowhere," he said. "We grew up pretty poor, but I always had drawing supplies. It was a form of entertainment. I never went anywhere without a sketchbook." 

Growing up with a creative mother and other artists in the family let him know at a young age there were avenues to pursue when it came to art. 

"My worldview wasn't massive, but I did have sources of inspiration that were pretty close," Adam said. 

Adam recalls his earliest inspirations being Mexican folk, cowboy, and Western art, prevalent in the Texas border town he grew up in. 

"If there was any art in any restaurants, it was old cowboy scenes and Frederic Remington," he said. "I feel like that is still very much a part of my visual repertoire. When I first think about art, it usually has some sort of Western theme built into it or Mexican folk art." 

While being creative was a great outlook for a young Adam, pursuing art professionally from a small blue-collar town was looked at with a side-eye. Adam's determination to pursue his passion was evident from a young age. 

Despite the societal norms of his small town, he boldly declared his ambition to become a tattoo artist in middle school. Growing up in Alpine, Texas, he was introduced to tattooing when he saw it in his friends' magazines. 

He became fascinated with prison-style art, snakes, and barbed wire tattoos that he found flipping through the pages.

"I still have those drawings from when I was in fifth and sixth grade when I first said I was going to be a tattoo artist when I get older." 

Adam still worked regular jobs during his young adult years, but he knew there was a different calling for him, something other than the electrician or carpentry gigs he was doing. 

"It was really hard to fathom making a living and seeing the world from that perspective," Adam said. "It didn't seem like a feasible way (to my parents) to make a living. I'm really happy to have changed their opinions on how that worked out over the years." 

While he laid out his plan early on, finding the proper ways to get involved with the industry coming from small-town Texas was another journey.

"There wasn't a tattoo shop for 250 or 300 miles," he said. "It was this dream that stuck with me." 

By 18, Adam had figured out how to build his own tattoo machines and had tattooed himself and some of his friends.

"They definitely weren't good," he said. "I was stealing art supplies and ink to try and tattoo with the most random assortment of parts." 

At around 20, he relocated to Los Angeles to find a proper apprenticeship. 

"This was before you had smartphones; it was a completely different world." 

Adam bought a phone book and started pinpointing the locations of all the tattoo shops so he could start the grind.

"All I had was a high school drawing portfolio," he said. 

Los Angeles was a bust for Adam. He moved back to Texas, near Austin, where he landed his first apprenticeship. 

"It was a bare-bones one," he said. "It was a late night walk-in shop for sorority girls, $40 minimum and open until 2 a.m." 

The person who trained Adam eventually quit, leaving him as the only tattooer in the shop for years.

"I made tons of mistakes," he said. "This was before the internet. This was before tattoo books. I could never find the damn things. You didn't have an easy access to world knowledge to figure out how to get better at your craft."

Fast forward a few years, Adam jumped to New York, where he started honing in on his skills.

"That's where I felt like I learned the most in my career," Adam said. "Being in New York, being around other people, and having access to the internet, I started MySpace. This all helped to broaden my worldview." 

As he continued to get better, he also kept moving around. He briefly settled in Denver, Colorado, followed by New Orleans, Louisiana, and Asheville, North Carolina. 

After several years in North Carolina, he finds himself heading back to Denver, where he'll work out of Til Death, a shop loaded with insane tattooers. 

Looking back at over 20 years in the craft, Adam still feels like his style is a derivative of the first flash he can ever remember seeing. 

"It ends up being the cornerstone of your foundation that you learn from," he said. "The first flash set that I was super inspired by was this black and grey split set between Filip Leu and Jack Rudy."

Those two, in conjunction with Ed Hardy's flash he saw, have been massive inspirations for him. 

If you asked him to define his style, he'd tell you he is an illustrative traditional tattoo artist. 

"I don't think of it as neo-trad or whatever; there are all these names. I am always trying to figure out what to call myself. But it's hard to define," he said. "I kind of dance around a couple of areas. I still adhere to the basic principles of traditional." 

These days, Adam remains inspired by constantly working and trying new things. 

"I'm a big believer in practice. There is definitely a Japanese approach to certain things where you do something until you've mastered it," he said. "This is just one of those art forms. No matter how many times you do it, will you ever be able to master it?" 

While Adam may constantly work to become a better tattooer, he said he isn't sure if perfection is what he strives for.

"I don't think there is a tattooer on the planet who can safely step back from a piece they have just completed without saying, 'Ahh, I wish I would have done this,' or 'If I had to do it again, maybe I would have done this.' " 

Adam acknowledges that is part of the beauty of tattooing and art. 

"It's not that you've made mistakes, it's more of looking to explore something else or try this way next time," he said. "That provides endless sources of inspiration and opportunity for growth." 

Looking at where Adam is now, he realizes what it took to get to where he is today. There is also always a hunger to be better. Adam says there has to be a balance. He believes everyone should be able to take a moment and realize what they have done right, what they've accomplished, and how they have affected people's lives.

"I feel like it's easy to take that for granted," he said. "It's one of those things you see a lot in younger tattoo artists. They get that two or three years under their belt. They start thinking they're hot shit and start taking advantage of people and their situation." 

Even when the industry seems to be in a slow period, Adam said that it is just the way of the world and shouldn't hinder one's opinion of it. 

"Chicken today is feathers tomorrow," he said. "You've gotta be grateful for the time that you have." 

Grateful is an incredible term. 

We are undoubtedly grateful Adam decided to join our team here at Good Guy. His immense talent, ability, and personality make him a perfect fit for what we do. 

"I've been doing this for 22 years now, and Good Guy is the very first company I have asked for a sponsorship with," he said. 

Adam was living in New Orleans at the time. He noted there wasn't a single recycling program in the city. While that may not be surprising for a place known for excess and debauchery, on top of still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, it wasn't something Adam loved discovering. 

Noticing what he called "mountains of trash left and right," he started to consider his personal impact on the world. Having already been familiar with our Tuff Tubes, he decided to try our eco-friendly products.

"I was so impressed," he said. "All I really wanted to do was reach out and tell these guys how grateful I was for them. I ended up having some great conversations with Rob and Lucas." 

Adam said he was always averse to taking anything for free and asking for sponsorships. He always used to make fun of people who did that.

"This feels more like supporting friends, I think, who are really doing the right thing versus feeling like some sort of sponsored artist," Adam said. "Regardless of being sponsored, I'm still buying everything from Good Guy Supply."

To stay updated with everything Adam has going on, head to his website and follow him on Instagram.