Desmond Diamond

Desmond Diamond has been drawn to tattoos for as long as he can remember. It started the day his brother came home with fresh ink and tried to hide it from their parents. Always a bit of an outsider, he was hooked from then on. He grew up in Sunrise and Lake Worth, Florida, and studied creative writing and philosophy at the University of Florida. His art really took off once he started tattooing. When things went bad early on, a good friend, Uncle Mark, stepped in and set him up with a new opportunity. That is where he met the mentor who showed him the basics of the craft, along with other art skills and, just as importantly, how to be a man. A couple of apprenticeships followed, each teaching him a different side of the trade. When life got hard and a baby was on the way, Desmond decided to be a father first and a tattooer second, and he brought his family home to Fort Lauderdale to start fresh. He began tattooing out of the house, but he wanted a shop he could grow with and help grow. That led him to Miguel and Donna at Ink Addiction, and it’s been smooth sailing ever since.

American and Japanese traditional are his favorites: bold, readable designs built to age well, and tough as nails. Still, he’ll tattoo just about anything. In his words, he’d tattoo a monkey if he could. He wants to do more big work: chest pieces, big eagles and back pieces for tough dudes and ladies. The pieces he’s proudest of are the ones he can tell a client truly loves as they walk out the door. Sitting in his chair is a fair mix of a therapy session and the guy at Thanksgiving you expect to say something wild. Outside the shop, he’s focused on his son.