Ami James

*1. Early Life — Tough Childhood*
- Born April 6, 1972 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (then occupied by Israel) to an American father who converted to Judaism and a Romanian mother.
- His father left the family when he was 4 years old. He grew up with severe ADD/ADHD and was drawn to art because his father had tattoos and was a painter.
- At 11 he moved to USA to live with his grandparents, then to Miami at 12. At 15 he got his first tattoo — and that moment made him decide: "I will be a tattoo artist". f9ae

*2. Army & Struggle*
- As a teenager he went back to Israel and served in the Israel Defense Forces as an Infantry Sniper.
- In 1992 he started his apprenticeship with Lou at Tattoos By Lou. For years he was broke, tattooing in small shops. f9ae032c

*3. Fame — Miami Ink*
- In 2005, TLC launched *Miami Ink* following his shop *Love Hate Tattoos* in Miami Beach with Chris Núñez. It became a cultural phenomenon and made tattooing mainstream.
- The show wasn't just about ink — it was about the story behind each tattoo. That's what made him famous. 8f11

*4. Business Empire*
- After Miami Ink (2005-2008) he did *NY Ink*, opened *Wooster Street Social Club* in NYC, *Love Hate Social Club* in London in 2012.
- Co-owner of DeVille clothing, Love Hate Choppers, and in 2013 co-founded *Tattoodo*, an online platform for custom tattoos.
- He also designed the Motorola RAZR V3 phone. e30a909d

*5. Now*
- 54 years old, 2 kids (Shayli and Nalia), still tattooing at $500-$1000/hour with a 6-