Williston is a very fortunate place to be a tattoo enthusiast. Since the boom, Williston has attracted some great tattoo artists from all over the country. Names like Steve Hebrance of Dark Side Tattoo, and Christina and Jamie of Pretty in Ink draw a big tattoo crowd into our quaint little oil town. The Tattoo Expo hosted recently by The Grand Williston Hotel also drew a large crowd of big name artists, their shop employees and enthusiasts ecstatic about seeing the new ink. Truly, Williston has become a new epicenter for skin art on the plains of the Bakken.
Nestled quietly in a small shop above Chaney Total Auto & Exhaust Repair is a local tattoo legend by the name of Casey Baker. Casey was born and raised in Williston, but his life and tattoo experience has taken him around the country. At only 4 years old, Casey knew he wanted to be a tattoo and comic book artist. We have seen his artwork sitting on comic book store shelves from here to California. In the beginning of adulthood, Casey thought maybe he should be an art teacher but after one whole day of college, he decided an apprenticeship at a tattoo shop was a much more custom education for his ambitions, and he was right.
After he became licensed and certified, like any good artist, traveling, meeting new people and working hard expanded his abilities and talents. He went from Dickinson to Washington State to Mandan to Oregon and then back to his hometown of Williston where he opened his shop 6 years ago.
In 2014 in Springfield, Oregon, Area 51 Tattoos was filming the television series Epic Ink, a reality show featuring the drama and art of a tattoo parlor. Wandering around in the background working hard you’ll see our own Casey Baker. He’s won awards, been featured in magazines and had dozens of trophies and medals… somewhere.
To Casey, the awards and medals are flattering but not what life is all about. When he’s not putting ink to skin, he loves being a dad. For a long time, his shining career made being a dad and a superstar hard to juggle. Now all he looks forward to is hanging out with his kids. His son, 14, and daughter, 10, have their own passions in life. His daughter is artistic like he was at 10 years old and she enjoys drawing anime art.
Teens and preteens have busy lives at school and with their friends so Casey also enjoys playing a tabletop board game. The YouTube channel called RollTopRealms is a place for him and his friends to play and review various types of board games. As a side hobby, he enjoys playing bass and has considered getting into the music scene if the right sound hits him. This multifaceted man certainly seems to always be getting into something interesting here in Williston and it’s exciting to contemplate what may come next.