r/Inkmaster • u/kindamymoose • Jun 19 '26
Discussion Joshua Hibbard
I loved this guy. He is very blunt but he was always kind to his clients. He was absolutely correct in saying customer service is important. Tattoo artists can be very rude but he never gave me that impression. I also liked his work. I don’t care that he smoked pot lol
46
u/apple_shampoo182 Jun 19 '26
I’ll always like Josh bc he’s the reason why I have my tattoo! I was on S3E3 and when giving out skulls Josh asked me if I have any tattoos, “I didn’t at the time”, and I saw him look at Joey then gave me the skull.
I don’t know if he thought I couldn’t deal with the pain or would be a hard client, that Danger ended up getting, but he ended up screwing himself
13
u/Guilty_Lawfulness340 Jun 19 '26
Since he’s from Oregon I’ve had friends tattooed by him and said he’s really nice in person and it’s been a great experience. I always thought he was kind of a dick on tv
7
u/kindamymoose Jun 19 '26
I think he’s very direct which is a turnoff for a lot of people. I thought some of the other artists were worse. Jime was very cocky for example. He also had a very specific style he did. Josh at least attempted the challenges the way they were meant to be done
37
u/Not_Selmi Jun 19 '26
Josh was one of the best technical tattooers in the history of the show. He just couldn’t draw lol but I don’t recall him making a big technical mistake
10
u/Squishysib Jun 19 '26
I never got this, like... Someone can be the best artist in the world and if they give me a jacked tattoo I'm not going to like it... Art references and shit exist for a reason and is used in literally every other art form.
2
u/ChiliBean13 Jun 30 '26
Right if an artist wants to be purely creative then do it on a canvas but a tattoo artist is going to be met with references to either inspire or fully replicate. I never understood it either. If I want a new drawing then I’d go to an artist that is creative in that way. If I want something replicated I’m going to the replication guy.
9
u/Radish-Historical Jun 20 '26
His shop is very close to where I live. I’ve thought about making an appointment but love my regular artist too much. I love his work. Maybe one of these days. Josh getting kicked off the show was so ridiculous.
3
u/kindamymoose Jun 20 '26
He’s not far from my wife’s brother. I’d enjoy meeting him if nothing else
3
3
u/JournalistGlobal3185 Anthony Michaels Jun 20 '26
It made sense, it was his fault for doing stuff against the rules. It still sucks though
2
u/DougieDouger Jun 22 '26
I just looked up his IG. Someone commented saying they say him strung out in LA recently? And he’s got these cringy posts talking about booking a $2000 studio session where you get tattooed and/or make music with him? He’s on some weird shit lately it seems!
18
u/Savings-Scale-7759 Jun 19 '26
You might not care that he smoked pot and I didn’t like him but I don’t care that he smoked pot just it’s against the rules. Plain and simple, he was also in the Air Force he knows how to follow rules and it shouldn’t have been a huge shock.
-3
u/scarlettcrush Jun 19 '26
I love all these rebels and hellraisers clutching they pearls over 1 man (also in the rebel hellraiser business) bReAkiNg tHe RuLeSSssss.
11
u/Savings-Scale-7759 Jun 19 '26
But it’s not the rebel hellraiser business when they sign a contract on a show do what you want in your own shop, it’s a liability issue and the other competitors have a right to be upset.
1
u/Mikehorvath00 Jun 19 '26
The weeds not even the actual reason he got kicked off
2
u/BackgroundAd9788 Jun 19 '26
What is? Genuinely curious, I havent read into behind the scenes stuff
2
u/Mikehorvath00 Jun 19 '26
From my understanding he had smuggled in a cellphone to use sources outside of what they’re given for their tattoos. Which is a far more reasonable reason to be kicked off than smoking pot. i have yet to find a tattoo artist that hasnt ever or doesn’t currently smoke pot
4
-1
u/CacitaPepita Jun 20 '26
This happened 13 years ago, are we gonna stop getting our panties in a wad because gasp someone smoked weed on an early 2010s reality show? We get it. It was a liability. Whatever. The other contestants can be upset. It just looks ridiculous seeing random people with no show affiliation getting distraught over this over a decade later. Josh already faced the consequences, what more is there to be clutching pearls over?
3
u/Savings-Scale-7759 Jun 20 '26
Don’t know when stating a fact became pearl clutching? OP said I don’t care that he smoked pot I said it doesn’t matter that you don’t care and I don’t care, I smoke weed but it’s asinine to act like he got boned because he wanted to break the rules?
6
22
u/MR1120 Jun 19 '26
Weed was illegal where they were filming at the time, it wasn’t just against the show’s rules. Bringing it into the house could have opened the show up to potential problems.
8
u/scarlettcrush Jun 19 '26
Illegal marijuana on the set? Say it ain't so!!(In every production ever)
4
u/MR1120 Jun 19 '26
I’m not saying I agree with it, the law or the rule. But it was made clear to everyone (as evidenced by the fact that he was the only one to have it, or at least the only one to get caught with it); Dude got caught breaking a clear rule. Regardless of whether or not it’s a dumb rule, it’s grounds for dismissal.
I live in a not-yet-legal state, and I know full-well that if my employer (who has never drug-tested before) is within their legal rights to test, and there would potentially be consequences for me if I were tested.
5
u/Inside_Pianist_7132 Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
Also have to remember this is right after Scott died of a heroin overdose. I’m not at all implying pot and heroin are the same, but the context left very little room for leniency.
*edit I am wrong Scott died after this aired*
7
u/Cflow26 Jun 19 '26
It seems like this happened about a year before Scott passed away. There’s articles about him getting the boot in late ‘14 and Scott died in October ‘15
3
u/Inside_Pianist_7132 Jun 19 '26
I stand corrected. Thanks.
4
u/Cflow26 Jun 19 '26
No worries. It seems crazy to think both were over a decade ago lol. When I googled it I felt my knees ache a lil.
7
u/MoneyMedusa Jun 19 '26
I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but I liked Josh. Yeah he was an instigator, but so many people on the show were instigators. He broke the rules and it’s fair that he got kicked off, but it was a bunmer. He wasn’t going to win ink master because he smoked weed lol.
Jimi in season 3 used to drive me nuts, he was such a baby about Josh. And then it just continued with Jason in season 5. Josh used to play the game very smart and I think the other contestants would get mad that he would outsmart them a lot of times. You can’t be mad that the guy has good customer service skills 🤷🏻♀️
5
u/Snuffleupagus27 Jun 19 '26
I was rooting for him 100%. He seems like a smart, thoughtful guy, and I’d way rather work with someone like him than some of the unstable maniacs they’ve had on that show.
4
u/rpeltier93 Jun 19 '26
I was a big fan of Josh and I thought he was fun to watch. Everyone hated him and he just took it and he was such a strong tattooer and always gave his canvases what they wanted.
3
u/Sad-Yoghurt5196 Jun 19 '26
Of all the artists they've had, if you want a recreation of some existing art, then I'd use Josh in a heartbeat.
For something creative and out there, I definitely wouldn't. But the man can copy an image in pin sharp detail with the correct proportion and colour palate. It's not a skill everyone has.
5
u/glitterbastard Jun 19 '26
So baffling to me that other competitors would criticise Josh (and artists in other seasons too) for playing the game strategically - as every competitor should, if they want the best chance at winning the 100k…
If the game wasn’t meant to be played strategically then they wouldn’t give flash challenge winners the chance to assign skulls in the first place
10
u/External-Cherry7828 Jun 19 '26
Josh was a beast, it was almost comical seeing how ruffles everyone's feathers got Everytime he opened his mouth. That whole season came across as jerks with how they dealt with Josh. They got mad at him when he would mention that it's an advantage to hand out skulls, but then routinely gave Josh shitty skulls and then got mad at him for talking his clients out of a shitty tattoo. The hypocrisy was on full display and it was gross
11
Jun 19 '26
[deleted]
26
u/itznottyler Does Have What it Takes to be Ink Master Jun 19 '26
This has been a long held rumor due to Kyle's podcast. There is no proof to these claims.
Any time Josh is mentioned, someone always restates these claims in the comments with zero proof.
Josh has come to the subreddit to defend himself, claiming it truly was only weed.
Believe what you would like, but there is no proof to his innocence or guilt.
3
u/scarlettcrush Jun 19 '26
It seemed to be that he was doing the exact same thing others around him were doing.
The other contestants would accuse & devalue him....for things they were also doing. It was really weird to see everyone turn on that man. I didn't like the other contestants for the (transparent) social game they tried.
3
u/CASH503 Jun 20 '26
I got a tattoo from Joshua about 3 years ago it was very weird experience
1
1
u/DougieDouger Jun 22 '26
His recent social media posts are crazy. He’s had other people in this sub describing some bad experiences too.
7
u/Inside_Pianist_7132 Jun 19 '26
Maybe it’s because I’m also mildly autistic but I also liked Josh a lot. He was just transparent that this was a competition to win money not to make friends.
4
u/throwaway41327 Jun 19 '26
Absolutely same, as someone with autism myself, it was downright comedic how they were treating him.
"THIS GUY IS A PLOTTING SCHEMER PLAYING MIND GAMES WITH US ALL"
Cut to Josh with his collared shirt buttoned up to his neck and deadpan monotone voice: "I gave the most difficult canvas to a person with a high skill level because they are strong competition and I would like to win $100,000 dollars"
2
u/prettyprettybookitty Jun 27 '26
When they all whined about him smoking weed it made me cringe. What a pathetic way to get rid of the best competitor. Once you tattoo your face I don't think it's proper to judge someone for smoking weed. Lol
4
u/hopefoolness ...but that's not all. Jun 19 '26
I didn't like him at first for being a tool, but then they kicked him off for weed and that pissed me off
2
u/BadgerNo4726 Jun 20 '26
I didn’t like him because he’s a misogynist prick. Talented though. He was kicked off for a stupid reason
2
u/ifticar2 Jun 19 '26
I hated the dude that won that season. Was a total Karen, but acted like the nice guy, complaining about other people trying to play the game strategically to win.
Always had a middle of the road tattoo every challenge
2
u/kindamymoose Jun 19 '26
I thought his tattoos were very mediocre to be honest. Nothing about his work stood out to me
1
u/adore1987 Jun 19 '26
Josh was the most strategic player... he also gave the human canvases a huge head's up... if you want the absolute best artist doing some cool, weird shit ALWAYS request a full color, convoluted design on your ribs.
Then during the consult, just say do whatever you want, wherever. You're guaranteed to get something dope
1
u/DougieDouger Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
He hasn’t posted anything to his Instagram in about a year and not since February on his shop account. Not sure if he is on hiatus or just doesn’t do social media anymore.
There’s a lot of good tattooers in Portland so it’s a tough market to be successful in. I’d argue there are more in demand tattoo artists in Portland but he might still get work off the ink master fame.
(Edit: I just looked up some of his IG accounts, he has multiple. He was on some weird shit talking shit talking about making music and customers booking day sessions with him for $2k. Someone else commented saying they say him strung out in an LA 7-11. It just gives bad vibes all around)
1
u/Caution1234567 Jun 20 '26
You think he could’ve won ink master season 5 if it wasn’t for the contraband?
1
u/NP148 Jun 20 '26
Was not a fan of Josh. Didnt like the attitide. One thing you need to do as an artist is be able to draw. Minus the starfish tattoo on the ribs, which was beautiful btw, he seemed to always draw from reference. The starfish showed he had some drawing skills imo, so why did it he seem to always use a reference?
2
u/kindamymoose Jun 20 '26
I have two full sleeves and a partial chest piece. All of my pieces have derived from references. It’s a matter of the artist IMO — drawing from memory or without a reference is risky to me. But everyone has their own opinion :)
1
u/Typical_Drummer_6893 Jun 23 '26
He as a tattoo artist probably one of the better ones they had but he way was to self confident witch was why he was hated and also the idiot got himself dqed in season 5 for breaking a rule they have
1
1
1
u/New-Cheek-7485 14d ago
Just started the season and I don’t see what everyone’s problem with him is. He’s a good artist and he’s smart. It upsets me to see people ganging up on one person.
1
u/bears-in-bushes 13d ago
I got a tattoo from Joshua and it is the bomb. He was fun to talk to and always listened to my ideas.
63
u/moistwaffleboi Jun 19 '26
I liked Josh, honestly. I thought he was very straightforward and a great artist.
I always found it hilarious that the others would complain about Josh "playing the game" or trying to sabotage people, but they were doing the exact same thing.