Chad started off as a young graffiti artist, then moved into airbrushing in the Fox River Mall. He did his first tattoo as a dare, but as he says, "as soon as the needle hit the skin, I knew I was hooked." Chad got an apprenticeship at an Appleton tattoo shop, "who instead of teaching, stole my artwork and showed me how not to run a business." He moved on to another local shop, which again was "not the right fit for me or my style." After working at just about every shop in the area, he decided to open Needle Freaks on April 1, 2001 -- and years later, here we are!

Chad would like to say to all who have been through our doors, "THANK YOU FOR MAKING US WHAT WE ARE! Extra thanks to my mom, my dad, Mike w/the Trike, Bryan, TJ, Becci, Cue, Dougie -- I owe ya one -- and anyone else I missed -- ya know who ya are!! Couldn't have done it without ya!!! Thanks!"

Thanks also to Kristy for teaching me a $20,000 lesson.

And by the way, Chad is not: dead, dying, in a wheelchair, incapacitated, unable to tattoo, or lonely. He just has MS.