Israeli Yonatan (Yoni) Zilber grew up in the city of Hod Hasharon in central Israel. He is the third brother in a family of four brothers. And he has tattooed from London to Miami, Thailand, Stockholm, Berlin, Amsterdam, Spain, Indonesia, Paris, and New York.

I first got to know Yoni through Craig Dershowitz, CEO of Art Over Hate, and learned that they were going to be in Israel, doing tattoos for wounded IDF soldiers. “Tattooing an IDF soldier with injury or PTSD makes me feel that I help someone beyond only the look, its deeper meaning, they really need that better feeling about their body if they have scars, physical ones or mental ones,” said Yoni. “They gave so much and I feel honored to give them something significant like that. Its very emotional to me and I’m very happy to do it. And working with Craig is always fun.”

And although I, the writer, do not  have any tattoos and do not plan to ever get tattoos, the powerful healing that a tattoo could bring fascinated me. And Yoni kindly designed and drew a swallow tattoo for me that I can keep on paper and that has great meaning for me thanks to consultations with Craig and Yoni about this subject. And this is how I came to know that Yoni does important work through his tattoos and to know his expertise in tattooing, his spirit and his dedication to his art.

“For me,” said Yoni Zilber, “tattooing is a luxurious thing people get. It is not necessary really, but it does make the person who gets them feel better about their body or feel more powerful in a way. Tattooing for me, I feel is a calling. I am meant to do this and in a way its my religion. I’m obsessed with it and respect it in the same way religion means to followers of their fate. It brought everything to my life, travels, community, friends, brothers, supported me financially and made me a better person. I wasn’t on a good path before I got introduced to tattooing. It in a way saved me from troubles.

“I love knowing that what I work so hard for is being appreciated by the people I give it to. I create something and they wear it under their skin and take it with them anywhere they go and also into their after life. It is the most individual thing you can get and I’m honored and appreciative to get that much trust.”

The first catalyst that got Yoni Zilber into the world of tattooing and to be tattooed happened when he was 12 years old. A friend came back from a family visit in New York and brought Yoni a tattoo magazine. Yoni said, “I first wanted to have tattoos on me. I also was drawing with markers tattoos on my friends in school. I was probably 12 or 13 years old. As a kid in school I used to draw tattoos I copied from that magazine on my classmates. My mom used to get phone calls from their parents when they came home covered with permanent marker tattoo drawings. When I was 15 I got my first real tattoo and I was hooked. I kept getting them. And that led to befriending the guys at the tattoo shop in Tel Aviv, where I ended up learning to tattoo.”

Another catalyst that helped to start Yoni’s journey toward a career in tattooing  happened when he was 15 years old. Yoni met an old sailor on a beach in Tel Aviv who showed the young Yoni some of his tattoos and told Yoni some stories from the 50’s and 60’s about how he was tattooing on merchant ships around the world. Said Yoni, “these stories made me want to do tattoos and live like him. I am tattooing for 29 years now.”

For 17 years, Zilber worked in Manhattan at the same tattooing shop. Around 2013 Zilber moved from Brooklyn to live in New Jersey. And that is when he opened his private studio, Watermark Studio in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, working only two days a week in his privarte studio while still working four days a week in the city. Currently, Yoni is working four days a week in his private studio and one day in Manhattan.Together with his wife, he also owns a small cafe restaurant where he works one day a week.

“I do and make a living from what I love. After 10 years of tattooing I became an apprentice under a Tibetan art master and I studied Tibetan art for 10 years under him. Now I specialize in Tibetan art style tattoos. For me, tattoos should be easy to read and they look stronger with clear black out lines and more flat in their look. And Tibetan art lends particularly to it,” said Yoni Zilber, explaining about his current passion in tattooing.

“I saw it from my early days in tattooing and also noticed that there are not many people who do that kind of style. So when I tried doing it I realized I can do only so much without the knowledge as it is a very complicated art form. So I searched and eventually found a master teacher and he agreed to teach me. Now when I draw it naturally comes out in more Tibetan style than not.”

And the advice Yoni offers to beginning tattoo artists: “tattooing has been around for thousands of years, but only in the last 100 and some years it became trendy. In the past 15 years it peaked and now it’s going down to what it was before the peak. It’s not as profitable as it used to be and if you don’t really love tattooing for what there is, don’t get into it because the love for it is the only thing that will make you keep doing it at the end, You won’t get rich, your body will constantly hurt, you will deal with people’s blood and have no benefits out of it. Only the love. So get a lot of tattoos first and see if you really love it. Don’t get into it  any other way. Getting tattoos and a lot is the right way for this world of tattooing. Commit your body then decide if you want to commit your life too.”

As for future plans, Yoni Zilber says, “my future plans are to keep doing what I love and stay healthy and fit to keep doing it. Tattooing can take a toll on your body. I also, even after all these years, I am still learning and getting better at it. So I just hope to keep learning.”

For more information: yoni@yoniztattoo,com

Website: yoniztattoo.com

Instagram: @yonizilber @watermarkstudio