We chat to tattoo-artist Jan “Munky” Giebelmann as part of Dickies #LookTough campaign. Munky fills us in on his passion, what he defines hard work to be and his earliest memory of the Dickies brand.
How did the “Munky” nickname surface?
Through making a complete ass out of myself on a daily basis.
How did you get into tattooing? What about it interested you?
With a lot of begging, pleading and a lot of hard work. Being an apprentice is a license for abuse, haha! I stuck around a studio until they just starting giving me duties. What about it interested me? I loved the stigma, the workmanship, the bad-assery, and individualism that came with being in the lifestyle.
How long was your apprenticeship and what do you recall to be the hardest part of the apprenticeship?
Almost two years. The hardest part was swallowing my pride and copious amount of alcohol.
How would you describe your tattoo style to someone who is new to tattooing?
I have quite a wide style spectrum, but the common denominators are clean lines and bold contrast.
Would you say your style preference in tattoos extends itself to your dress sense? If so, how?
Tattooing has made me less attached to clothing. Purely because the amount of ink that has ruined good jeans and Tees.
What was your first encounter with the Dickies brand?
As a kid, wearing Dickies sneakers till they fell apart.
The Dickies heritage is steeped in creating quality and tough work apparel for hard-working labourers. The rapid growth of Fallen Heroes suggests that a lot of hard work went into it. What makes Fallen Heroes so desired and what’s your definition of working hard?
A lot of blood, sweat and tears. Teamwork and an awesome logistics crew. My definition of hard work was always a physically demanding one until I started tattooing. Mental tiredness is as hard, if even harder.
Music has also been a great part of the Dickies history with various subcultures adopting the brand from hip-hop through to punk. What’s can one expect on the Fallen Heroes playlist when getting a tattoo?
Having a “private” studio at Fallen Heroes affords me the advantage of playing my music when I want and how loud I want. 🙂 Anything from Led Zeppelin and Foreigner to The Sword and Clutch.
What’s your favourite item of clothing from the Dickies range?
I would say the leather boots for riding and the denim apron for tattooing.
Dickies is renowned and recognised as the quintessential American workwear brand, and has reserved that notion for the past 100 years. That’s an entire century. With this heritage in mind, Dickies fashion lines combine both function and style to create workwear remastered for the quintessentially hardworking man – whatever his craft. Dickies believes that passion is our work and that great work deserves great style. Our craft is our story.
Visit the Dickies website to watch more of the hard-working video series at www.dickies.co.za and follow Dickies on Instagram and Twitter.
