Tattoo Artist Alexey Mashkov “Mashkow”, Talks Love of Cars, Tattooing, and NYC Living

Photos: Nick Wiesner

We interviewed Alexey Mashkov, aka “Mashkow,” on his love of cars, life in NYC, career, and current car. Mashkow drives an 87 Buick Grand National. He is a man who views the world as living art, and cars are one of things he has drawn inspiration from since childhood. 

“How did I start loving cars? I think it’s because of my dad, he's a big car enthusiast, and he always took me with him for a ride. He let me ride the car as well when I was a little bit older, but when I was a small kid, I had a rear plastic steering wheel toy. And I was pretending I am driving a car sitting in the back seat.”

Growing up as a car-loving kid in Russia, tattooing was not the path Mashkow expected his life to follow - although creative talent runs in the family.  “I grew up in an artistic family - both of my parents were artists as well. And my brothers also; I have three more brothers. They all do art, but in different ways, in different fields. I was supposed to be a teacher of art, but it never happened. And I’m glad, too.”

Mashkow’s tattooing career began “accidentally” after a friend asked him to finish an incomplete tattoo started by another artist. Mashkow agreed - even though he had never tattooed before. “It was a fun experience,” he said. “We did a horrible job, of course, but it’s a great memory.” Mashkow began doing more tattoos for friends, before making the move to Moscow to continue his tattooing career. 

Photo by : Nick Wiesner

He spent around six years in Moscow before moving to America in 2016, where he fell in love with New York City. “I picked New York City as a place to be because of the history, the culture, and the rhythm,” he said. Mashkow draws a large amount of his inspiration from hip-hop culture, especially the eighties and nineties, which is reflected in his work.

At one point, Mashkow considered quitting tattooing after he got bored with “regular basic stuff”. Instead of quitting, he decided to make tattooing work for him, by combining all of the styles and subjects he was passionate about into his art. “It’s horror, creepy, spooky stuff I add, and of course music culture - hip hop and graffiti. So I just put it all together.”

“Mashkow”’s IG

Mashkow’s career only took off, he said, after he found a groove where he was able to tattoo what he loved - graffiti-inspired pieces, pop culture characters, and portraits of celebrities. His Joe Rogan portrait was reposted by Rogan himself on social media, bringing in more than a million views and drawing worldwide attention to Mashkow’s work.

Even living in New York City, which is notoriously not driver-friendly, Mashkow’s childhood love for cars has not faded despite often having to take the train. Today, he says he uses cars as inspiration in many of his paintings and tattoos. However, that doesn’t mean he’s the mechanic type. “I don’t really know how it works, but I like the way it looks like. This is the most important part for me, the shapes, colors, everything about cars makes me excited, except modern cars.” 

Photos by Nick Wiesner

Why not modern cars? “I prefer to have one old-school car than five modern cars. I don’t know, I just feel that modern cars have no soul. And when you’re driving a car like [my car], you can imagine the history behind this car. You can feel how many roads and things it has seen.” Mashkow keeps his cars as original as possible to preserve their history - and to keep value - without adding modifications. He has stayed connected with the previous owner of his Buick, an old mechanic who lovingly maintained the car before it was sold to Mashkow.

Photo by Nick Wiesner

The Buick is not Mashkow’s only old-school car - he has a red and white ‘77 Cutlass Supreme, which he bought as a family car two years ago while his wife was pregnant. “I never had a headache, because the car works great. The only thing I changed was AC.”

How does Mashkow feel as he continues to take New York City’s tattoo scene by storm in the daytime, and cruise in his old-school cars by night? Simply put: “I feel really good, and I feel like I’m living my best life, you know.”

Follow Mashkow’s incredible work on his IG