Over 20 years ago tattooer Danielle Distefano was working at Daredevil. Danielle had heard that Elm Street Tattoo in Dallas did a special every Friday the 13th for thirteen dollars and a Lucky Seven tip. (Oliver Peck has done Friday the 13th specials at Elm Street since 1996). Danielle wanted to offer the same special at Daredevil. Danielle had a few friends show up for her special and worked away all day on her lucky 13 tattoos. The next Friday the 13th a few of our other artist wanted to jump in so they helped Danielle with the special. A few more people showed up. Then Danielle moved down to Atlanta and I figured that was the end of it…until Fuze Network called wanting to film at the shop. A Friday the 13th was rolling around so I figured it would be fun for them to film it. By the time the next Friday the 13th hit Fuze had been playing that video in regular rotation. People flew in from other cities to get in on Friday the 13th! From there on out it was chaos. After a few years other shops started to jump on the bandwagon, which took some of the pressure off, though we never imagined that it would turn into an official tattoo shop holiday for all tattoo shops across the land but here we are.
We draw a special sheet just for that day. We typically post the sheet in the window at noon on the 13th. We always save spots for our regular customers (someone who comes in on days other than Friday the 13th) so make sure you tell us if you’ve been tattooed at Daredevil before and we will sneak you past the line.
There's a few ground rules for the day to help move things along and keep the day fun for everyone. We take names and give you a number. There's usually a line starting very early in the morning and the list fills up fast but once we get your name down you're free to wander off until your number is up. One person = One name on the list. The doors open up for tattooing at noon and we go until closing time around 8pm. Space is limited based on how many artists we have working but we save spots and give priority to our regular customers (those who come in on days other than Friday the 13th) Make sure you check in later though even if your name isn’t on the list because there always seems to be a mid day lag when people are wandering around and some people get a spot just by being in the right spot at the right time.
Only the designs on the sheet are available that day.
The sheet is posted on Friday the 13th when the doors open. No sneak peeks and we don’t post the sheet on instagram beforehand.
Cash only
Bring valid state ID (drivers license, passport, military ID) with proof of 18+ age, no exceptions.
No necks, hands, bellies, sides, feet, faces, chests. These areas take longer to tattoo or may be more difficult to heal. We usually tattoo about 100 people on Friday the 13th, that's why we stick to tattooing areas that are easier and go faster for us.
Do not block doorways or the sidewalks, we don't want to annoy our neighbors or get in anyone's way.
Friday the 13th designs are subject to artists interpretation.
If you have fun please leave a nice review for us on Yelp! Or Google (nice review=5 stars)
We love if you tag us on instagram #DDFT13 with your pics!
It's a very hectic day and your choices are limited on Friday the 13th. If you want a tattoo done to your specifications in a normal environment you should not get tattooed on Friday the 13th. If you see an extra fancy Friday the 13th tattoo (extra colors, design changes, or we're tattooing someone on their hand or something) it's probably one of our regular customers. Regular customers are given priority and might get special treatment, it’s true!
While you are waiting we encourage you to explore the neighborhood and visit some of the other businesses in the area. It's a long day, it's very tiring so it really helps when people come in with smiles to go around. The shop doesn't make $$ on Friday the 13th, it actually cost us $$ and we are very tired at the end of the day so we really appreciate nice words and any nice reviews you can leave for us online.
Thank you!
