This week, Nicole sat down with Leeza Lakhter (they/them) + Mia Paden (she/they), the lovely humans of LETMEPOKEU. LETMEPOKEU is a different kind of tattoo studio. Acknowledging the intimacy of a tattoo experience, they are committed to creating a safe & comfortable space for the LGBTQIA+ community and those struggling with mental health. 

Leeza (@letmepokeu) is a tattoo and mixed media artist, while Mia (@miamakesmovies) is a video producer + creative content director. Mia helps manage clientele and events, while also designing and creating art and video work. Their mission is to advocate for mental health, LGBTQIA+ and body positivity. We present to you, Leeza and Mia!

Nicole: Both of you, that’s amazing. I would like to say, one, I’m also from the South. I’m from Texas and I feel that urge for New York and the pull to be there. The community here is so unique. At the same time, I was also a competitive gymnast and I feel the pressure of parents being like, this is fun for you as a side hobby but you can’t make a career out of this. I totally relate. I applaud you for being so open and talking about your journey because it’s important for people to talk about it. Therapy is the best, it’s the best thing in the world! I think the world would be a much better place if we all went to therapy.

Leeza: Yeah, or if they taught it in school. I think regular behavioral skills in schools, or how to  deal with relationships or intense crises could help children learn how to manage their emotions. 

Nicole: Definitely. I think with our generation, the conversation is starting to shift with us. I love that we’re talking about it. On top of that, how has art helped you on your journeys with mental health and why is it important to include it in the work that you’re doing?

Mia: I think that art definitely has played a role in mine, and in both of our exploring of our identities, circumstances, sexuality, emotions, everything. I think that art can be such a release for that. At least for filmmaking, that was one of the things that drew me in as well. To be able to say so much without really saying anything. I think that it’s important for us to represent certain things through art that aren’t talked about or aren’t represented in so many spaces. Films like that can be such a way to connect with others and talk about what we want to talk about. If we’re talking about sex and body positivity, a lot of people who have a hard time talking about it,  will never talk or will know how to talk so I think art can be a way to show that and say something without using your words. It can then begin a conversation. It’s important to talk about these taboo subjects through art because it can really speak to someone on a different level through a common experience or feeling. And it can be a way to explore your own emotions and identities, as well as opening yourself to something new or unexplored.

Leeza: My art has a lot of themes and ideas from my mental health and life experiences. I want to be open and discuss taboo topics because it’s just a part of me. I have been in therapy for so long that it’s normal for me to be open about my mental health and to have discussions with someone about my emotions, body, and mind. I shouldn’t have to hide my life or myself. I shouldn’t have to hide the fact that I might be scared or anxious and that maybe sometimes I look in the mirror and don’t like what I look like. So many people relate to that. When I tattoo someone and I have a client come in, I always try to be myself and openly talk about my mental health journey. I feel happy and excited to be able to discuss my journey because I think that I have many learned skills and experiences that I think are important to share. I think that it can help others. Having access to therapy has made it so much easier to become more aware and learn how to manage my emotions and behaviors. There are so many people who don’t have access to therapy like I do. Why should they not? Just because someone doesn’t have the finances to afford therapy, does not mean that they shouldn’t have access to it or any mental health help. Mia and I have been trying to make mental health posts because there are so many people without access to help. We are studying and learning different skills and ways to become more mindful and present in the moment. We try to work on our mental health every single day, by doing one thing like taking deep breaths or going on a walk. I have the Dialectical Behavioral Therapy journal and skills book, where I learn and write about if I practiced any skills that day; mindfulness emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance. I don’t do it all the time, I’m not great at it, but I really try to apply these skills into my life. 

Nicole: Oh my gosh, you both are so inspiring. Everything you just said is so lovely.

Leeza: Thank you! Sometimes it’s so hard for me to talk out my thoughts and everything.

Nicole: No, you nailed it! Absolutely. As you mentioned, there’s such extreme intimacy between a tattoo artist and a client. What has it been like for you guys to create that safe space and create a business around that idea? Starting this business, breaking into the New York tattoo scene, what has it been like for you guys?

Leeza: Okay well, first of all, tattooing is a very intimate moment where it takes time and energy for both people. Not only is it painful for that person, but it is an experience they’ll probably remember for the rest of their lives. It’s important that we create a safe and open tattoo space because there’s not a lot that exist. I personally experienced traumatizing tattoo sessions. I know how painful it is to look at that tattoo a couple months later or that day even and be like “what the fuck? That was the worst experience of my life.” There’s always the other side where people have that amazing euphoric experience but there are times that it might not be safe or sterile. Or maybe there’s a weird feeling between the tattoo artist and the client. We wanted to open up a safe place where everyone feels welcome. Any body, any race, gender, anyone. 

Most of our clients are coming from the queer community. The body positive and sex community in New York City. It’s great. I love all my clients. Everyone who comes in not only brings positive energy but they always want to talk about mental health and their own experiences. They know that Mia and I both speak openly about it on our platforms, which I think makes people feel comfortable too. We sit there together and have conversations about our anxiety or about tips that we have to deal with a certain situation. It can just be a really powerful experience and a beautiful experience for both people because a tattoo can be so healing, and yet also very invasive. So it’s powerful to recognize that and be able to talk about it. 

Tattoos in my life have brought me hope and love and power to my body. They have changed my life. I used to hate my arms and thought they were fat and ugly. I couldn’t even wear tank tops or t-shirts because I was so embarrassed about how fat they looked. When I was 19, I started getting all these tattoos. I finally started to like my body and look at it. I don’t know if that’s kind of crazy but it changed my life. It changed the way I looked at myself in a positive way.

Nicole: Going off of that - creating a space in New York City and running a business together, how do you guys feel that you fit into the space or have developed your own lane in the industry? But I also feel like you guys answered that.

Leeza: Well I can say a couple more things. I’ll talk a little bit about my story and how I broke into the tattoo industry. It was really difficult to become a tattoo artist in New York. Everything about it was a trial and error process. I had to figure out what worked for me, I had my own difficult journey. When I started being interested in becoming a tattoo artist, I was getting tattooed a lot. I would ask artists about their experiences or their tips on becoming a tattoo artist.

Nicole: I mean I have to say I found out about ya’ll through Moon Kissed and Khaya is one of my favorite people ever. I love that you were able to utilize the community in New York and use friendship! I think that is what I love about being here. 

Leeza: You are right. We have built a small community of friendly, fun, and creative queers. We just did a photoshoot for our upcoming merch line and without the friends that we have made in New York City, we wouldn't have had the models and the support

Mia: Even the space

Leeza: Yeah and even the space, without some of the people we have met, this would be a lot harder 

Nicole: It's HUGE. and I am so excited to hear about your new clothing line!

Leeza: We are being a little secretive about it right now, but yes we are coming out with a sex positive t-shirt line! We want to advocate for the normalization of bodies and sexual experiences. We want to see more conversations about sex, bodies, masturbation, consent, and you know, all of the things you guys are going to be talking about this month! 

Nicole: I am so excited and I remember I saw the footage from the shoot and I saw Von was in it? They are so cool, you will have to let us know when it comes out so we can give it some love on our page. 

Leeza: We might be sampling some of Vons beats soon so we are hopefully going to be having a bunch of cool stuff coming out this October, the perfect time for all of this sex talk! There is a lot that we have to do that is behind the scenes that we are simultaneously trying to work on… but yeah we are very excited!

Many of them didn’t want to discuss their knowledge about it because of how large the industry already is. Many of these artists don’t want a bunch of self taught artists in the industry. It was difficult to build LETMEPOKEU. Mia and I worked together as a team; we both run LETMEPOKEU and have built this brand, this business, to a level where we have clientele, merch and other larger goals we have for the future.  

Mia: At first, when we were trying to get the name out, we had to figure out exactly what we were trying to do and how to build this our own brand. Getting the name out there was difficult because we didn’t have a tattoo shop, Leeza lived in the Bronx and I lived in Brooklyn. We were going to all of these events and trying to network with people through art shows. Sometimes we would make a lot of money and other times Leeza would do one tattoo and basically make only $50. At that point it didn’t matter about the money because we were getting our name out there and we would meet all these people who we got to network with and build a community. The kinds of events we did and the places we went to, the people we met was awesome. We were at galleries, bars, we went to a garden party, a brewery, and even a private halloween party. We did all these crazy things and it was super exciting. That's how we gained clientele and exposure. Otherwise it was all through Instagram. We realized that most of our clientele was also not in the Bronx where Leeza lived. I had an apartment at the time in Brooklyn. So Leeza would be tattooing out of my two bedroom apartment on the couch. We were just kind of really winging it in the beginning until we built a really good community. People were then willing to travel once they had met us and seen our operation and what we were doing. We met so many cool people along the way and that was definitely how we got where we are now. 

Leeza: We worked a private Halloween party and we met Moon Kissed (@moonkissedmusic) which is an awesome kind and fun band that you know of already! 

Nicole: YES!

Leeza: That was really fun and exciting because that was the first time that I ever got to tattoo a music band. Also that was how Mia got to…

Mia: Yeah! I got to do a music video with them. I got to collab with them. They’re just awesome and really cool people. That was another great thing that came out of it.

Leeza: And then another cool event that we did was at Math Magazine’s (@mathmag.nyc) Glamour Shots party. It was just so fun, sex, open and informative. We also took some really hot photos that were just featured on Issue 9 of Math Mag, available now! It’s very sexy, open-minded, and LGBTQIA+/kink friendly. It’s not weird. It’s not uncomfortable. 

Nicole: What has it been like running a business together with your partner? Walk us through a day in the life in the LETMEPOKEU studio! What have been the biggest hurdles and what have been your proudest moments?

Mia: A day in the life of our studio mainly looks like- i'm a neat freak so I am usually cleaning everything constantly, we are sanitizing above and beyond, that's the standard here. We have been playing with our dogs in the backyard, smoking joints, jamming to music, making sets, making art, tons of art. Lately Leeza hasn’t been tattooing as much because we were kind of away for a month in Tennessee, but also because of Covid-19. Covid has been interesting for us. For me at least it felt like time just stopped. Within the first week of quarantine, one of our dogs knocked a huge tub of paint water on my laptop so it completely destroyed my laptop. I couldn’t really do video work for a couple months because I didn’t have a computer. It was kind of a time to make a lot of art together and our work stopped here, I was working for the museum of sex and that shut down and we couldn’t have clients here in the studio. We just were able to stay in and spend a lot of time together, make a lot of art, spend time with our dogs. It wasn’t… we had some emotional rollercoasters too. We are definitely glad things have a sane-ness to them again. There are a lot of upcoming and exciting things and we are working so that definitely feels good. 

Leeza: Some of the biggest hurdles I have faced, being a tattoo artist, is that you are putting permanent marks on someone’s body. It’s pretty easy, with one small flinch of the machine you could permanently mark another part of the body and make a mistake. You know, it's really one of the biggest things, making sure the client is happy and they feel like they wanna return to you and they feel like they wanna talk and give you a positive review. Usually, every single client is happy. We have a reviews section on www.letmepokeu.com for people to read about their experiences with LETMEPOKEU, a lot of people in that section talk about how open I am with my mental health journey. When I have tattoo clients and it’s both Mia and I in the studio, we both make sure the clients are comfortable. Mia edits her video work sometimes, but also chats with clients, santizes and sets up, she helps me make stencils, make sure the client is happy and has everything they need, but also she make sures I’m okay and that I have everything I need to do a good job during my tattoo session. Mia knows what to do when I need help or am having a lot of anxiety. She’s been there with me through a lot.

Even at the beginning of every appointment that I have I try to always say the same statement, “this is an open and safe space where you know, we are mindful here and we don’t want to judge anyone. We want you to feel as comfortable as you possibly can. We tell people to make themselves at home, we have a window where people can breathe the fresh air, we have nice trees all around and a nice little outside area so it is nice for the clients to be able to relax. I always try to accommodate people's music interests too. Sometimes we listen to rap/hip-hop, pop, disco, indie, meditation sounds… 

Some of our proudest moments… this one time I was really excited because I was able to do seven tattoos in one evening and I felt really euphoric. At the same time I probably did cry and have a panic attack because it was really intense. I was so proud of myself. I decided to work an event and I knew it was going to be really crazy with lots of people, but I powered through, made some money, and I am really proud about that. Another thing I was really excited about was the time that @meatyworld from Bandit Studio was willing to trade with us. I got to tattoo a mushroom design that was drawn by Mia on him. He tattooed both Mia and I, it was so fun, we got to go to his studio, tattoo each other, chill and meet his cat. 

Another proudest moment was being invited to tattoo at the Math Magazine party we talked about earlier. Mia also got to film for Math.

Nicole: You just mentioned you have tattoos that you both got together. I know you both have several tattoos. What were both of your first tattoos? What are your favorite tattoos on each other’s bodies? 

Leeza: My first tattoo is of my dog chacha, it is on my left shoulder on my back. She was my childhood dog and meant a lot to me. When she passed away I wanted to get a portrait of her to remember her forever. If I am being totally honest, I do not think the tattoo resembles my dog as much, not as I remember at least and I want to actually tattoo her somewhere on myself, somewhere I can see it. Because I mean, I love my tattoo, but at the same time I want to do one of her or have someone else do one on me. I just want to be able to see her instead of having her on my back. My favorite tattoo on Mia is this super sexy, incredibly powerful, badass witch that is on her leg. It's by Catelina Cutlass (@catelina.cutlass) , she is really cool and she tattooed both of us. We have similar badass women on our legs that Catelina tattooed and she is fucking awesome. 

Mia: My first tattoo is a swallow that I got on my lower back when I was 18. My mom and my oldest sister also have the same tattoo, they got it together and I was supposed to wait for my middle sister to get it but I was just really excited and wanted to get a tattoo before I went to college so I got it without her and she still hasn’t gotten it… so I probably should have waited but it's okay I still like it! Honestly it is hard for me to pick a favorite tattoo on Leeza. I love their art, but Leeza has a really cool tattoo they designed themselves on their left arm that is about their mental health. It's these two people intertwined, it's really cool. And then I also love the very first hand poked tattoo that they did on themselves which is like a little black hole with arms coming out of it. 

Leeza: That was the very first stick and poke I did on myself. 

Nicole: I love that. So Leeza, we keep coming back to your very unique drawing style. I recently did learn the term NSFW? How did you find that style and what was your experience developing your drawing style? Who are some of your favorite artists / inspirations?

Leeza: As a kid, I never really took drawing classes, I only doodled. I wanted to but my parents just wanted me to do physical activity like dance and swimming. I always loved painting and collage, but I never drew or illustrated. I expressed myself in other ways. In 2019, I realized I wanted to tattoo, but also needed to know how to draw. I started sketching and tracing on this ipad from my grandpa. The ipad really helped me because I never drew before, I never had classes so it was hard to figure it out sometimes. It was fun on the ipad because I could add different pictures and draw next to them or trace them. It was a really fun and awesome way to learn. I also was drawing on paper and once I kind of figured out how to draw, I started working on my flashbook. I was starting to explore sexually influenced art and began exploring it through my own art. I was doing that because at the time, I was exploring my own sexuality and having my own experiences.  I was never able to talk about my sexual experiences, it was very difficult for me. Visually drawing, it was always just easier and a way that I wanted to explore sexuality for myself. I think I enjoy doing NSFW drawings in my art because I want to highlight the importance of self love, expression, acceptance and coping with mental health issues every time I draw. Like I said it's just a way for me to explore my own sexuality and experiences as well as becoming more involved and present in a sex and body positive network and community. 

Some of my favorite artist inspirations, I have the Russian criminal books which are really cool. They are taboo and a little intense graphically but they are really a sick part of tattoo history. That was something I would heavily look at when I was learning to draw. I think there are other artists like @che.che.luna, @haleyhasenuncensored, @blaabad, @milky.sippycup.

There are a bunch of artists on instagram who inspire me and give me ideas. I get a lot of my ideas from photographs by other artists, photographs of myself, people close to me, or things I find online. I always make sure to find the artist who created the piece if I find something online or to ask for drawing permission. Sometimes I find old photographs too.

Nicole: I love the instagram community! Mia, in developing your love of filmmaking or being in that medium, were there any films growing up for you that were formative or directors who inspired you to go down that path?

Mia: I think when I first learned about filmmaking, I kind of had this perception of this hollywood-esque space and I had this glorified image of what filmmaking really was, even when I was first kind of getting into it. I was really inspired by I know it's so typical to say Wes Anderson and Tarantino and I really loved directors with a heavy style where you could watch someone and know exactly who they are by looking at one scene. I thought it was really cool how people developed such a unique style. When I got to the New School, I met this one professor who really inspired me to kind of change the way I thought about filmmaking, his name is Caveh Zahedi, he produces a show called The Show About The Show. All of his work is autobiographical. I took a bunch of classes with him and he really just taught me that there is so much to be found and explored in daily life, relationships, and seemingly normal or boring moments. He taught me to find what was interesting about every situation and allowed me to explore and open myself up to things I was looking over before. When I began, I was really thinking I would be into narrative filmmaking, but Caveh sent me down this documentary, personal, short film, pathway with him after a couple of his classes. I found that documentary and experimental films can become an opportunity to explore what’s happening around you. There is so much in everyday life that is so interesting that you can highlight in filmmaking that isn't easily seen by the natural eye. Caveh really inspired me to blur the lines between documentary and narrative filmmaking and explore the intimate moments that present themselves in real life through a different lens. Agnes Varda is another inspirational filmmaker for me. Her films often broke the boundaries of what a movie meant and she never stopped exploring and creating stories through a very personal and profound lens. She is an incredible artist and filmmaker. There are many more artists who have inspired me, but that is kind of how my pathway went. Now I really just love exploring all kinds of filmmaking and highlighting taboo subjects, such as sex or authentic bodies and experiences.  I also really enjoy doing promos and advertisements under the same umbrella, not like the mainstream media advertisements but more creative advertising and directing. 

I actually just did a little bit of work with Momotaro Apotheca and Lindsey, who started and runs the company, for a smaller project she is working on called Oshihana where she has created salves and lubes that have THC in them. I did a little shoot with her one day in her studio in Brooklyn and it was really fun doing a little promo for them that captured authentic couples and relationships. We have the tonic oil from them and it is so great, it is all natural ingredients, and all around helpful and you know exactly what is going on your body, it's so nice.

Nicole: The internet makes the world so small!  We keep coming back to the concept of being able to generate an entire larger conversation with just one snapshot, or one photograph or one tattoo, or one drawing that you make. I think that is so lovely and it is so good to hear you were both able to keep creating during quarantine as well. How are you guys staying motivated to keep creating and keep your conversations going? How are you guys handling that?

Mia: I think it keeps changing because people are just experiencing a lot right now. It's been really hard to stay present on social media and not simultaneously want to fall off of the grid. Seems like the easiest thing is to do that. It seems like people right now are really struggling with mental health and body image because we have all been locked away and not seeing each other. Community I think really helps people so much. So in order to be able to speak to a community and connect to a community online and still be able to reach people and motivate and uplift each other is so important, especially right now. I think that has definitely motivated us to stay creative and I think right now because everything in person is shut down it's so important to be online if you want to stay connected to people. It is definitely motivating us to get our voices out there and be ready to collaborate and work with others again for sure.

✨Don’t forget to check out Leeza and Mia’s highlight reel made by Emma Gerard here! ✨