From Broke Animator to 6-Figure Tattoo Artist — The Rise of Allan Gois

Before he tattooed stars and won national awards, Allan Gois was just a young dreamer in Mumbai — with no plan, no connections, and barely enough money to get by.

What he did have was a pencil.

In school, he didn’t shine in academics. He wasn’t the kid topping the charts or bagging medals. But give him a sketchbook, and the world around him would disappear. “Art was the only thing that ever made sense to me,” Allan says. “It was like… I didn’t have to pretend when I was drawing.”

Still, in a world that pushes “safe careers,” Allan found himself walking into an animation course. It felt close enough to art, and more acceptable to the world. He hoped it might lead to something stable, maybe a decent job, maybe a way to support his family.

But life had other plans.

From Frame-by-Frame to Needle-and-Ink

Before skin became his canvas, Allan’s world was made of frames, timelines, and styluses.

He studied animation, not just because it was creative, but because it felt like the closest "real" job an artist could chase.

“At the time, tattooing wasn’t even in my head. Animation felt safer. Still artistic, but with a salary,” Allan remembers.

He spent hours in front of screens, learning motion, depth, and digital detailing. And while he was good at it, really good, something about it always felt… distant. Like he was creating art he couldn’t touch. His work existed on screens, passed through pipelines, lost in revisions.

He wanted more connection. More presence. Something raw, real, and personal.

That’s what made that Goa moment, watching someone tattoo up-close, hit him so hard.

“That day, I saw an artist create something that lived on a person. It wasn’t behind a screen anymore. It was alive. Permanent. And full of emotion.”

It was then that Allan realized: he didn’t want his art to just move. He wanted it to mean something.

The Trip That Changed Everything

Allan’s real shift didn’t begin in a studio. It began on a casual trip to Goa with friends. One evening, they passed by a tattoo studio. Allan walked in, not to get inked, but out of curiosity. He stood quietly, watching an artist at work. The sound of the machine, the focus, the intimacy of ink on skin, it struck him like lightning.

“I was fascinated,” he recalls. “It wasn’t just art. It was permanent. It mattered. And it was real.”

Until then, Allan had never even considered tattooing. He had a fear of needles. But the idea of creating art on people, art that meant something, wouldn’t leave his mind. It followed him back to Mumbai and refused to let go.

The First Leap: A Tattoo School and a Blank Slate

Back home, Allan found the courage to search for tattoo schools. That’s when he discovered Aliens Tattoo Art School, one of India’s most respected institutions for tattoo education. With support from his father and the fire lit in Goa still burning, Allan enrolled.

In his early days at Aliens, he wasn’t the best in class. But he was relentless. While others sketched casually, Allan studied tattoo machines, skin anatomy, needle depths, and the psychology of client experience. He stayed back late. Practiced longer. Took every correction personally, not as criticism, but as fuel.

What made him stand out wasn’t raw talent. It was devotion. A hunger to get better. A willingness to fail forward.

From Student to Celebrity Artist

Allan’s turning point came when he discovered a deep love for realism, portraits, expressions, and life-like art on skin. The kind of work that takes hours of precision and patience. The kind that demands your entire being.

His breakthrough came when Indian cricket star Hardik Pandya approached him for a tattoo. It wasn’t just a session, it was validation. Allan’s skill had reached the kind of level where people with options, fame, and resources chose him.

From there, everything shifted.

He went on to tattoo celebrities like Krunal Pandya, became a sought-after name in the tattoo scene, and won major awards like:

• Best of the Show – Heartwork Tattoo Festival

• Best Realism 2nd Runner-Up – Heartwork

• Best Large Black & Grey – India Tattoo Festival

• Arm & Leg Coloured Runner-Up – India Tattoo Festival

Today, he earns well into 6 figures annually, a number he never imagined back when he was borrowing money for bus fare.

But His Biggest Achievement? Teaching.

Despite his success, Allan didn’t choose to open a private studio and disappear. Instead, he came back to where it all started, Aliens Tattoo Art School. This time, not as a student. But as Dean.

He now trains the next generation of artists who were just like him, uncertain, unpolished, but full of raw passion. Under his leadership, the curriculum evolved, focusing not just on technique but also on mindset, ethics, and building a career with heart.

“All I needed was someone to believe in me. That’s what I try to be for them now,” he says.

From the Margins of a Sketchbook to the Dean’s Chair

Allan’s story isn’t just about tattoos. It’s about trust, trusting that the strange pull you feel inside has meaning. It’s about rewriting what a “stable career” looks like. It’s about going from doubting yourself to becoming someone others look up to.

And most of all, it’s proof that you don’t need to be born extraordinary to do something extraordinary.

Final Word

If you’ve ever been the kid doodling in class, the one who felt more alive with a pen than a plan, Allan’s story is yours too. He didn’t have a roadmap. Just a pencil. And a will to keep drawing forward.

And look where that took him.

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