Fine line tattoos have become society's most wanted permanent accessory, thanks to the likes of Hailey Bieber, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles and more sporting an eclectic peppering of delicate patchwork body ink.
Fuelling our obsession is London-based fine line tattoo artist Pablo, also known as Certified Letter Boy, whose delicate designs have been inked on the bodies of Cruz and Romeo Beckham, Liam Payne, Sabine Getty and Lioness Beth Mead, to name a few.
Fittingly, the first tattoo Pablo ever did was a set of Gothic script letters inked on his friend's shoulders, foreshadowing his illustrious career as London's Certified Letter Boy.
"I always loved drawing and graffiti as a kid," Pablo tells HELLO!, who recalled how his first 'tattoo' requests started when he was just a school child. "The boys at school would always ask me to draw on them with Sharpies and create fake sleeves," he says.
Despite growing up in Peru, Pablo revealed that it was the body art of old-school rappers like 50 Cent and Eminem, along with musicians like Pharrell Williams and graffiti artist Mister Cartoon which led him to develop his own personal tattoo style. "Seeing that kind of art really inspired me," he added.
"Lettering and script is by far my most popular request," says Pablo, who is based at Soho's The London Social whenever his work isn't taking him across the globe "I love calligraphy. I'm blessed that people want my letters on their body." Keep scrolling to read the full chat…
Did you ever expect to have such a high-profile clientele when you first started in the industry?
"No, I love tattooing anyone and everyone. I'm just blessed that people love my work." While his lettering proves popular with his celebrity clients, it's Pablo's detailed fine line artwork that sets his work apart.
Earlier this year, David Beckham's 18-year-old son Cruz showed off his new Certified Letter Boy-inked record player tattoo.
The fine line piece was placed on his left arm above a previous inking that reads ‘1975,’ a reference to his father's birth year.
Do you feel added pressure knowing that you're going to tattoo a celebrity?
"I certainly understand that when a celebrity comes in for my work, more people are going to be seeing and judging the tattoo," he explains. "But I'm chill, I'm a chill guy, so I just do my thing and it works out fine."
© GettyYou have an impressive portfolio of celebrity clients requesting your work. What is the most difficult tattoo request you've ever done?
"I did some intricate finger tattoos for Olivia Attwood - but tattooing fingers is quite tricky, the area doesn't always heal well," says Pablo.
How involved are your celebrity clients in the tattoo process?
"We sit together at the start, have a lot of back and forth about ideas, designs, placements, style. They love being involved in the process for sure."
What are your thoughts on couple tattoos? Do you get a lot of requests for cover-ups?
"Yeah, I get loads of requests for cover-ups," Pablo tells me. "But I don't really do them because I'm so busy with new and returning clients. As for couple tattoos though, I love them. It's a nice touch for sure, I like the idea of romance."
