Meet Jordi Pla: Inside Black Flamingo Collective

You already know the feeling. You clock in, you clock out, and the creative part of you goes quiet somewhere between the alarm and the commute. Jordi Alejandro Pla knows a different rhythm: an Ink Master Season 13 competitor with over 150 tattoo awards to his name, including Best in Show at the 2025 Baltimore convention, known for electrifying color realism and high-contrast compositions that push tattooing toward fine art. 

A tattoo artist mentor is a working professional who guides aspiring tattoo artists through hands-on training, technical skill-building, and the business fundamentals needed to launch a sustainable career in tattooing. 

Jordi Pla exemplifies this role: he hones his craft at Black Flamingo Collective Tattoo Shop, where he mentors the next generation of tattoo artists in the vibrant, hyper-detailed style that has made his work sought after by collectors and convention judges alike.

Who Is Jordi Pla?

Jordi Alejandro Pla, known professionally as Jordi Pla, is a Tattoo Artist and Mentor recognized for electrifying color realism and high-contrast compositions, and for a career built on pushing artistic boundaries rather than settling for shortcuts. He competed on Season 13 of Ink Master and has earned more than 150 tattoo awards, including Best in Show at the 2025 Baltimore convention.

What sets Jordi apart is not just the ink on skin; it is the mindset behind it. He treats tattooing as a lifelong craft, one where you never stop refining your line work, your composition, and your relationship with the client sitting in your chair. This commitment to continuous improvement is exactly what mentors like Jordi bring to the table.

For anyone stuck in a job that leaves your creativity on the shelf, Jordi’s story is a reminder that a fulfilling career built around your hands and your imagination is not a fantasy. It is a path people walk every day, and it starts with a decision, one that mentors help you make with confidence.

What Is Black Flamingo Collective?

Black Flamingo Collective is the tattoo shop where Jordi Pla hones his craft, refines his signature style, and mentors aspiring tattoo artists in high-saturation color realism.

Collectives like this matter because tattooing has never been a solo sport. The best studios function like families, where tattoo artists push each other, trade feedback, and hold the whole crew to a higher bar. That environment is where growth actually happens, and where mentees learn not just technique, but professional culture.

When you surround yourself with people who take the work seriously, you rise to meet them. A collective gives you accountability, inspiration, and a network that outlasts any single project. It is the difference between grinding alone in your bedroom and building something with roots. If you’re considering this path, learn about the tattoo apprenticeships as a college alternative that prioritize community.

Pro Tip: The company you keep as a tattoo artist shapes your ceiling. Choose a community that expects excellence, and your skills will follow.

Why Does a Mentor Like Jordi Change Everything?

A live, in-person Mentor like Jordi Pla shortens your learning curve by years because they catch mistakes in real time, model professional habits, and guide you through the moments no tutorial can teach.

You can watch a thousand hours of video and still freeze the first time a real client sits down. Mentorship replaces guesswork with guidance. When your Mentor is standing beside you, you learn how to hold your Tattoo Machine, read the skin, and manage the pressure that comes with permanence. Jordi’s own path, from technical craftsman to a 150-plus-award winner and Ink Master competitor, shows exactly what that guidance builds toward. This is the irreplaceable edge of in-person training.

This human element is exactly why tattooing remains an AI-proof career. Machines cannot replicate the trust between a tattoo artist and a client, or the judgment that comes from years at the chair.  

What Can You Learn From Jordi Pla?

From a tattoo artist like Jordi Pla, you learn technical precision, style development, client trust, and the business discipline required to turn your talent into a sustainable income. His own specialty is high-saturation color realism: complex layering for depth, futuristic and surreal themes, and masterful use of contrast between shadow and light to create movement and drama.

Great mentorship covers more than technique. Yes, you learn line work, shading, and color theory, but you also learn the intangible skills that separate hobbyists from professionals. Here’s what a mentor-led apprenticeship actually teaches:

• Technical mastery: Consistent lines, smooth shading, and confident machine control.
• Style identity: Finding the voice that makes your work recognizably yours, the way Jordi has carved out a distinct niche in color tattooing.
• Client experience: Communication, consultation, and building a loyal following.
• Safety and hygiene: Bloodborne pathogen protocols and industry-standard hygiene practices.
• Business fundamentals: Pricing, branding, and growing your name in a crowded market.
• Aftercare guidance: How to educate clients on proper healing and long-term care.

That business piece is crucial. Many talented tattoo artists never earn a living because nobody taught them the commercial side. 

How Can You Train Under Mentors Like Jordi?

You can train under professional Mentors by joining a structured Tattoo Apprenticeship Program that pairs you with experienced tattoo artists and guides you through progressive, hands-on phases. Here is the path, step by step.

Step 1: Commit to the decision

The hardest part is choosing to start. Decide that your creative potential deserves more than the leftover hours of your week. This is where the journey begins, and mentors like Jordi are ready to guide you.

Step 2: Learn the fundamentals

Even total beginners start here. You do not need an art degree, just a willingness to practice. If you are worried about early missteps, read our breakdown of mistakes aspiring tattoo apprentices should avoid.

Step 3: Get the right tools and mindset

Understanding your equipment builds confidence early. Our guide to the tools every beginner tattoo artist should know gives you the lay of the land before day one.

Step 4: Train hands-on in a studio

This is where mentorship comes alive. You start remote to build foundations, then move into real Tattoo Studios to work under professionals who correct your technique as you go—just like Jordi Pla does with his apprentices.

Step 5: Pursue licensing and go pro

With job-ready skills and licensing support, you finish prepared to work as a professional. Requirements vary by state, so check specifics like how to get your tattoo license in Texas or how long a tattoo license takes in Colorado.

What Does the Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship Offer?

Ink Different’s Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship is an 18- to 24-month, four-phase Tattoo Artist Training built for beginners, offering personalized hands-on instruction, licensing support, and job-ready skills.

Since 2011, we have trained aspiring tattoo artists to become working professionals. We are a college alternative, not a classroom with a chalkboard. You learn by doing, guided by mentors who have earned their reputations in real studios and conventions, mentors who understand what it takes to build a career like Jordi Pla has.

Here is what makes our approach different:

• Beginner-friendly: No prior art experience needed. You start from the ground up.
• Start remote, finish in studios: Build your foundation, then step into live client work.
• Four-phase structure: Progressive training that meets you where you are.
• Licensing support: We help you navigate the requirements to work legally in your state.
• Good Humans culture: A supportive, family-like community that has your back.

Tattooing is one of the few careers that resists automation because it lives in human connection and skilled craftsmanship. That is why we call it AI-proof.  

What Is the Master Mentorship?

The Master Mentorship is a one-year, in-person program where you train directly with celebrity and award-winning Mentors to master a specific style, explode your career, or build your own studio business.

This program is for both beginners and experienced artists who want to level up fast. You learn from names like Al Fliction, Liz Cook, Kyle Dunbar, Boneface, and Jordi Pla, gaining intensive, focused skill development you simply cannot find on your own.

Whether you dream of perfecting realism, black and grey, or launching your own brand, this is where serious growth happens under the eyes of proven professionals. It’s the next level of mentorship for artists ready to commit deeply to their craft.

Note: Seats in our programs are limited by design. Live, in-person mentorship only works when Mentors can give real attention to each apprentice.

Making Tattoo Training Accessible for Everyone

We offer Spanish-speaking locations so language never stands between you and your calling. You can train in Denver, Orange County, NYC, Miami, San Antonio, and San Diego with instruction in Spanish.

Ready to Become a Tattoo Artist?

The gap between where you are now and a fulfilling career as a Tattoo Artist is one decision wide. Tattoo artists like Jordi Pla did not wait for permission, and neither should you.

Ready to become a Tattoo Artist? Apply now to Ink Different’s Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship and start building an AI-proof career with licensing support along the way. Prefer a lighter first step? Fill out our quick questionnaire to get personalized support and find out if our Tattoo Apprenticeship Program is right for you.