History
Get What You Get® Tattoo — The Gamification of the Tattoo Industry
Invented by tattoo artist Ricky Bird in Chicago in 2009, the Get What You Get® Tattoo Gumball Machine™ concept made its public debut at Taylor Street Tattoo in 2012—the beginning of a tattoo experience that would reach shops and clients around the world.
The idea was simple: put tattoo designs inside capsules, load them into a gumball machine, and let chance make the selection. A customer turns the handle, opens the capsule, and discovers the design. Get What You Get.
That simple interaction made the act of choosing a tattoo part of the entertainment.
Bringing Gamification into the Tattoo Shop
Gamification means introducing elements of play into an activity. Get What You Get® brought that approach to tattoo selection through a clear set of rules, a physical action, a surprise reveal, and a lasting result.
Each part of the experience contributed something:
- The rules: Choose to participate and accept a randomly selected design from the machine’s collection.
- The action: Turn the handle and put the selection process in motion.
- The anticipation: Wait to see which capsule emerges.
- The reveal: Open the capsule and discover the tattoo.
- The memory: Leave with both a tattoo and the story of how it was chosen.
The customer became an active participant in a small ritual of chance. Friends could watch, react, and share the moment. The machine gave people something to gather around before the tattooing even began.
Traditional Flash, a New Way to Choose
Get What You Get® built on tattooing’s established tradition of flash: ready-made designs drawn for customers to choose and artists to tattoo.
Ricky Bird’s contribution was to combine that tradition with the familiar capsule vending machine, creating a recognizable, repeatable experience centered on random selection. The artwork still came from the artist. The machine supplied the surprise.
It offered another reason to get tattooed: spontaneity, curiosity, and the enjoyment of participating. A design could become meaningful through the experience of receiving it.
From Taylor Street Tattoo to a Wider Audience
Taylor Street Tattoo in Chicago was the launch point for Bird’s Get What You Get® Tattoo Gumball Machine concept in 2012. As the format gained visibility, tattoo shops elsewhere embraced machine-selected tattoos, helping turn a local idea into an internationally recognizable tattoo experience.
In an October 6, 2023 feature, the Chicago Sun-Times documented Richard Bohnsak—known professionally as Ricky Bird—and his role in developing the gumball-machine concept. The article traced the story to Taylor Street Tattoo and described its spread to other shops.
Preserving the Original
The original Get What You Get® Tattoo Gumball Machine prototype is housed on display at Lucky Tattoo Museum in Largo, Florida.
The museum announced its addition to the collection in December 2024, identifying Ricky Bird as its inventor. Preserved alongside early promotional photographs, supporting documentation, and a flash sheet from the launch, the machine provides a physical connection to the concept’s beginnings.
Together, the original artifact, early materials, and published reporting help preserve the story behind the experience—and the artist who created it.
Continuing the Story
GumballTattoo.com continues that creative thread with themed tattoo-design collections for the Tattoo Gumball Machine™.
From an idea conceived in Chicago in 2009 to its Taylor Street Tattoo debut in 2012, Get What You Get® brought traditional tattoo flash into a playful encounter with chance.
Concept and original development: Ricky Bird, Chicago, 2009.
Public debut: Taylor Street Tattoo, Chicago, 2012.
Thanks to all who seek the FUN!
Historical References
Chicago Sun-Times — “These Chicago tattoo parlors let chance (and a gumball machine) choose your design,” Mary Norkol, October 6, 2023.
Lucky Supply / Lucky Tattoo Museum — “Lucky’s Tattoo Museum Welcomes Iconic ‘Get What You Get’ Gumball Machine,” December 4, 2024.