For generations in Plymouth, getting a first tattoo meant one name above all others: Doc Price.
Now 93, Doc is widely recognised as the pioneer of tattooing in the city, introducing the craft long before tattoos were fashionable or widely accepted. From the early 1970s, thousands of locals and visitors sat in his chair for their first tattoo, beginning journeys that are still remembered and talked about decades later
Doc wasn’t following a trend. He was creating one. Long before social media or celebrity studios, his reputation spread purely by word of mouth. Sailors, dock workers, service personnel and local residents all found their way to him, and even today, ask a certain generation where they got their first tattoo, and the answer is often the same: Doc Price.
While Doc no longer tattoos himself, he still spends his days in the shop, laid up comfortably and keeping a close eye on what’s going on around him. From there, he watches his son at work, remaining very much part of the daily life of the studio and the craft he helped establish. That family legacy is now carried on by his son, Bill Price, who continues the tradition built over decades.
Doc Price may no longer tattoo, but his influence is everywhere: in the studio, in the stories shared by customers, and across the countless tattoos he helped bring to Plymouth. At 93, he remains a living legend, the true pioneer of tattooing in the city.
Photographs and Video © Wayne Perry / Plymouth Post