Honoring the Lineage: The Legends Who Shaped Us
Tattooing is more than artistic talent. It is tradition, mentorship, and the willingness to carry something forward. Every artist who sits down to create a new piece is shaped by the people who came before them. At Social Graces Tattoo Studio, we honor that lineage. Our story doesn’t start here. It starts with the hands, the minds, and the hearts of the legends who helped shape our region and the industry at large.
Today, we recognize three artists whose contribution to the craft continues to influence the work being done in our chairs: Brian Brenner, Joshua Carlton, and Mark Agee, known as ‘Saint Marq’.
Brian Brenner
Truth & Triumph Tattoo – Dayton, Ohio
If you grew up in the Dayton tattoo scene, you know the name. For more than two decades, Brian Brenner has shaped not only tattoos, but tattooers. As the owner of Truth & Triumph Tattoo, Brian has created a home for artists to grow, find their voice, and develop the discipline it takes to stay in this craft long-term. His black and grey work speaks humbly and with powerful intention. No rush. No shortcuts. Just steady excellence.
Many of the artists who now fill Social Graces once stood inside Brian’s walls. More than half the current shop trained, worked, and developed under his roof. Our owner, Hip, spent years at Truth & Triumph before opening Social Graces, and Brian expressed nothing but respect and pride as Hip took the step to build something of his own.
Brian’s legacy isn’t just his tattooing.
His legacy is people.
Artists. Careers. Standards.
The belief that Dayton could produce some of the best.
We are part of that.
Joshua Carlton
Founder of Evergreen Tattoo Invitational – Realism Pioneer - Professional Painter
The tattoo industry lost a true giant when Joshua Carlton passed away in 2024 after battling esophageal cancer. An artist of immense technical depth, Joshua helped push realism forward long before it was popular, mainstream, or understood. His book, educational seminars, and hands-on teaching changed the way thousands of artists approach shading, composition, and the emotional weight of imagery.
But Joshua’s impact reaches even further through The Evergreen Tattoo Invitational, the convention he founded to bring artists together to learn, support each other, and elevate the craft. He believed tattooing was something to take pride in. Something to refine. Something worth giving your life’s focus to.
His legacy lives every time an artist slows down, chooses intention over ego, and lets the work speak.
We feel that here. We miss you everyday.
Saint Marq
Master of Range and Reinvention - Contestant on Ink Master - Entrepreneur
Mark “Saint Marq” Agee stands at the beginning of the lineage. Long before television, conventions, or social media, Marq was already shaping what tattooing in the Midwest could be. His name didn’t just travel through shops, it built them. His studio, NEW BREED TATTOO, was a workplace, a proving ground for artists who would go on to make their own dent in the industry.
Both Brian Brenner and Joshua Carlton spent years traveling, learning, and working alongside Marq. The belief, the drive, and the permission to reach for something bigger began there. Without Saint Marq, there would be no Truth & Triumph as we know it, and the Joshua Carlton the industry came to admire would have emerged differently. Marq is the one who made them feel like greatness was something they could actually claim.
His influence is not a footnote or a side story in tattoo history.
He is the root that so much of the modern Midwest tattoo scene grew from.
The confidence, the ambition, and the possibility - all came from him.
What This Means to Us at Social Graces
We are not here by accident.
We are here because we were taught.
Because we listened.
Because we watched the greats.
Because the people we come from believed that tattooing is worth doing with everything you have.
Social Graces carries that forward in this space.
Every artist here does.
We honor where we came from.
We are proud of our mentors, our roots, and our reasons.
And we work every day to make sure the legacy continues.
