- THE GENESIS -

29:11 Tattoo was established on New Year's Day of 2020 by owner, Kenny Brown. Born in Milpitas, California, Kenny started his tattooing career 14 years ago out of his garage. As a self-taught tattooist, he always dreamt of owning his own tattoo shop some day. Kenny worked in multiple tattoo shops throughout his career, creating his vision of how he wanted to run his own business. He wanted customers to feel as if they were family when they entered his shop. He wanted to create a safe place for people considering the tattoo industry can be intimidating to some folks. The only thing that was missing was a place he could call his own.

Kenny has always wanted to open his tattoo shop in his hometown of Milpitas, however, the city has a ban on all tattoo parlors. Having no choice but to search in nearby cities, Kenny kept running into the same issue of being rejected by property managers after he presented his business idea to them. This went on for the next 9 years during his search. Still, he didn't lose hope. During this time, Kenny moved to the City of Gilroy in 2017 and noticed a space for lease in a newly renovated plaza, and so he quickly put in an application for it. However, he waited an entire year for the property manager to either approve of his business use or deny him. Kenny anxiously waited that time for an answer. He finally received one from the property manager approving his idea of a tattoo shop, and not long after that, Kenny signed the lease agreement that same week. After that entire year of waiting, however, Kenny still hadn't thought of a name for his shop and was struggling to find one. He wanted the name to be a culmination of his entire journey and also the vision he had for his business. A name that would give people hope for whatever they are faced with.

While out of ideas for a shop name, Kenny glanced down at a wristband he was wearing. It had "Jeremiah 29:11" written on it. A Bible verse that says, "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." After reading this verse, Kenny's attention was suddenly drawn to the numbers on the wristband. He noticed the familiarity in them, and when he reversed 29:11 to 11:29, he was shocked. His birthday is November 29, and he also turned 29 in 2019, the same month and year he signed the lease for his business. Instantly, Kenny had found the perfect name for his shop: 29:11 Tattoo. 

Kenny's vision of how he wanted to run his business came to fruition, culminating in 29:11 Tattoo being named "Best Tattoo Shop in Gilroy" in 2021, 2022, and 2024. 29:11 Tattoo is constantly praised for its professionalism with customers, the overwhelmingly positive experiences they have, and the outstanding tattoos that are produced there.

Kenny's journey does not end there, however.

As the shop in Gilroy was approaching the end of its lease, Kenny felt called to bring his gifts to another city. He considered moving outside of California where he could start his family and plant new roots, but he didn't feel at peace with that idea. Instead, something was telling him to contact the City of Milpitas again and make one final attempt at fulfilling his goal of opening his business there. While he was preparing himself for another let-down like last time, Kenny was in complete shock to hear that the city no longer had a ban on tattoo parlors. Kenny felt an immense amount of joy from this and immediately he felt at peace. He knew it was time for him to come back home and bring 29:11 Tattoo with him.

Kenny never gave up hope on his dream, even after the countless years of rejection during his search. And now, 14 years later, his dream has finally come true for him. Kenny plans on keeping 29:11 Tattoo in Milpitas, where it rightfully belongs, and using it to be a beacon of hope throughout the city by sharing his story with others. Kenny is incredibly thankful to God and His perfect timing after He put all of these pieces together for him to achieve his dream. Not only that, Kenny is also thankful that he gets to start his family in the same city where he already had roots planted in.

29:11 Tattoo made history by being the very first tattoo shop to be named after a Bible verse. And now, it's one of the first tattoo parlors in history to operate in the City of Milpitas. Kenny endured countless trials over the past 14 years, and the only thing he remembers from all of that, was that God never abandoned him and was finally able to bring him back home.

- What makes us unique -

The secret to all of our success comes from one thing that businesses cannot be taught: genuinely caring for the well-being of clients.

Since our doors have been open, we have made it our top priority to put our clients' needs first. We go the extra mile to make sure our clients are satisfied, and we are constantly praised for our customer service.

One of the many ways we demonstrate this is by sharing our tattoo knowledge with our clients and guiding them towards making smarter and more affordable investments with their tattoos. We stay in constant communication with our clients before their appointment(s) as well as afterwards to help take away any anxieties they may have built up. During a tattoo session, clients will also be able to enjoy the luxury of a private studio all to themselves without any distractions around them. These are just some of the services we offer to our clients as our way of demonstrating our care towards them.

We've learned that a lot of customers struggle to finding the right tattoo parlor for them. They're searching for a business that they can trust, receive quality work from, not feel taken advantage of, and more importantly, feel welcomed at. We've structured our business and created an environment to where they can receive all of those things from us without having to ask for it.

Here, at 29:11 Tattoo, we sincerely enjoy building relationships with all of our clients. We enjoy getting to know them and providing them with a service where they feel valued.

Because we don't see our clients as dollar signs.

We see them as family.