By Kyle Slavin - Saanich News
Published: March 09, 2010 6:00 AM

They don’t look like your typical businessmen.

None of three is wearing a suit or tie, and it’s hard not to be distracted by the details in the clusters of tattoos that adorn their arms, legs and faces.

Shawn Steinberg, Scott Pettersen and Erik Van Kobra are the brains behind this weekend’s Capital City Tattoo Convention, the first of its kind in Greater Victoria.

“The interest is there (and has) been for a while now. For us to have never had an event like this ... it’s almost a no brainer to finally do it,” Van Kobra said, his partners jumping into the conversation.

“And there’s just so many talented artists here,” Steinberg added.

“There’d also be no reason to do it if the community itself was much smaller – not as many shops or people with tattoos. If that was the case … but it’s not,” added Pettersen.

The convention takes place Saturday and Sunday at the Pearkes recreation centre. Artists from the Island and mainland will showcase their finished work as well as create new tattoos.

Many of the 28 exhibitors will be set up to give convention-goers new ink, something that created a challenge for organizers who needed to get health authorities to allow tattooing at the convention.

“Imagine what it would take to open and get health regulations (approved) for a tattoo shop. Then magnify that by a thousand,” Van Kobra said. “Since nothing has ever been held like this before in Victoria, we had to write up an infection control plan.”

Steinberg says one of the biggest attractions of a convention is that it’s public, helping eliminate the stigma that some people might associate with body art and tattoo shops.

“This is a convention. There’s thousands of people around. You can go check it out, see what it’s about, without having that pressure of having to get a tattoo,” he said.

“There’s hesitation, there’s restraint with some people. There’s these sort of outdated ideas of what tattoos shops are,” Van Kobra said. “This is a friendly environment, it’s an artistic environment.”

The two-day convention runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. In addition to the tattoo exhibitors, there will also be live bands, roving entertainment, contests and activities for kids.

“We’ve made this very family friendly,” Steinberg said. “Kids can even get stick-on tattoos.”

Tickets ($20 for both days) for the event can be purchased at Pearkes (3100 Tillicum Rd.) during the convention.