This is Rob. The other owner of Urban Ink Tattoo & Piercing Company.

BIO:

Rob grew up dirt poor living in a shack in the country with no running water and the crapper was a hole in the ground. His father died when he was 8 and that left him, 3 sisters and his mother to struggle on, trying to survive. Times were pretty tough, so when he was 12 his mother moved them into public housing in Toronto. Regent Park, one tough, bad ass neighbourhood but to Rob and his family, it was a step up.

It was nice to have a toilet that flushed instead of a seat covering a circle cut out of a board that was above a hole in the ground. It was nice to have running water into a sink or tub. First impressions can sometimes be deceiving and Regent Park brought hard times for his family. It was a "survival of the fittest" neighbourhood so it was necessary to develop a "survival of the fittest" attitude. After surviving about 8 years in Regent Park his family moved again to another public housing development called St. James Town..

At the time it was another step up for Rob's family but Rob was already off leading his own life. He finished high school and attended 2 years of college but then a series of events and circumstances turned his life around for the worse and things were pretty tough for him. After many years living on the street or at various "addresses" he decided that either he change his life or it would kill him. He returned to college, got a job and his own place.

One of the devil's on Rob's back was his alcoholism. He loved to drink but he was a mean drunk. He knew this was to be one of his biggest challenges but he stopped and it has now been 28 years since his last drink. About a year after he quit he met Gail, the woman who would forever change his life for the better.

It was love at first sight and he says he is more in love with her each day. They struggled to start a life together and it has now been 26 years, 4 kids and 3 grandchildren later and life is good. Rob's 58 now and looking ahead a bit. He has been working at the same place for 24 years but when his son Dave came to him about starting a shop he thought it sounded like a good investment, so he & Gail decided to go for it.

Rob says if you don't take risks your life will never change. There are only a few real opportunities in life, before it's too late, so take a life changing risk or sit back, watch life pass you by and wonder forever what could have happened if you had taken the risk. It's scary but don't be afraid, go for it.