O'Neill is one of 10 elite tattoo artists competing in this new reality show hosted by satanic rocker Dave Navarro.
The contestants live together in a house in New York and take part in a series of skill challenges, many of them involving live subjects (the show refers to them as "human canvases.") Someone is eliminated in each episode until the winner is crowned Ink Master and awarded $100,000.
The program is another indication of just how accepted body art has become in this country in the last few decades.
"When I started out 40 years ago," says "Shanghai Kate" Hellenbrand, 70, a legendary figure in the field now based in Austin, Tex., "drunken sailors and fallen women were the only people who got tattoos. Now, everybody is getting them. The fastest-growing demographic is people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s."
The tattoo demimonde has been mapped out often on basic cable, on shows including Miami Ink and Inked, but this is the first time a competitive twist, à la Top Chef, has been introduced to the mix.
"It was a no-brainer for us," says Chris Rantamaki, VP of original series at Spike.
"Our whole channel is built on two guys walking into a ring, punching each other in the head and seeing who comes out," he says, referring to Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts. "So, stakes are big for us. People getting their appearance permanently altered? It's hard to imagine stakes bigger than that."
Ink Master was taped last summer. It's now a cold afternoon in January and O'Neill, 40, is parrying questions designed to reveal how close he came to winning.
"You're not going to get it out of me," he says, laughing. He gestures with the tattoo machine in his hand at the staff and hangers-on at his Willow Grove shop and says, "These guys kept plying me with drinks over the New Years, trying to get me to tell, but I wouldn't."
