Freshly Inked Interview with Oh No Radeo
You build bikes, you travel, you photograph. What would you say is your formal job title?
I pay the bills bartending at 2 super rad strip clubs in Portland, OR, Lucky Devil Lounge and Devils point. Both spots are really unique, we have all sorts of events like Stripperoke (yes you can karaoke there on stage while some foxy babe strips to your most likely terrible rendition of some 80's hair metal song), charity bikini car washes (essentially a real-life Whitesnake video), lube wrestling (better than anything you’ve seen on WWE) not to mention all the girls are insanely talented some award-winning performers. We have a poker game running every night and neither club is your typical hustle-y strip club. Just 2 awesome bars where you can gamble, drink, eat great food and there just so happens to be 6 insane babes dancing every night if you're into that too... which who wouldn’t be.
What’s been a new discovery for you in 2018?
I spent a lot of 2018 immersed in planning, training and going to Everest. However S&S Performance Cycles graciously hooked me up with a new top end for my Sportster engine that blew earlier in the year. It's allowed me to open up my engine and learn so much more about the mechanics of my bike versus the stuff I already feel comfortable with like fabrication, electrical and general maintenance.
What's your next trip?
Every other year I do a big motorcycle trip or a hiking/backpacking trip. Since I just got back from Everest, 2019 is all about a big motorcycle trip. Nothing planned out yet though, I have some ideas but currently in the middle of building a new bike.
When did you first strike an interest in bikes?
I've been interested in bikes for years because of my Dad, but I’ve been traveling so much since then owning one wasn’t a priority. I've only owned my own bike(s) since 2016.
What was your first experience like riding a motorcycle?
I can't remember my first experience riding a motorcycle, but I vividly remember my first motorcycle trip. I bought this purple Sportster with an Indian horse head airbrushed on the tank from a little old lady out on the Oregon coast and immediately starting planning a trip to ride it to the Grand Canyon by myself, before even getting comfortable on it. Within 6 weeks I was off to Yellowstone, Tetons, seeing Willie Nelson in Salt Lake, heading south hitting up antelope canyon, monument valley, Zion, arches, canyon lands, the Grand Canyon and back up north through Death Valley, Yosemite, and Crater lake, being filthy from the road and camping the entire time. I've been to all those places prior to that trip but seeing them from a bike is so different, I didn’t expect that at first for some reason. Doing trips like that on a bike forces you to constantly be present, engaged and experiencing everything. When you’re in a car you don’t think about things as much, you zone out to the radio, you’re comfortable in air conditioning, shielded from the weather, not worried if you hit a pothole or road-kill, there's a giant metal barrier between you and the world around you. It's almost the difference between watching a sport on TV versus being in the game. 
And when did you start traveling?
I started traveling a lot when I joined Suicide Girls. It was a very different type of traveling than I do now though, it was more geared around cities where nowadays I really only travel to hike.
Speaking of Suicide Girls, when did you first get into modeling?
I joined Suicide Girls in 2008 and stayed with the company for 5-6 years. Did a lot of things with that company, everything from modeling, shooting, photo assistant work, styling, recruiting, and worked endless comic & tattoo conventions and even was the model coordinator at one point.
Having a large following on Social Media, are you recognized by people in person?
It's really far and few between, which I'm really thankful for. I easily get shy and awkward when approached in the wild haha. I rarely post photos of myself nowadays and mainly share my hobbies. Back in the day when I was posting a lot about SG (Suicide Girls) and going to conventions, it was more frequent.
Tell us what you think about Social Media, the good and the bad?
I love it. I use Instagram for multiple things; keeping up with friends I've met through traveling, my family, inspiration on my motorcycles, look for motorcycle parts on IG even, I check geotags to see what the snow level is on certain alpine trails before hiking them. I do a lot of trip planning though Instagram in general. 
And what do you prefer, being in front of or behind the camera? And why?
100 percent behind the camera. It's so satisfying to hike, climb or build something and share your point of view, capture it in a way that makes it look as grand as it feels to have accomplished it. The older I get the more reluctant I am to shoot, not because I'm insecure about being older, I feel better than I ever have, it's just I'm more reluctant to feel vulnerable or judged. I know who I am and how I feel and modeling just makes me feel like I'm being put under a microscope to only post and have an open forum about how others view me physically in the comments below; I welcome that same open forum when it involves my hobbies, interests, and passions. I like engaging when it comes to that. Reading comments about inspiring people to get outside or build something versus having strangers approve or disapprove how I physically look is way more satisfying.
Now let's talk about tattoos, what's your favorite style and why?
I like a lot of different styles of tattoos, some of the stuff artists today are putting out is mind-blowing. There's so much talent out there. I personally started getting traditional tattoos in my early 20's and have tried to stick with that so it looks cohesive.
Tell us about your most recent tattoo?
My most recent tattoo is some script saying “higher than the sky” on the side of my right hand and “ deeper than the ocean” on the side of my left.
What inspired it?
It was a phrase my 6-year-old sister picked up from a cartoon, she started saying “love you higher than the sky, deeper than the ocean” so frequently other members of my family started saying it as well. Despite living across the country from my family we’re all really close, I'm super thankful for that.
Do you get most of your tattoos from the same studio/shop or on your travels from different artists?
The majority of my tattoos are from 3 different artists in the midwest. I try to make them look like the same person did them all so one doesn’t stand out more than the other. Part of me wishes I would’ve gotten tattoos while traveling though, it's just when I started traveling I kind of stopped getting tattoos. I try to juggle only one expensive hobby at a time haha.
What's your best piece of advice when it comes to traveling? Experience a non-western country at least once in your life.
What are three things you need with you on the road? Well, it's dependent on what kind of trip I'm doing. If it's a motorcycle trip then 1. Tool kit because there's never a day that goes by where you’re not tinkering on your bike on the side of the road. 2. Spare gas, the tank on my chopper only gets me about 70-75 miles at a time, depending on where you’re at it's easy to find a stretch of highway where you don’t pass a gas station for 100 miles. 3. My boot knife, I mainly use it for practical reasons but I do travel alone most of the time so it doesn’t hurt to have something for protection as well.
