Mike’s career started in the early 1990s, when as a kid he would sit and draw endlessly at his mother’s kitchen table in Massapequa, Long Island. By age 17, Mike’s passion and persistency landed him an apprenticeship at Da Vinci Tattoo, under owner Frank Romano. After an extensive mentorship Mike started tattooing in 1995. Mike stayed at Da Vinci for 10 years, honing his skills and experiencing the rich culture of tattooing through his personal work and getting tattooed himself. A pinnacle point early in Mike’s Career was traveling to Switzerland to get tattooed by the legendary Filip Leu, which opened his eyes to styles and possibilities and inspired him to forge his own path.
 
In 2005, Mike founded the original Kings Avenue Tattoo in his hometown, opening shop with just himself and two other artists. It was in the early years of Kings Avenue that Mike solidified his vision and goal, to advance the art form of tattooing and provide a rare level of personal attention to every person he works with. For Mike, the client and creating the perfect tattoo for that person come first. Mike spends countless hours researching, designing, and drawing his custom pieces for clients before he even touches skin.
 
Thanks to the Kings Avenue artists’ skills and commitment to client service, the Massapequa shop quickly gained a first-class reputation and attracted global interest. To keep up with demand, Mike opened a second Kings Avenue location in 2011 on the Bowery in lower Manhattan, an epicenter of culture and artistic energy.
 
At the Kings Avenue locations and in his extensive travels across the world, Mike has remained committed to his vision and to furthering his artistic and cultural vocabulary. As a result, demand for his expertise comes not only from tattoo enthusiasts like, Freshly Inked Magazine, Tattoo Life Magazine and Spike TV’s Ink Master, but also has given him recognition from cultural institutions such as, HEY MAGAZINE Modern Art & Pop Culture in France, and Time: Tattoo Art Today in London’s Somerset house.

Mike has also been ranked as one of the top tattoo artists by New York Magazine and the Huffington Post. He was a featured artist in the 2011 documentary Skin, a project from Garage Magazine. He appeared in the documentary alongside Damien Hurst, Jeff Koons, and Raymond Pettibon. Mike was prominently featured in Vice Magazine’s series Tattoo Age.

In recent years Mike has collaborated with brands such as: New Era, Hublot, JC Cooper Design, Stetson, and The North Face. His studio has also hosted unprecedented events, like 2015’s Pictures of the Gone World, Ed Hardy’s return to the Bowery.
 
Mike has expanded the scope of what it means to be a tattoo artist, by plunging fearlessly into new ventures and opportunities. Based on the demand for a Rubendall original tattoo be prepared for a two-year wait. In the meantime, keep an eye out for Tattooing’s Guide to Symbolism: Cor Mysterium, the first release from NeverSleep Publishing, Mike’s newest project, which was released early this year.