Ocean Springs tattoo artist Matt Stebly is going to compete on ‘Ink Master’

An Ocean Springs native is going to have his iconic artwork reach national audiences when he competes on a reality TV show.

Tattoo artist Matt Stebly will compete on a new season of “Ink Master,” which premiers Aug. 28 on Paramount Network, formerly Spike TV.

Stebly is the owner of Twisted Anchor Tattoo Gallery in downtown Ocean Springs, and his art has been featured across the Gulf Coast, including Biloxi Shuckers jerseys and Biloxi Seafood Festival posters.

Stebly hails from an artistic dynasty —he’s Walter Anderson’s grandson, and he hosts the annual Due South Tattoo and Art Expo in Biloxi.

His strategy is to let everyone else play themselves in the competition, leading him to be the last one standing at the end.

Described as “’Top Chef’ but for some of the country’s top and up & coming tattoo artists,” the show features contestants competing in various tattoo challenges that not only test technical skill, but also on-the-spot creativity.

The winner of the competition will receive $100,000, an editorial feature in Inked and the title of “Ink Master.”

Stebly has been featured in a Sun Herald special project about tattoo culture on the Coast and fought hard to move his shop from the St. Martin area to Government Street. He ran into road blocks with the city along the way, but in the end, his shop was right where he wanted it to be all along.

“It’s the best location I could ask for,” Stebly told the Sun Herald in 2017. “I never thought I would have a location like this.”

This story was originally published August 9, 2018 at 4:09 PM.