Located in the heart of Green Street, Typecast Inc. Tattoos and Piercing has seen almost a year of success and an exciting taste of the business world.

Justin Fults opened the tattoo shop on April 14, 2011 with the help of his wife, Paige, and a couple of close friends. Describing himself as a man of few words, Fults said just enough to make it evident that he is passionate about what he does.

Before the opening of the venue, Fults knew that there was something that drew him to tattoos. He got his first piercing when he was 18 and soon thereafter fell in love with the entire idea of tattoo shops. His first tattoo was a fancy spiral pinwheel that he received at the tattoo shop Altered-Egos.

“I wanted to learn more about tattooing because it was something that interested me. I started working at Altered-Egos and bounced around a little after that,” Fults said.

Fults felt that he was working at places that didn’t necessarily have the best reputations. Striving to make a name for himself, Fults decided it was time to open his own shop.

“I knew that downtown was going to be expensive to open up a shop, so I started looking at some other places. When my realtor showed me this place, I fell in love with it,” he said.

The process didn’t come easy. Even though Fults knew that his new location at 602 East Green Street was perfect, there was a lot of work to be done. The place was a little rundown, and he did a lot of work to it to make it the relaxing and professional shop it is today.

As with any new business owner, worries were present. Fults opened the shop two weeks before students left for summer break, so there was the concern that the business would immediately fail. In addition, Fults was also facing a new lifestyle and routine. There was a lot more responsibility to running his own place, as well as long hours.

Since then, however, Fults feels more confident with his growing business. Jeremy M. Jones is also sometimes at the shop where he does appointment-only therapeutic bodywork. The two services set the shop apart from other businesses.

“I like that the business isn’t monotonous. Sure, there are long hours and the occasional repeated designs, but you never know what’s going to walk through the door. There’s a sort of exciting factor, if you will,” Fults explained.

Fults doesn’t have a set style in his designs. He supports the tattoos that his clients want and tries to adhere to their desires. If something seems a little crazy, he might offer his insight, but overall, it’s up to the customer.

This philosophy might be why Fults has such a loyal customer base. Typecast Inc. is a little more hidden than the other tattoo shops on Green Street, but in a way, this is actually a good thing. Fults depends strongly on recommendations and word of mouth to gain many of his customers, but this ensures that the people going to the shop really want to be there.

In addition to these loyal customers, the clientele is a little surprising; the majority of the customers are women.

“The other day, I actually just tattooed my first guy in months,” Fults laughed. “Usually, I tattoo a couple of guys that I know personally, so that was my first ‘stranger.’”

Fults’ close friends are very supportive of the business and are often at the shop. Alex Lingafelter had only good things to say about Fults.

“I met Justin through his wife Paige and we started hanging out a lot. Whenever I have money, I have him tattoo me,” Lingafelter said. “I figure if I’m going to get a tattoo, I might as well have a friend do it. Plus, Justin is just awesome at what he does.”

As for what’s coming up for the shop, Fults is having a promotion for Unofficial with $17 tattoos and piercings. The tattoos are set designs, including clovers and pots of gold.

For a shop owner with a business shy of only a year old, Fults has already created a foundation that may become as permanent as tattoos themselves.