Ami James

Who is Ami James?

Ami James, is an Israeli-born tattoo artist.

His father, an American, converted to Judaism three years prior to moving to Israel, where he joined the Israeli army and met James' mother. James lived in both Israel and Egypt as a child, and spent much of his childhood without his father who left the family when James was four years old. Suffering from severe ADD, James explains that he was drawn into art and tattooing from a young age as his father had tattoos and was also a painter.

James moved to the United States aged 11 or 12, living with his father's parents before moving to Miami at the age of 12. He moved back to Israel in his teens and completed his military service in the Israel Defense Forces as a sniper. At the age of 15 he got his first tattoo, an experience which made him determined to become a tattoo artist himself. In 1992, he started his apprenticeship with tattoo artist Lou at Tattoos By Lou. He is the co-owner of the Miami Beach, Florida tattoo parlor Love Hate Tattoos, the subject of the TLC reality television program, Miami Ink. James also co-owns the DeVille clothing company with Núñez and Jesse Fleet, and the Miami nightclub Love Hate Lounge, with Núñez and two other close friends. He has also created designs for Motorola's RAZR V3 mobile phones. His wife, Jordan, gave birth to their first child, Shayli Haylen James on August 3, 2008. Their second child, a daughter, was born May 8, 2012.