Willy started tattooing in about 1983 in the lower part of the South Island of New Zealand. In 1991 he worked as a tattoo artist at Skin Show Tattoo in Stanmore Road, Christchurch. After one and a half years he left to open Black Rose Tattoo Emporium on Ferry Road. Over the past 15 years the business has become one of the few respected and trusted tattoo shops in Christchurch. Black Rose Tattoo has been piercing people since 1992, making it one of the oldest body piercing shops in Christchurch. Black Rose Tattoo has received several hundred awards from shows throughout New Zealand and overseas including a 1st place at a European Tattoo Show in Berlin in 2004. Willy also created “The Snake” in the New Zealand Hit Film “Snake Skin”.