FILM TO VIDEO: Sid and Ken

Kissimmee, Florida, is a small suburb of Orlando that's mostly known for a kitschy themepark called Gatorland. The park is most famous for it's live alligators, crocodiles, and other reptiles, and one of its biggest draws is the always-popular "meet a capybara" experience. So, you know, all in all not a lot going on.

In the 1970s, however, Kissimmee was home to an underground tattoo artist named Ken Myers (or Meyers, or Meyer, depending on the source—Sid Diller spelled it several ways). Ken operated an outlaw tattoo shop that catered specifically to gay men. At the time, the tattoo scene was shifting from its military roots to a biker-dominated culture, and walking into that environment as an openly queer person—especially seeking erotic imagery—could be risky. Like Sid Diller, whose Silver Anchor was a hidden haven for gay male clients, Ken created a safe and discreet space for tattooing gay men. It wasn’t exactly a professional shop, but it was absolutely a necessary one.

Information on Ken - possibly not even his real name - has been impossible to come by. None of the old timers I've asked about Ken had heard of him, including Celebration, Florida (another suburb of Orlando/Disney) based gay tattooer John Dagion, so I admit other than this 50 year old video, we don't have much to add about Ken and his practice.

What we know: This footage was shot on film in 1975. Photos from tattoos done in the full video conversion that we have on VHS appeared in the archives of UK tattooer/piercer Alan Oversby, so it's extremely probable that he, like Sid Diller and Cliff Raven, were present when this footage was shot. This clip is just over six minutes of a longer tape, which is on our 'cleanup' list for 2025.

(direct dropbox link to file: Here.)

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