A Journey That Has No Destination
by Yanik Niffeler
How meeting Noah took me through five countries and to his side in LA.
Luckily, my hotel in Paris was not far from Noah's Airbnb, because after my first tattoo session with him, I was incredibly tired and looking forward to bed. However, despite my tiredness, I found it hard to sleep that night. My thoughts kept me awake, because for the first time I had a clear vision of how my life as an artist could be. Noah had shared his past and his perspective on his life with me during just one day. I had just entered the beautiful world of art and was searching for my place in it. In my search I took small cautious steps, which were guided by my passion and my hunger for more knowledge.
Subconsciously, I created a goal in my head that evening, to one day be as established as an artist as he was and to be able to open many doors through my art.
Over six years later, I have arrived at that goal and realize that it doesn't feel like "arriving". Through my journey, I have now truly understood what Noah wanted to convey to me from the beginning, and what is the essence of his work: he opened a door for me then to a journey that has no destination. That is why I cannot tell you about my destination, but only about my journey.
During those two days in Paris, I created a kind of blueprint through the experience. A roadmap for a journey full of passion, sacrifice, and discipline.
Overly motivated and inspired, I returned Switzerland and began to build my career as a tattoo artist. As with Noah, my beginnings were characterized by humble beginnings, many insights to critical self-reflection and long nights during which I tattooed or drew.
A year later we met for session three and four in Los Angeles. It was indescribably beautiful to see him and his family again and to pick up where we left off in Paris. For the first time, I walked into HOUS Studios and felt its energy and potential. During those first few seconds of entering this extraordinary studio, I solidified my desire to one day work here side by side with Noah. As in Paris, I continued to work on my blueprint for the journey to my destination.
The idea of studying art and educating myself at the highest possible level, like Noah, dominated our conversations and my thoughts during those two days. The idea of diving deeper into the world of art and exploring many more of its components stayed with me. As after Paris, I had a clear idea of the goal I wanted to pursue until our next meeting.
A year later we met again, this time in the beautiful city of Lisbon. I was about to leave for Hamburg, Germany to study at the Academy of Art and Design. My development through the journey I had made since Paris made it possible to take this important step. I was ready to sacrifice a lot and dive alone into an unknown new world, learning as much as possible. I had learned to subordinate everything to my goal.
I think Noah noticed this development and these qualities during the two days and that made him proud, as I know today.
In Hamburg, I continued to follow the directions that I had created with Noah over all those years. Like him, I studied the various branches of art at the university during the day and spent the nights in the tattoo studio. It was an incredibly exhausting but educational time, which shaped me as an artist as well as a person.
When I met Noah in the summer of 2019 for our last session so far in Berlin, it was as always a wonderful reunion with him and his family. But something was different. The path, which he showed me and which I actually walked with great consistency, connected us. I could now proudly talk about my journey.
Now I am here, having taken the biggest step of my journey so far. I moved to Los Angeles to continue my journey with the incredibly talented and inspiring HOUS team. One thing I know for sure now: The journey goes on and on, and by now I am convinced that it will never end. I am taking one step at a time and looking forward to the hurdles, beautiful moments, and educational lessons this journey holds for me.
Thank you HOUS team for this experience, and thank you Noah for the opportunity— to not only follow your footsteps, but to walk this journey with you.