Push: Jasmine Lowe

Portrait: Reece Leung.

Interview by Hilda Quick

Photography by Various Artists

First off, briefly tell me the contents of your bag.

(Laughing) Devils, Demons and Witchcraft [book], sketchbook, Ipad, work diary, filters, turmeric recovery drink, double sided sticky tape... Pocket filters, baccy, sunglasses, a million receipts, 5p, an earring... Wax, a tiny duck, more receipts and an apple. It's like a compost bin at the bottom; I could probably grow potatoes. 

That’s tidier than last time (laughs).

I gave it a half clean out this morning.

You’re a chatterbox and can talk to anyone for hours, but has your gift of the gab ever got you in trouble? 

Well that's how I got this interview (laughs). I worked in a call centre for all of six weeks. There was a script, but I didn't stick to it. Old ladies would be telling me about their kids and husbands, I'd be on the phone for 20 minutes just having a bloody good chat. My boss used to come over and be like, “cut the call! Cut the call or sell!”

You’ve had a lot of different jobs over the years, haven't you?

Yeah I’ve had like 11 jobs, and I'm 23 (laughs). My first job was as a Christmas elf in a garden centre when I was 14. I used to have to go, “do you want an elfie?”, like a selfie but an ‘elfie’. Lots of people from high school used to come in with their little siblings. I got bullied in high school and then I was an elf, really adding fuel to the fire. 

I worked in a toy shop in an outlet centre, it was called Toy Town. On Sundays it was robbing central, but you can't catch a robber ‘til they're out the shop. I'd be stood near the door pretending I didn’t give a shit, but I was ready to go, fucking stretching and shit. They used to put [toys] in their prams, leave the store then run like fucking wind. I’d track star, chase them through the outlet centre.

I can really visualise this. All the shops are in a big loop there.

Yeah, it’s a running track (laughs) so we'd sprint as fast as we could and holla in a security guard who’d get them from the side. It was like a fucking game; I loved working Sundays.

We had a load of people in for a funeral when I worked at Ponty [Pontefract] Wetherspoons. They got really rowdy, it was like a 30 man brawl. We had to push the panic buttons and the police turned up, but as soon as they got out their cars they were fucking dragged to the floor one by one. My boss was like, “help! Jas!” and I was like, “nah sorry, I don't get paid enough” (laughs).

Oh, and I met Hugh Grant! I was working a fancy vintage car show/auction as a travelling barista. This guy came up to the stand, I wasn’t sure if it was him. He ordered his coffee and I was like, “has anyone ever told you that you look like Hugh Grant?”, and he gave me this look and said, “maybe because I am” (laughs). 

You’re now a full time tattoo artist. How would you describe your tattoo style?

Mediaeval woodcut. Fucking dark and weird is my honest answer. Occasional cutesy vibes; my demons are like, “grrrr… Hey” (laughs).

Your mum is an artist and also has a soft spot for creepy faces, particularly gargoyles. Do you think her work has inspired yours at all?

Dinner lady by trade, artist by night - she’s mint. Yeah, 100%, my mum’s a weirdo (laughs). She makes gargoyles out of chicken wire and concrete, lots of other things as well, like faces and water features. She's always been super arty. When I was younger she used to paint and draw beautiful portraits of the dogs and landscapes. I think she must’ve had a fever dream one day and started going really weird with it (laughs). I’m definitely my mum's daughter. 

Jas triumphs over Leeds University security in the traditional game of Skater Cat and Mouse, outwitting the guards to secure this triple set ride-on 5-0. All in a lunchtime’s work! Photo: Reece.

You work at both Crawe and Birdbath tattoo studios in Leeds; how did they come about?

So I met Steve (Myles) [@smyles_lsdiy] at the skatepark, who part owns Crawe. I was talking to someone about tattooing and I was like, “shhhh”, because I didn’t want Steve to overhear, thinking he's a sick tattoo artist and he's going to hate me for being a bedroom tattoo artist. Anyway, Steve - lovely fucking guy - did overhear. He helped me put my portfolio together to get into a studio. I worked in a walk-in studio in Cas [Castleford] first. He was super encouraging; even when I was working there I was still asking him a million questions because the studio wasn't giving me much help. At some point Steve said they had a space at Crawe a couple days a week if I wanted it. I was like, “obviously, yes please!”

Birdbath is set up by my good pal Abi (Townsend-Smith) [@goatnhoney]. She's also a tattoo artist and their work is sick. Abi again has helped me from the beginning to get into it, and as soon as I left the studio in Cas, I appeared on Abi’s doorstep like, “please help me. I had to quit my other studio”, and Abi took me in.

Both really lovely studios and I can't thank any of them enough for having me. I didn't do an apprenticeship but I feel like Crawe has given me so much time. Steve, Tash [@tashawild], Wren [@salut_wren], Jemima [@jemimakeziahtattoo], Carl [@bigcarltattooer] - I'm everyone's apprentice (laughs).

You also travel with your work to do guest spots; which has been your favourite so far?

I feel like it's one of those where you do a guest spot and you're like, “this is my favourite.” Then you do another and you're like, “no, this is my favourite!” I went to Glasgow last week and did a guest spot at Deviltown Tattoo and I had a really great bloody time. I went up, skated, tattooed, drank, skated… What more do you want?

I guess it's a good opportunity to skate different places when you're guesting. 

Yeah, and I like a lonesome adventure. I feel like when you go somewhere with your friends, you don't really need to talk to other people, but I love a good chat! 

Where’s next on your list?

Maybe Edinburgh. Somebody was telling me about the dungeons and I've been gunning to go. Apparently there’s all these Mediaeval torture devices and witchy things. I think the fascination with that stuff is odd but it's not because I want to use it, I just think it's so disgusting that it's interesting. One of my clients showed me some photos she’d taken of a ‘skull crusher’ there - apparently it was for women who yibber-yabber too much, so I would've had my skull crushed (laughs). In that time I would've been strung up for being a witch too… And my mum (laughs).

How do you think skating has impacted your tattoo career?

I think the whole ethics of skateboarding is very ‘give it a go and keep trying ‘til you succeed’. It's not like ‘give it a go, see if you fail’, it’s ‘give it a go and stick with it ‘til you drive yourself mentally insane’. And I think before skateboarding I didn’t have as much self confidence. If I hadn't skated I wouldn't have had the courage to do something like that. I met Steve through skateboarding too, I met everyone I know through it. 

You started riding for Division 24 Skate Shop [Wakefield] in 2021. How did you feel when Wayne (Miller) asked you to join the team?

You know Wayne, great guy but no bullshit. He messaged me on instagram saying, “can I get your number? I want to ring you for a chat.” And I was like, “oh my God, he's going to tell me off.” At the time I was skating Boom [private indoor skatepark] a lot, and sometimes if I didn't have the fiver for the tin, I'd put it in the week after. Wayne catches people; he’ll be like, “I saw 25 clips in Boom last night and there's £15 in the tin. Who's not paying?” I thought, “fucking hell, I've been caught out here.” So I gave him my number and did that thing when you do something scary and you have to go mow the lawn or something.

Did you actually go and mow the lawn?

No, I didn't have a lawn (laughs). Anyway, Wayne rang me and said, “hyped on skating?” and I was like, “yeah”. He said, “alright. Going to keep skating?” and I was like, “yeah, love it”. He then asked if I wanted to skate for Div [Division 24]. And I was like (dances around), “I'd fucking love to.” I proceeded to run up and down the stairs for like 25 minutes waiting for my housemate to get home. I always wanted to be on Div, I’m hyped on the shop. I’m hyped on the way it is, you know? They're all a bit fucking moshy (laughs).

People sometimes refer to you as ‘Mosher’ or ‘Hesh’ Jas, but I think you’re secretly a big softie.

Yeah, I’m a fake mosher. I love heavy music, I like scary things, you look at my tattoos and it's all like, “bleeeeeugh!” But my heart’s so soft. I'm a lover not a fighter.

Fraser (Doughty) told me to ask you about Wayne’s ‘Book of Doom’...?

Wayne always sorts you out. If you're skint and need something he'll sort you out - proper skate shop. He gives people shit on the agreement that they will pay him later, but you go down in the ‘Book of Doom’. I've never been in it; I don't think I’d dare.

Great Linford falls victim to The Gyalz! Back tail over t’hip during an autumnal southern migration. Photo: Filadelfo Kroon.

You recently designed a graphic for a Division 24 x Short Straw Skateboards collab deck (that can be seen in one of your photos). How did that come about?

(Sings) “Dreams can come trueee” [Dreams by Gabrielle]. I always dreamed of my artwork being on skateboards. So me and Wayne spoke briefly about doing a graphic for Div, which I was ecstatic about. Wapo (Paul Watson) skates for both Div and Short Straw, but they hadn’t produced his size in the Short Straw decks yet. It became this big juicy collab that I was well hyped on. I got to do a crazy, silly board and I put loads of nunchucks on it according to Wayne, but they weren’t nunchucks, they were straws (laughs).

I heard it sold out pretty quickly, will there be a rerun?

They already did one, there’s still some left!

You also frequent Welcome Skate Store. Elsie (Aimes) asks: If Welcome and Division had a fight, who would win?

Div. 

Why?

Wayne does martial arts. Wayne's gnarly man. Wayne would smash you all (laughs).

We’re lucky to have a really strong friendship group which has long surpassed just being a skate crew. How valuable has this been?

I guess because we’re in it, we almost don't realise how great it is. We’re really good friends but I don't think we'd have crossed paths without skating. You don't realise what we've got till you go elsewhere and you're like, “damn, there's one girl at the skatepark holding it down.” We're so lucky to have such a strong group of girls that are so active. And we have you to film us and put up with our bullshit (laughs). I think you really bring us to light; people get a bit of an insight into the crew we have. If I stopped skating tomorrow, I'd still hit you all up every day. You’re my people.

Aww! We often go on skate trips together. Which has been your favourite so far? 

Budapest, because I didn't expect it. We went because you made a really good PowerPoint and sold us on it (laughs). Budapest was one of the cheapest, but the skate spots looked a bit meh. But there were actually loads of spots; we had a good, silly time. I took you all to that heavy metal bar for Connie's (Gascoyne) birthday, and we all sang happy birthday and everyone stared. Connie went up to the bar and asked if we were welcome there (laughs). 

Copenhagen was fucking sick too; really good for skating. I’d love to go back. But I slept below An [a friendly Korean man who was occupying the only other bunk in our 10 bed dorm] and he was snoring.

He was the loudest snorer I've ever heard in my life. Half the crew ended up paying extra for a private room!

It was insane. He was a legend though. Connie even helped him with his tenant agreement. We only went for a week (laughs).

What’s it like filming with me? Be honest.

You know when I need positivity, you know when to rinse me. You know me so well that it works really well. You give me this look, it's like when a mum goes, “I'm not angry, I'm disappointed.” And I think, “alright, fucking get it together now.”

(Laughs) That's so funny, mum vibes.

But in a good way. You read me really well.

We’ve been out filming in some diabolically cold weather recently; how do you stay motivated?

Six layers and mag deadlines. And knowing that you’re stood at the bottom, freezing.

The quest for street quarters leads Jas to Skelmersdale for a rendezvous with a previously un-laybacked garden wall. Photo: Rybo.

You recently wanted a balaclava and instead of buying one decided to learn to knit. I’ve also known you to fix your own car, amongst other things. Do you like learning how to do stuff or are you just cheap?

I’m just fucking cheap (laughs). So my dad is a master of all trades - not a Jack, a master. Anything you need doing, he does it. He built the garage, reconstructed the garden, re-tiled the roof. I'd rather learn for the future, then you don't have to pay anyone to do it. Independence is key.

You helped your dad fix the roof, how did that go?

(Laughing) I fell through it. My entire leg was through the roof. I pulled my leg out and looked down and thought, “yep, that's the fridge.” My mum was upset so I said, “I thought you wanted a skylight?” She didn't find it funny. My dad later put his foot through my bedroom ceiling… Dumb and dumber!

Izzy (Almond) wants to hear about your latest musical endeavours. 

I’ve really gotten into the harmonica recently (laughs). I can absolutely smash Piano Man.

What are your plans for the near future? 

Get the fuck out of here (laughs). I'm trying to move to Barcelona but Brexit’s a thing and it's really shit. I want to try and do the whole thing that people do while they're young before I find the love of my life (laughs).

Have you got any Barca recommendations?

Nevermind (laughs), no. I can recommend a bunch of tattoo artists: my pal Piko [@piko_tattoo], my good friend Vins [@vinstattoo] and a guy called Buchi [@bucherbook]. All a bloody lovely lot, all skateboarders. 

How about your plans with skating - you had a shared part with Izzy in my last scene vid Drafts 3. will we be treated to a full Jas part in the fourth instalment?

I did say that but I dunno (laughs). Fuck it, if I can Baker maker? Full part of Baker makers.

(Laughs) Do you think Division 24 will ever do a video?

It's dreamed about, but there's not a filmer. There's Matty (Matthew Simpson) who recently made a sick Wakey [Wakefield] scene vid [All Balls], but he's leaving. Maybe one day we’ll pull our fingers out our arses (laughs). 

Finally, is the devil real? 

The devil is real. He's six years old and rides a razor scooter (laughs).

Follow Jas - @2lowe @grimeydes