Rene Soto is a New York City tattoo artist whose life in art and tattooing spans more than four decades. Raised in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, Rene attended New York City’s High School of Art and Design, where he developed a foundation in drawing and visual art before establishing himself professionally as a tattoo artist.

Rene Soto has been tattooing professionally since 1986, coming up during a period when tattooing in New York City existed far outside the mainstream culture it occupies today. His career developed alongside the city’s underground art, street, music and hip-hop scenes, giving his work a connection to New York that extends far beyond the walls of a tattoo shop.

Over the years, Rene became known for his versatility as a tattoo artist, working across Japanese tattooing, black-and-gray, lettering, illustrative work and other traditional tattoo styles. His approach has always been rooted in drawing, composition and adapting each tattoo to the individual wearing it rather than being confined to one recognizable style.

Rene’s tattoo career also intersects directly with generations of hip-hop, music and sports culture. Over the years, Rene Soto has tattooed Tupac Shakur, B-Real and DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill, and Brooklyn boxing champion Zab Judah, among other notable clients. His broader history within New York’s music and cultural scene has also crossed paths with names including Fat Joe, De La Soul, Brand Nubian, photographer Ricky Powell, Fredro Starr of Onyx, and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.

Rene’s life and career have also been captured through documentary work. He has been featured in Cannabis Now and Tattoo Life, two projects documenting different parts of the culture and community surrounding his life and work. Tattoo Life, created with filmmaker Gil Rios, documented Rene Soto, his career and the world surrounding Skintrade Tattoos. Years later, Rene and Gil continued that conversation, revisiting the people, stories and experiences that helped shape his journey.

That history became part of the foundation of Skintrade Tattoos, Rene Soto’s tattoo studio in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Today, Rene continues to tattoo, draw, paint and create while working alongside a newer generation of tattoo artists at Skintrade Tattoos NYC.