Inked: Tell us more about why they decided to have a tattooed chick on the show.

Colby: I think that there is a certain portion of history that is very, very conservative. But at the same time, I think they realized that it was wise to kind of make a move to be bolder. Kat Von D basically opened up the door too see tattooed women on television. And I think that after seeing that example, they probably weren't as hesitant especially due to the success of the show. It proved that it wasn't going to stop people from watching the show. So I mean I’m sure it was all executive board decision stuff but I’m a pretty kick ass girl and a pretty nice person and I have a good head on my shoulders and I think that they can see that so they were just like “well let's give it a try."

Inked: it seems to be a decision that worked out well, no?

Colby: yeah it has, it's worked out really well. I tend to think that it's more because of the boys but you know I am glad that i am involved in the process. And you know it's weird, even in the tattooed culture, as far as people reacting to the tatttoos, you have people who feel the need to pick apart everyone’s tattoos. Some of us have deaths in the family, we have crises and we have happy times and we just want to express the passions for those moments on our skin. You just grow thick skin. Which is not necessarily good for tattooing, hahaha, but it's better for the ego.

Inked: Do you do any picking yourself?

Colby: Yes I do, I have certain people that I pick from, which is actually quite a small group. I learned a long time ago, and very, very fast; pickers are extremely territorial. And you don't wan to overlap each other. If there is someone that I want to pick from that is affiliated with mike or frank, then I have to go him or her and say "hey look dude, they have stuff that you are not going to buy that I would love to buy. Is it okay if I pick from your guy?" Which you know, sometimes it is, sometimes its not. But you know, when it is okay, it's actually really nice for them to give me that ability.

Inked: How do you choose where you, Mike or Frank pick from?

Colby: The process is actually exceedingly simple but it is a lot of hard work. But the recipe is very simple. I can't really give you all the details of that recipe but I can tell you all the basic stuff. There are some people that we have picked from for years and we try to stay in contact with them. I also try to find out as much information as I can about them, who they spend their time with, who they go to meets with, and I am very forward about it, I am not sneaky at all. I let them know, "hey, I am actually looking for toys do you have a toy guy, or I’m actually looking for rifles, do you have a rifle guy." And everybody does. So all hoarders have hoarder friends. It’s in the rulebook somewhere. So that's kind of the easiest way to get into picking in general, to find one person who has an extensive collection and ask them who their friends are.