The boot camp training paid off in ways other than giving her confidence in combat. Her intense discipline—combined with a passion for the art form—is what got her through a grueling apprenticeship under her then husband, Tattoo Joe at Physical Graffiti in Bridgeport, CT. Ruthless, who loved art from a young age, says, “As soon as I found out that you can put art on you permanently, I was like, Wow. Even when I saw my first piercing on somebody’s tongue in high school I was like, That’s so awesome, I want that. I never thought it could be a career for me.” She used to hang out and draw in her husband’s shop. She says, “He saw my drawings and was like, ‘You can draw. Do you want to learn how to tattoo?’ I’ve never looked back since.” That’s when her trial began. “It was a very hard apprenticeship. Before we entered the shop, he’d be like, ‘You are not my wife and I’m not your husband when we’re in the shop. You’re my apprentice.’ I had to shovel snow, rake the leaves, scrub tubes, do push-ups and sit-ups, vacuum, and paint the walls of the apartments next door—these things that you’re like, What does this have to do with tattooing? But it has everything to do with it. It teaches you discipline. It puts your heart in the right place.”

And now she’s inking on prime time cable television every week. Regarding her involvement in the show, Ruthless is still learning the ropes and how to keep up her stamina on days when the crew is shooting for 17 hours. Unlike real life, reality shows require takes and retakes and more, and when coupled with tattooing it can get exhausting. She’s also cagey about saying anything about any of her coworkers—including Amy, whom she’s flared up with on camera—as she’s still finding her place in the shop. But she does admit that it is strange being recognized on the street. “Before, no one knew who I was,” she says. “Now people are like, ‘You’re Ruthless.’ It’s so trippy. You don’t really know how to react to it.”

Speaking of reactions: When Ruthless’s mother first saw that her daughter had gotten inked, she was beside herself. “I used to tease my mom and be like, ‘I’m going to get that tattooed on my face. I’m going to get that tattooed on my hand, my fingers.’ And she’d be like, ‘No! Don’t do that!’ She’d get worked up and it was funny.” When Tattoo Joe did tattoo a 19-year-old Ruthless, her mom was distraught. “The first tattoo I got was pretty much half my arm. She was like, ‘You’ve ruined your life forever.’ I had to tell her, I haven’t changed. But from where she’s from in the Philippines, the only kind of people who get tattooed are gangsters and murderers—unless you’re from the South, then it’s more of a tribal thing. I had her come into the shop to show her what it was really like, and now she totally understands. So does my dad. They watch the show and they’re very proud of me. My dad will joke around about getting the footprints of my sister’s kids on his chest.”

Still, Ruthless’s mom would prefer her days of getting inked were over. “She’s like, ‘No more tattoos on yourself, but you can keep tattooing people.’” She likely wasn’t too delighted when Ruthless inked “L.A.” onto the back of her ankle. But then again, neither was Ruthless. “During the whole thing I was like, Man, I wish somebody else would do this. I was screaming and yelling at myself. … It’s one of those things that’s just better for somebody else to do.” Hence, Mark Dupp of Unbreakable Tattoo is inking the traditional-style sleeve on her left arm. She says that the piece, which starts with the swallows on her hand and features skulls, flowers, and water further up her arm, “is based on my spirituality and how I view life. The real meaning behind the swallows is how far you’ve gone in the sea. But since I’m not a sailor, I have them because I’m a free-spirited person. The flowers and skulls are for life and death, and the main skull has tribal on it because tribal means you belong somewhere, and I believe you belong somewhere after death, like heaven. I hope I make it up there.”

In the meantime, Ruthless will have to hold her own, both offscreen and on, with the likes of Kat Von D, of whom she’s not a fan. She explains that despite meeting Kat numerous times, the star of LA Ink still doesn’t remember who she is. “I’ve met her throughout the six years I’ve been tattooing—and I’m not anybody to remember—but if you meet someone so many times, how can you not remember them at all?” Ruthless finally cracks about her fellow cast member: “It came to a point where it’s just insulting. I don’t care how famous you get. I don’t think it’s right to treat anyone like that.”