Wicked Zone

20 minutes…2 hours… it’s just time right. Bad service shouldn’t be rewarded… stay away.

3.5 stars
I got my 4^th tattoo here. The two of us walked in an hour before closing and we were rushing to get our tattoos done (not recommended).
Well anyway, they were cool for being down to tattoo us so late. I purchased a new gold nose ring (favorite, lost it) that the piercer put on for me while my bf got tatted by James, and then me afterwards. I’m not sure if he still works here, but he was cool. He seemed very patient and offered to give us a ride home, since it was late, on the way, and we BARTed. I later found out from James that he did some work on my cousins back in the day, so I trusted him.
You know how sometimes you feel like artists get a little irritated after redrawing the piece on the paper stencil thing? I made lots of changes to my stencil and I didn’t sense that from James. He wanted to make sure it was exactly the way I wanted it, no anxiousness.

Got my first tattoo here 6 years ago. I was a rebellious Berkeley student who got in a fight with my then-​boyfriend, yadee yada. Let’s just say, it was totally on impulse and I should’ve done more research!
In retrospect, this place was pretty impersonal. The parlor is tucked away behind a clothing store. They had a lot of books/​designs to choose from, so I chose a 3″ wide tribal on my lower back, no customizations.
A lady brought me into a ghetto booth/​stall and pulled a black curtain closed. The walls were painted black, and she had me sit on the most uncomfortable stiff chair, straddling backward, while she inked me.
The tattoo was pretty painful, but it was quick. She gave me good care instructions. I loved my tattoo (though it was a bit close to my crack!), but eventually covered it up with a bigger badder one a couple of years ago. My new artist told me that they did a pretty bad job — apparently the needle did some good scarring on my skin tissue! NEGATIVE STARS!
All in all, this place is pretty impersonal and cheap, so it’s so catered to the target audience: impulsive college kids like I was.

I sympathize with many reviews here that Wicked does have poor service, but not everyone is an asshole there.
My sister and I have been trying to get tattoos together for a while now and we just couldn’t make it happen with our busy schedules. So yesterday with a few hours to spare, we dropped by a few places like Telegraph and Zebra parlors where they didn’t have open slots for us. We weren’t set on going to Wicked because of the recent poor reviews, but we did both get our first tattoos there 7 – 8 years ago.
We walked in and immediately started talking to Marcus who turned out to be great. He was friendly and very patient while we printed out many different font sizes and shapes for our quote we wanted. He even matched the lowest price I got from another parlor so we ended up tipping him well.
Overall, I think tattoo parlors are hard to rate because your experience depends on the artist not the shop. If you’re looking for a tatt from Wicked, I highly recommend Marcus.

I see they changed the name to GALAXI (yeah, they are trying too hard (TTH) to be hip).
They downsized on the clothing options (if you are stuck in the raver fashion trenz of the late 90s/​early 2000s, this is the place to go). I remember they had better shoes selections back in the day (where I got my awesome red Faryl Robin pointy flats, before pointy flats were fashionable).
They expanded the waiting area for those who go in here for tattoos and piercings. There is a couch where you can wait for your friend who is getting her tongue piercing or tramp stamp.
Oh yeah, this is where I got my tongue piercing back in the day (2001). I remember the piercing dude to be very nice and informative. I had a boy haircut then: [
. No wonder people thought I was a crack snacker.
(|)

Wicked bad.
I don’t mean bad as in good either, I mean it literally. I’ve been in here several times to shop, and never get any assistance. It seems that there aren’t any clerks running the shop, as they are all tattooing and screwing around.
The last time I went in there was with a friend, who wanted to get a simple tattoo of music notes, and the tattoo artists couldn’t even manage to draw some up. It was absolutely the most ridiculous experience I’ve ever had with a tattoo «artist». We just turned and left, and I haven’t been back since.

Same here, last time i was at wicked was about 2 years ago when I got my tattoo. James was my artist like some other Unilocalers. His work is awesome. I came with a concept and he developed a design for me and I get compliments all the time. btw, James works at Zebra.
parking sucks by the way on telegraph, you have to find parking on the street which is always full otherwise park outside that lil area and walk several blocks OR park in the garage.

I am glad to see that Wicked is still in business. I got my first and only tattoo there around eight years ago. Christian, the tattoo artist, was very careful and spent a lot of time with me sketching and tattooing. I then went back a few years later for a nose piercing, again a good experience. I would definitely recommend this place because they let me go into the back room and see their sterilization process. They use an Autoclave and are meticulous about taking precautions.

Nice to see this place still around! I got my back piece (tattoo) done here years ago… I want to say around 1998? It took 4 hours! The artist, Christian, did an awesome job.

I haven’t visited wicked since it’s been remodeled, but they had an awesome tattoo section! Ask for James (if he still works there). he does awesome work

i had a hankerin’ for a tattoo after the ringing in of the new year.
½ an hour before closing time, marcos patiently transformed my crappy drawing into something presentable and inked it onto my skin. he patiently sat through my complaining about the poking sensation (it hurt!) and almost passing out.
two weeks later, it’s healed quite nicely.

The staff is sufficiently snarky for this kind of place. I think it’s kind of like a French restaurant — if they don’t act like they’re cooler than you, it doesn’t count. I’ve gotten some jewelry here, and held the hands of people getting their tongue and nips pierced [not the same person, LOL]. I’ve seen a tattoo done here on a different friend. She was really happy with her experience.

Oh my god, this is my all-​time favorite shop to go to. I had various piercings done there. the piercer was a perfectionist, and made sure everything was lined up and double checked. i had my 2^nd tattoo done there, by JAMES. who is awesome .i love him. i went with a boyfriend and he did a great job on his, so i went back and had james do one on me, and since then, ive taken 4 people back to James. He’s an artist, he can draw you whatever you want, in matter of minutes, and will tweek it unitl you think its perfect. for me, it already was. I’ll always go back to him, and im bringing friends!

I used to go to Wicked’s a few years ago; the same thing happened to me as to Tracy — my first tattoo ever they did an awesome job on, but the second one (chronologically third) was so-​so — and I went back to get it touched up and the guy had gotten fired by then…
They did have a decent smoke shop and some good mixtapes.
On the downside, pretty expensive by my standards.

I got my first and second tattoo at Wicked (before it became Wicked Zone). The first experience, like Angela N., was the best I could hope for. The artist was patient, caring, kind, and a highly skilled artist. My second experience with a different artist, was not quite as glowing but still a nice experience.
I have since gone elsewhere for my 4 subsequent inks.

Wicked recently closed down and re-​opened as a strictly tat-​and-​piercing shop: Wicked Zone.
It gets some stars because in its previous life I had a few good clothing finds: a Fornarina jacket for less than $ 20, a giant woolly coat for less than $ 50, some great designer jeans for less than $ 45. But I guess this is moot because they no longer do clothing.
After having had my belly ring screwed up so many times, I came to Wicked the third and last time for a belly hole pierce. Fantastic job. The guy was very kind and he even held my hand.
I also got my tattoo at Wicked. James did it — he’s an artist fit for kings. He sketched my wings for me and gave me lollies to bite down on so I wouldn’t scream during the six hours it took to pin those wings onto my back.
The present incarnation of Wicked still has James in residence, which is already good enough for 5 stars. Better still, they’ve got a sitting area and when last I visited they were screening «Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels.»
I love that movie.
I love my tat.
I love my piercing.
I love James.
I love Wicked.

This is one of Berkeley’s cooler clothing stores, but it still lacks in urban style. I will give them credit for carrying Modern Amusement, but the sales staff is useless and somewhat lame.