Inside tony Evangelista’s tattoo shop is reminder after reminder of his friend, Russell Fisk. 

“We kind of had this secret competition between each other. We didn’t really say much about it to each other but it was always, who was going to get the corner spot, or who was going to do the bigger piece,” says Tony, owner of Ynot Ink Studio inside Davenport’s NorthPark Mall. 

Russell and Tony traveled together every few weeks, highlighting their skills at tattoo conventions across the country.

Tony says the friendship–and competition–made him a better artist. 

“We fed off each other, and it was good. I would ask him certain questions, he would come around and ask my opinion on stuff and that’s what it should be about, though, you feed off each other and you get better and I’m going to miss him.”

Russell would also work as a guest at Tony’s shop, until Tony pushed him to go further.

“I was like, ‘It’s time for you to do your own thing, it’s time for you to start your own business and get your own studio … And obviously, he did. And it worked out,” Tony says.  

Tony was at his friend’s grand opening in Kansas City just last year, black card tattoo. 

“It was always evolving it was always just… He found his groove.” 

An evolving journey, cut short last Friday. 
Kansas City Police responded to a car crash around 8 p.m. when they found Russell inside, fatally shot. 

“I got a text from one of our other friends and it said, ‘Hey Tony, I don’t know if you heard, but Russ passed.’ And I instantly threw my phone down and looked at my wife and said, ‘I don’t want to read this, that can’t be right.'” 

But a journey that Tony says, nonetheless, he was happy to witness. 

“He had everything… The advertising part of it and obviously the art part of it, too, so you knew it was going to happen sooner or later that his popularity was going to grow. It was awesome watching that happen.”

Russell is originally from the Quad Cities area. 

His dad says he hopes people remember not only the great artist, but great person, that his son was. 

Russell’s service is set for Friday at Trimble funeral home in Moline.