This week on Unprepared, we sit down with tattoo artist Mariah Mermaids and dive needle-first into her journey from apprentice to full-blown tattoo slayer. We talk first tattoos (the good, the bad, and the “why did I agree to that?”), new tattoo techniques, and what it really takes to turn art into a career.

Mariah breaks down shop life, learning the craft, evolving your style, and trusting the process — plus we somehow detour into a very serious debate about how to properly eat nachos (spoiler: structure matters).

RG the Barber sits in the chair and breaks down his journey from military life to building his own barbershop. We talk about how discipline from the service shaped his grind, the realities of running a shop, and the early days of learning the craft—when cousins were the first to volunteer for some very experimental haircuts.

RG also shares his philosophy behind the chair, including why the customer is always right… even when the cut they want might not be the cut they should get. Real stories, real laughs, and real insight into the life behind the clippers.

In this episode of Unprepared for Battle, we sit down with author FK Menzz to talk about his debut fantasy novel, Battle of Verdants — the first book in When the Crown Bleeds series.

We dive into the world behind the book, the characters, and the inspiration that sparked it all. What began as short stories written for his daughter while she was away at college eventually grew into a full-scale fantasy epic.

FK shares his journey as a pastor from Ghana, how faith, imagination, and storytelling intersect in his life, and how his background has shaped the themes within his writing. Beyond the pages of the book, he is deeply committed to giving back to his community in Ghana, leading initiatives that support and uplift others.