Editor’s note: A coronavirus pandemic that saw some of the first cases in the Keys in March changed life in ways no one could have imagined. A checkpoint kept visitors away from the island chain for a time, affecting many jobs, from servers to hoteliers. Policies were changed to address coronavirus spread in the community. Ultimately, the Keys reopened to visitors as workers in the tourist industry returned to work. Each week, the Weekly will highlight a local to share their 2020. This week, Charlotte Twine met up with Anthony Bennett IV, 25, a tattoo artist at the South of Heaven shop in Key Largo.
Describe the year 2020 in one word. (Long pause) Trying to think of a word that describes high and low at the same time. Euphoric? A euphoric rollercoaster [laughs].
Can you give me a specific example of that? Bringing life into the world — having our son, Leighton — that was my high. And the low was saying my last goodbyes to my grandfather. And COVID has a role in everything that just happened — all the events. It’s like, life was just coasting by, passing by, then 2020 was one for the books. What a weird year.
What was your worst moment of 2020? When my wife, Katelyn, and I had our baby, there was fluid in his lungs and complications. So we had the baby, then two hours later it was taken away. He was in intensive care for a couple weeks. It’s something only a parent can know. I felt the most numb and couldn’t… (pauses) I felt like I was on a different planet. I never felt like I was going crazy in my life, but at that moment I felt like I was going crazy. This was July 3. All is good now. We have a fat, happy baby, and he’s doing good. Mama’s doing good.
Were there any challenging moments regarding COVID at your tattoo shop? We got shut down with the nonessentials. When the nonessentials opened back up — salons, barber shops, jobs of that nature — we figured we’re in that group. So we opened back up. Then the code lady comes and tells us we have to shut back down, that they had classified us with bars. We were in the same category as the Caribbean Club (shakes his head). I was very frustrated. So I tried to explain to the lady that on a daily basis, one artist comes into contact with one to five clients a day. The volume of people who come in is minimum compared to a bar. And we’ve all been trained in cross-contamination. We always practice proper PPE, personal protective equipment, with gloves, and now we wear masks. We use disposable, sterile equipment. We deal with blood for a living, and we don’t know if the customer has a disease, so we treat everyone like that. That’s why a tattoo shop is different from a bar.
Also, we were in the middle of tattooing. I was tattooing a throat. And the code lady came and said we had to close it down in an hour. I said, “Let me explain what I’m doing, it’s a medical procedure.” She said that she was getting the police. I said, “That’s okay, you guys. If you come, and I’m not finished with this tattoo, you can sit outside a locked door. This is serious what we do here. It’s not fun and games. It’s not a desk job where I pack up my desk and go home.” Luckily, when she came back with the police, I was finished. So we shut down for two or three more weeks.
Do you know anyone who got sick from COVID-19? Yes, recently. My mom got it. She lives in Tennessee. But she’s fine. My cousin who lives in Chicago just had a baby. He and his wife both got COVID, and the baby didn’t get it.
Do you know anyone who died from Covid-19? No.
Did you experience financial stress in 2020 due to the pandemic? Yes. So that’s very high and low, as well. Everything was pretty steady before COVID, then it hit in March. We shut down before spring break, when it starts booming. At the time, I didn’t have much savings. Luckily, I have an awesome family. My aunt in Illinois sent me money for groceries. Once we were able to open back up, the last part of this year has been extremely, extremely busy. From June till the end of November has been record numbers.
What got you through the stress? My wife and child, of course. They are always grounding when your mind is worried about life stuff. My art. Working.
Do you practice social distancing personally? Oh, yeah. (Laughs) Once, this drunk guy in Publix got behind me with beer, and his mask was on his chin, and he stands like two feet behind me. And I’m like, “Bro, back it up, dude, and pull up your mask.” He says, “What, are you the mask patrol?” I said, “Yeah, I am the mask patrol.” He kept talking smack, so I walked out. There’s, like, old people walking around here. Don’t be an a**hole. I’ve seen more selfishness in people than I’ve ever seen before. This isn’t about you. You could be a transmitter and kill old people.
Has the social distancing caused stress at work? This guy let his mask slip down over his nose, and I said, “Listen, this is my house and my rules.” He put it on, and the situation got defused peacefully.
Do you think the social distancing works? Yes and no. It’s not a 100 percent solution. But if you have people all wear a mask, you see the numbers go down.
Did you gain the “Quarantine 15”? I didn’t, but I fluctuate all the time. It’s been the same for me as before.
Any further thoughts on 2020? My grandfather’s death was a major event. He passed Dec. 13. He was a gangster Marine. He was awesome. He was telling me, “My great-grandson won’t know who I am.” But I told him, “Don’t worry, he’ll know you’re a legend.” It was full circle this year, life and death and everything in between.
What are you looking forward to in 2021? My goal for 2021 is to work as little as possible and to spend time with my family. And I’m looking forward to not having to wear a mask anymore and taking my family out into the world. I had a great Christmas, but I’m glad it’s over. I’m ready to take on the new year.
