Photography Provided by Rob Webb
Tattoo and piercing artist, magician, DJ, and Santa?
“Absolutely!” says Robert Webb, local Greenwood business owner. “They’re all forms of art.”
Webb, blessed with artistic talent and driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, trained as an apprentice for two years before opening Under Your Skin Tattoo and Body Piercing in 2009. In December of 2017, he moved his thriving business to 308 W. Main St. in downtown Greenwood.
During his gigs as a lively and entertaining DJ, and given the uncanny resemblance, people would comment that he would make the perfect Santa. Webb took this advice to heart and availed himself to friends’ and families’ parties. Armed with a store-bought suit and wrap-around fake beard, he was a natural. Even his own daughter had no idea that the Santa to whom she just shared her wish list was, in fact, her dad.
Over the years, word spread of his success as a charismatic, entertaining and engaging Santa and soon major malls came calling. His store-bought suit has been replaced with a grand custom-made suit and his fake beard sits in the closet as he now sports a full and natural beard. “We want him!” declared a major central Indianapolis-area mall where you can visit Santa every day from Black Friday through Christmas Eve.
When asked why he steps away from his business every year for a month, Webb simply states “It’s magical.”
“Some of the most touching and memorable moments are the kids who tell me what they want for their mom and dad,” he says.
On a lighter note, he chuckles and says, “My favorite are the screamers. I play along with that and those are the photos that the parents pick 100% of the time. The whole experience is a memory in the making and I’m happy to play a part for the families’ lifetime memories.”
How long will he continue to be a part of the magic and memories? “Forever,” he says.
