- December 14, 2025
Hurricane Milton forced Victory Tattoo Ormond to close its doors last year.
Located across the ocean at 1496 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond-by-the-Sea, the building sustained water and roof damage during the storm. There was a lot to repair, and it was happening at a time when many others were also dealing with similar storm damage, slowing the process, said Bobby Ellis, owner and lead artist at Victory Tattoo.
But after a year of work, Victory Tattoo Ormond is back in business and will celebrating its grand reopening on Saturday, Oct. 25. The event, to be held at the shop from 12 p.m. to 2 a.m., will feature seven bands, free food and alcohol, and tattoo and piercing specials.
"I'm excited to finally be reopening," Ellis said. "Obviously, we have two shops, but this is the shop that started it all."
Victory Tattoo also has a location at 514 Main St. in Daytona Beach.
The building that houses the Ormond-by-the-Sea location was constructed in 1957, but it's been operating as a tattoo shop since the 1980s. In 2009, Ellis became the owner, acquiring it from his mentor's ex-wife.
That's part of the sentimental value of the shop, said Ellis, who has been a tattoo artist for 19 years.
He initially tried to get into tattooing right out of high school, but it wasn't until he was tattooed by Atlanta artist "Painless" Paul Nelson that Ellis was able to get an apprenticeship. Ellis was in college at the time, and people generally either picked a tattoo off the shop's wall or brought their artist a pre-made design.
"If you came in and asked them to draw something, it wasn't happening," Ellis said. "So I would paint the designs, come in and get them tattooed. After doing that a few times, he asked if I wanted to learn."
Drew McElveney is one of the other artists of Victory Tattoo. What got him into tattooing?
"There's a shop in San Francisco called 'Primal Urge' — I think that's the best description," he said. "... There's something in it that people are subconsciously driven toward."
When Ellis first moved to the area, no one looked to beachside shops for tattoos. They were infamous for high prices and bad-quality art.
But the artists at Victory Tattoo are just that — artists, many of whom have had paintings displayed in galleries, Ellis said.
"It took a while to actually change that image and let them know, 'We're here. We're serious about tattoos," Ellis said.
When it came to planning their grand reopening, tattoo artist Desmond Larmer said they wanted to let people know they were back in the community while giving back.
"It's all community-funded," Lamer said. "I just made some phone calls, brought them together. One restaurant or bar would find out that the other one was doing it and then they wanted to one up the other one. ... It was a really cool experience, honestly."
All of the bands participating — The Remembrance, Little Gracie, Still Pictures, Moth, Wings of Mercury, Umbrella and a surprise act — are local. The event sponsors include Fletcher's Irish Pub, Rockefeller's, Seadrift Sports Bar and Grill, Froggy's Saloon, Frank's Place and One Horse Saloon.
For Ellis, he's looking forward to seeing clients, both old and new. The shop used to host events like this frequently in the past, and to get everyone back together will be a highlight, he said.
"It's going to be amazing to have everyone banded together, supporting it to be reopened again in this new chapter," Ellis said.
Visit victorytattoodaytona.com.
