‘Ink Master’ Competitor Amanda Boone Teases More ‘Mental’ Season

Tattoo artist Amanda Boone never pictured that one day she would be competing against the best of the best in her field on Paramount’s Ink Master — to the point that her friend sneakily replied to the original scouting email without her knowing!

“I would have totally not even responded to the email,” she told PopCulture.com. “Because I’m just — I never thought I would be that person to do it!”

Now, she’s battling it out in permanent ink for a $100,000 cash prize, editorial feature in Inked and the coveted “Ink Master” title on Ink Master veteran Christian Buckingham’s grudge match team against Cleen Rock One.

Prior to her life as a traveling tattoo artist, currently working out of Nashville’s Branded Tattoo Company, Boone worked as an EMT before being offered an apprenticeship in 2011. And despite her initial shock at being signed up for an Ink Master interview by a well-meaning friend, she was ready to jump into the fray with her fellow competitors from the start. Having friends who are in TV production definitely helped, she said, as she had expectations of what it’s like to film something, even reality TV, ahead of time.

“I expected that I’d have to walk into a room 12 different times to get the right shots … and that’s what a lot of people, I feel like, are more annoyed by,” she told PopCulture.com. “Stuff that, they thought they were just gonna go hang out and tattoo other people. We’re here to tattoo, but we’re here to make a show.”

Going into the Ink Master house, Boone was determined to keep her cool and focus on her art, not the drama.

“I’m not an in-your-face kind of person, I’m very laid back, I’m kind of like a go-with-the-flow kind of person and I can pretty much find the good in any situation,” she revealed. “I don’t care about your drama, I don’t care. A lot of people get wrapped up in like, their personal life on the show. And it’s like, we all have personal lives outside of this. We are all going through something. Your heart’s no different than my heart. It’s hard for both of us. I was really good at keeping that shit separate and not bothering myself with it.”

It was a mindset that served her well, this season, she added, teasing, “I would say this season, it’s a lot more of a mental game than it ever has been in the past.”

But can she make it all the way to the as the Ink Master finals?

Ink Master airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on Paramount.

Photo credit: Paramount