'Here to Stay' — MJ Forrest Documents Melbourne's Tattoo Scene on Its Own Terms
Someone had to make it. MJ Forrest decided not to wait.
MJ Forrest (@mjforrest_ ) didn't set out to make a tattoo documentary.
He set out to make a travel show. Document the world's greatest tattoo cities. Make people want to get on a plane for the ink. Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown, but substitute food for tattoos. It was a good idea. It's still a good idea. It's just not what Here to Stay became.
"Pretty early in the interview process we realised the tone was very different to what we initially intended," Forrest says. "I realised that my intention of hitting specific plot points and going from A to B to C was not how it's done. The point of making a documentary is to document, and not force a narrative. Which is a realisation we succumbed to pretty early in the filming process, and I'm so glad we trusted our gut."
What they ended up with is something more considered, more personal, and based on the response to its Melbourne premiere on July 6th, more necessary than a travel show ever would have been.
Here to Stay drops on YouTube today. It's free. That's not an accident.
"I believe in making the shit I want to see," Forrest says. "There are incredible tattoo documentaries that have been made in recent years that are only viewable in rare screenings on a circuit around the world. And as incredible as those films are, so many people won't get the privilege of seeing them. I want people to have access to Here To Stay whenever they want, for free."
The film was made entirely independently. Forrest, videographer Tom Loach of Steady Hands (@steadyhandsvideo), and editor Ollie Brylynsky (@olliebrylynsky) all worked full time jobs around the project, filming the entirety of it in early 2025 and cutting it together whenever they could find the time. That timeline turned out to be one of the film's unexpected strengths.
"Thankfully for the sake of the story, that ended up being a silver lining," Forrest says. "It led to some jaw dropping developments that we were then able to include before putting out the film."
Forrest has been tattooing since 2014. Started in Wagga Wagga, moved to Melbourne in 2018, worked under Pete Pav (@pete_pav) at Man's Ruin (@mans_ruin_tattoo) before landing at Korpus (@korpus) where he still works today. He's spent years building a following on social media for his tattoo history content, the kind of deeply researched, genuinely entertaining work that treats the craft with the seriousness it deserves. Here to Stay is that same instinct, expanded into feature length.
The city made sense. Melbourne has a reputation within Australia and internationally as the place where serious tattooing happens. A long list of globally recognised names came up through its scene. It became, as Forrest puts it, tattoo Mecca.
"So many of our globally recognised tattoo icons are products of Melbourne's incredible tattoo scene throughout the decades," he says. "Whether you're an artist or collector, most people are drawn to Melbourne because of what is being produced here."
To capture that properly he needed voices from across the whole spectrum. Not just the well-known names, but people who experience the city's scene through different lenses. The film features artists with 30-plus years in the industry, a second-generation tattooer who grew up inside it, an apprentice just starting out, and experts who look at tattooing from outside the practice itself.
The response from advance screenings says something about what Forrest and Loach have made. Lal Hardy (@lalhardy), one of the most respected names in British tattooing, didn't hold back. "I absolutely loved this film. Really well produced and filmed. I loved the soundtrack too. The only thing wrong with this film is that it ended. I swear I could have watched more and more."
Austin Maples (@austinmaples), whose own career was shaped in part by Melbourne's scene, saw the film as a record of something real. "Melbourne, Australia had the single biggest impact on my professional career as a traditional tattooer. This short documentary explores the connection between tattooing, music, and art, and the lasting influence these creative communities have had across Australia and the world at large."
Andrew Stortz (@andrewstortz) cut to what makes the film work as a piece of documentary making. "Instead of just pointing out that things aren't the way they used to be, Here To Stay digs into Melbourne's tattoo roots and traces how they've grown into the complex scene that exists today."
The film doesn't set out to sell you on tattooing. If anything it goes the other way.
"I think the common misconception is that tattooers are these rockstars that make heaps of cash and everything is sunshine and roses because they have a cool job," Forrest says. "I think people would be surprised to learn just how brutal tattooing can be and that it's not as straightforward as they may expect."
That honesty is the point. It's what separates something like this from the glossy, algorithm-friendly content that passes for tattoo media most of the time.
As for what comes next, Forrest is clear that Here to Stay isn't a pilot for a series. Melbourne works because he has a deep personal connection to the city. Other cities have their own stories, but they're not his to tell.
"I would love for someone to make a tattoo documentary exclusively on the wild years of Kings Cross in Sydney," he says. "That's a story that needs to be told. But I know I'm not the guy to tell it."
What he does have is a long list of things he wants to make. Here to Stay is the proof of concept. The rest is coming.
When asked what he wants someone to feel when the credits roll, Forrest doesn't hesitate.
"Hope."
Here to Stay is out now on YouTube, free to watch whenever you want. Follow MJ Forrest at @mjforrest_ and Steady Hands at @steadyhandsvideo.
