The Good Page features positive LGBTQ+ news in Central Florida and Tampa Bay, uplifting and inspiring stories highlighting locals in our community. In this issue, we meet Mimi Batista Tattoos.
Most tattoo studios promise great art. Few promise that you’ll leave feeling more at home in your body than when you had arrived.
When Mimi Batista opened her private studio in Orlando, the goal wasn’t just creative freedom, it was autonomy. One year in, Mimi Batista Tattoos has become a space where clients are encouraged to slow down, ask questions and take up space without apology. Tattoos happen there, yes. But so do conversations about history, grief, identity and healing.
Tattooing didn’t begin as a business plan for Batista. Years ago, seeing one of her own paintings become her first tattoo shifted something. What started as art became a way to reclaim control over her body and creative voice.
Reflecting on her first year in the studio, Batista describes the milestone through the lens of freedom.
“The feeling of autonomy and the freedom that I’ve gotten to make my own choices, that’s what made me realize, I did this for myself,” she says.
Running her own private studio allowed her to finally pursue her passions without compromise. That autonomy, she explains, changed not only how she works, but how she lives.
Batista is intentional about what “safe space” means in practice. Her studio prioritizes privacy, patience and consent from the first interaction to the moment clients leave.
“I don’t rush them,” she says. “If we need to change the design, we can. If we need to reschedule because you’re not ready, we can. It’s the whole experience, not just putting art on your body.”
Accessibility is a core part of that experience. Batista chose a larger, medical-grade tattoo chair to accommodate clients of different body sizes and abilities. Having felt physically excluded in other spaces herself, she was determined to build a studio that was inclusive not just in theory, but in reality.
“I didn’t want anyone to leave feeling bad about their bodies,” she says. “Even if they loved their tattoo.”
While Batista works across styles, black and gray, fine line, botanicals, anime, she’s become especially known for cover-ups.
Clients kept seeking her out to rework tattoos tied to painful memories. Over time, she realized she had developed a specialty grounded in trust. Cover-ups, she explains, are often about emotional transformation as much as visual change.
“There’s a shift from something negative to something positive,” Batista says. “People leave saying, ‘I can love this part of my body again.’ That’s incredibly fulfilling.”
As a queer Puerto Rican artist, Batista sees art as inseparable from politics. “To be an artist is to be political,” she says. “To be human is to be political.”
Her studio is also a place for conversation and education. Batista values being informed and intentional in the discussions she has with clients, especially during moments of vulnerability. Many leave not only with new ink, but with a new perspective, or a book recommendation to continue learning.
She believes artists carry influence, whether they claim it or not, and with that influence comes responsibility.
Batista often jokes that clients leave her chair with more than a tattoo, many walk out with a new historical thread to pull or a question they hadn’t thought to ask before.
When asked what community support means to her, Batista shares a moment that still lingers. At a gathering the night before her birthday, community members sang to her, unprompted.
“It sounds like a small detail,” she says, “but it meant the world to me. To be seen is to be loved.”
That feeling, being truly seen, is what Batista hopes every client experiences in her studio.
The easiest way to support Mimi Batista Tattoos is by engaging with her work on Instagram at @mimimaude. Sharing her posts, commenting and recommending her to friends looking for a thoughtful tattoo experience all help her continue building a studio rooted in care.
If you’re considering a tattoo, Batista encourages people to take their time. Research your artist. Don’t rush the decision. And if now isn’t the right moment to book, visibility and word of mouth support still matter.
Interested in being featured in The Good Page? Email Editor-in-Chief Ryan Williams-Jent at Ryan@WatermarkOutNews.com in Tampa Bay or Central Florida Bureau Chief Bellanee Plaza at Bellanee@WatermarkOutNews.com in Central Florida.
