Dead Frank

You might be surprised to know that Ed Hardy is a real person. Not only is he real, he owns a modest looking tattoo parlor, Tattoo City, in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, just a few blocks from where I live. Ed isn’t taking any customers at the moment, but you can still get inked by some of the artists who studied under him.

There is a fantastic pizza joint in the neighborhood, rather plainly called Tony’s Pizza. I recently wrote a review over on Yelp. I saw a pizza box above the hostess stand that appeared to have Ed’s work on adoring it. I asked the bartender if it was a spoof or did he really created the art. The bartender said, “Yes, it’s him. Ed is good friends with Tony’s business partner. He comes in to eat at least once a week.”

He went on to tell us the box art is part of a new special collaboration and fund raiser for the pizza shop. As of today, you can buy Ed Hardy’s signature pizza, a simple concoction of cheese, sausage, mushrooms, and peppers. It comes in the pizza box featuring Ed’s design and $4 of the purchase price is donated to charity.

Of course, my curiosity got the better of me and I asked what Ed was like as a person. The bartender shrugged and smiled as he responded, “You know… Ed’s a real nice, genuine guy. He’s very down to earth and personable.” I smiled. That answer didn’t surprise me considering how unpretentious Ed’s shop looks from the outside.

It would seem that Ed Hardy doesn’t share much in common with many of his customers. The woman sitting next to me asked the bartender if Ed Hardy liked Jon Gosselin. The bartender’s brow furrowed and he shook his head. “No, he does not” he replied sternly.

Although many of the customers of Ed’s clothing might be the very epitome of douchebags, turns out the man himself is pretty damn legit.