Austin Victoria of “Promoting the OC” talks about balancing private expression and professionalism in an trade that’s quickly evolving.
Austin Victoria of The Oppenheim Group and Promoting the OC fame didn’t assume twice about getting tattoos when he was younger. He grew up with a father who has tattoos and, immediately, has them himself on one arm and his legs.
However earlier than he was an actual property agent, he was a mannequin, and he was turned down for modeling jobs due to these tattoos. Right this moment, when he’s working as an agent, he additionally tries to watch out about not exhibiting them off straight away — in case they flip off a possible consumer.
Austin Victoria | The Oppenheim Group
“I believe it’s all about actually studying the room,” Victoria instructed Inman.
“When you’ve got an older couple that don’t have tattoos and so they appear very conservative, then I sometimes at all times present as much as my first assembly or any occasions with my tattoos coated. That’s form of the best way I am going about it as a result of … [some] individuals don’t like tattoos, and that’s completely wonderful. They don’t should.”
Though actual property is modernizing quickly in ways in which had been unimaginable within the latest previous, many seemingly old style beliefs, together with a destructive affiliation with brokers who sport tattoos, are nonetheless very prevalent.
The subject’s divisiveness even sparked a debate on the finish of October, when Lili Mariyati — whose profile describes her as a Keller Williams agent — opined, “Simply misplaced a deal due to my tattoos,” within the Fb group Actual Property Mastermind. “I’d like to see what tattoos you all have when you rock yours proudly.”
Numerous brokers chimed in with pictures and assist for different brokers with tattoos, whereas some admitted tattoos simply weren’t their factor.
Of these brokers who do have tattoos, many appeared to assume their companies had been impacted by them, both positively or negatively. However many brokers who engaged within the dialog — whether or not they had tattoos or not — additionally agreed that displaying physique artwork has nothing to do with how properly an agent serves their shoppers.
“Think about selecting to guage tattoos over promoting your private home or shopping for one you like. Hahaha,” Fb consumer Lashana Jefferson commented. “Individuals’s priorities are so insane. Who cares what someone does to their very own physique so long as they do their job properly, get issues achieved and behave professionally? It’s 2025, and persons are frightened about tattoos?“
Fb consumer Bri Hammons, whose profile describes her as a Tennessee-based dealer with eXp Realty, stated, “Tattoos shouldn’t outline who you’re as an individual/mother/dad/realtor/whoever. It’s your perspective, the best way you carry your self, and the best way you deal with and talk with others.”
A considerable variety of brokers who engaged within the dialogue additionally stated that they’d gained enterprise due to their tattoos.
Justin Mercer
One agent, Justin Mercer, got here up within the on-line dialog as a result of he has constructed his model round the truth that he has so many tattoos. Mercer, who has seen tattoos throughout his physique, has dubbed his group the Tattoo Actual Property Group.
The group’s net handle is calltattoo.com, and a search on-line for Mercer turns up “The Tattooed Realtor.” Mercer additionally offers out tattoos as closing presents, and the group ranks within the high 1 % of their market in Phoenix.
Tattoos could be a good way to connect with potential shoppers, Victoria instructed Inman.
“If I see a consumer with a tattoo and I’m at an inventory appointment or a social occasion or one thing and I’m meet-and-greeting individuals, I believe tattoos nearly really feel like an on the spot connection,” he stated. “It’s somebody who has achieved one thing completely to their physique that signifies a spot that we each had been in our lives, and that we each love and respect artwork. I believe it’s an icebreaker from the very get-go.”
Victoria helps people who get tattoos. However the luxurious agent has three children now, a few of whom are on the age the place they’re turning into inquisitive about his tattoos. And, Victoria stated, though he doesn’t remorse his personal tattoos, he would by no means suggest that his youngsters get them, to allow them to hold their skilled choices as open as potential.
Nonetheless, Victoria in the end characterised physique artwork as a private determination — and one which’s largely impartial from enterprise or shoppers.
“That is my artwork that I’ve expressed on my physique,” he stated. “A few of it’s regrettable; a few of it I might by no means take away. So this isn’t one thing that I must placed on [clients]. I’m attempting to facilitate for them a superb deal — promote or assist them purchase a property, and that has nothing actually to do with my tattoos. However I do know that if you’re selecting an agent, you might have 1,000,000 decisions, and I believe it does come all the way down to particulars.”
E-mail Lillian Dickerson
