Ben McQueen

Ben McQueen, born and raised in Plainfield, IN, is a lifelong skateboarder and artist. After attending Columbia College Chicago for art and film, he began an apprenticeship to become a tattooer. Since then, McQueen has tattooed around the world and been invited to some of the tattoo industry's most elite conventions and shops to showcase his work. His tattoos have also been published in over ten books worldwide.

Finally settling down in San Francisco in 2019, McQueen used the pandemic as an opportunity to launch a deeply personal project exploring the intersection of two core elements of his life: tattooing and skateboarding. The first edition of the book sold out globally and was featured online in GQ, Thrasher, and Monster Children. McQueen toured the book from New York to Los Angeles, appearing on numerous podcasts along the way.

After more than fifteen years in tattooing, McQueen has returned to his filmmaking roots. He expanded Let It Kill You into a broader platform that includes artists from the skate and surf communities. The book was adapted into a docuseries and quickly picked up by VICE. McQueen partnered with Trevar Cushing (King of the Road, We Are Blood, Desert Age) to shoot the first season. Season one features six episodes spotlighting creatives such as Mike Gigliotti, Arto Saari, Max Schaaf, and more.