Bad Ink‘s Dirk Vermin is a walking contradiction: A tattooed punk rocker who adoringly shuttles his daughters to dance classes. Somehow, that combination works for Dirk, who is one of Las Vegas’ biggest local legends.
The official bio for Bad Ink‘s Dirk Vermin says he’s “raising two daughters and is a soccer Mom in a Rock-N-Roll man’s body.” Based on a Las Vegas Weekly article in 2007, Dirk divorced in the mid-2000s. Relations between Dirk and his daughters’ mother seems to remain cordial and they divide time with the girls.
When Jasmine and TigerLily are with Dirk, the owner of Pussykat Tattoo goes into full-on dad mode.
“I did not want to be a father,” he said. “But they made me a man. They calmed me down. With my ego, no one was more important to me than me. But they gave me a reason for everything I do.”
Now in 13 and 10 years old (respectively), Jasmine and TigerLily made the decisions to appear on the show… Even though Dad was initially skeptical.
“I didn’t want my family life portrayed at all. I wanted to keep my kids out of it,” Dirk told Las Vegas City Life in July. “But they aren’t babies anymore, and I saw the care they took with them on the show.”
Before becoming a father, Dirk’s main priority in life was his punk rock music. He started the band Vermin From Venus in 1984. Although friends now admit the group “sucked,” it did gain respect for releasing one of the first independent punk rock records in Vegas. Here’s some old footage from one of Dirk’s Vermin From Venus gigs in 1992…
In the mid-1990s, Vermin from Venus morphed into The Vermin. Nearly 30 years after first played in small Las Vegas joints, Dirk’s still going strong.
“We have the credibility we deserve; we’ve sustained,” Dirk said in 2007. Every flavor of the week that’s come and gone, we keep staying the same. If you saw a show 10 years ago or today, it’s going to be remarkably similar. In fact, it’s going to be the same jokes.”
For proof they can still rock, here’s The Vermin performing “Girl Says No” in 2010.
As a certified star in local punk rock circles, Dirk says he still gets plenty of panties tossed on his guitar. Nonetheless, his main relationship is with Rob Ruckus, who also stars on Bad Ink and plays in The Vermin.
“And now we’re an item. He’s my heterosexual life partner,” Ruckus joked in 2007.
Dirk agreed, adding, “That guy’s my soul mate, man. It’s too bad he doesn’t have t**s.”
The guys’ bromance is on full display in Bad Ink, which was started off as a pure tattoo show before transforming into more of a “buddy comedy.”
“There’s a chemistry on a personal level. I think whether we had a band or not, I think it would’ve been there,” Dirk told Las Vegas Review Journal in August. “The band just honed it to a pristine whatever it is now.”
Fans of Bad Ink will really get a good look at how Dirk and Ruckus perform on stage when The Vermin is featured in a later episode. Dirk added the band should play an even bigger role in later seasons.
Tune into Bad Ink on A&E every Sunday night at 10/9c.
