The Good Life – May-June 2017

Nudell quickly learned how to tattoo, but at a steep price. He found some bikers like
to barter rather than pay, trading drugs for ink. In small-town N.D., Nudell couldn't
resist.
“That’s where it really started,” he said. “I was living in the middle of nowhere and
feeling like life wasn’t working out. I needed to feel alive again.”
With one hit of meth, Nudell was instantly addicted, and so he continued trading his
work for substances rather than cash.
CHASING THE HIGH
Wanting to open his own shop, Nudell moved back home. Not knowing the details
of his drug history, his family supported him and The Buzz was born in Erhard,
Minn.
But the venture didn’t last long. He wasn’t running the business responsibly. “Any
money that came in I was partying with – and I would take my friends out and party
with.”
After just six months, the fun ended. “One morning I came to open my shop and the
door was open,” he said. “Somebody had popped the door and stolen everything. It
was probably a blessing in disguise because that place was going nowhere good.”
“It’s okay to not
fit in because
that originality
or uniqueness is
something you should
embrace. To be like
everybody else is
kind of boring.”
Devastated by the hardship, he spent a month in his mom’s basement, refusing to
see the light of day, before moving to Fargo to pursue other opportunities. After
working for a couple shops and leaving on bad terms, he decided to again strike
out on his own.
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 21