Manfred Kohrs

Manfred Kohrs (born 24 January 1957) is a German tattooer and conceptual artist, who has been tattooing since 1974. He was a student of Horst Streckenbach ("Tattoo Samy") (5 August 1926 – 27 June 2001). Together they developed the barbell piercing in 1975. Kohrs invented a rotary tattoo machine with main part an electric motor and an ink reservoir. In 1977 Kohrs founded the first German Tattoo Artist Association. Kohrs has been chairman of the board of the Institute for German Tattoo History (IDTG), which he founded 1997. He gave up tattooing in 1990 and began studying economics. Since completing his economics degree in 1996, he has served as tax consultant and Certified Public Accountant (GER).

Kohrs was born in 1957 and grew up in Hanover, West Germany; from 1968 to 1974 he played Rugby in Hanover-List. From 1971 to 1973, he trained as a mechanic at the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft.

At the age of twelve he purchased his first tattoo and in 1975 he was tattooed by Herbert Hoffmann. The integrated nationally recognized tattoo artist Horst Streckenbach took Kohrs in 1975 as a master student. In 1976, he began tattooing professionally. In 1977, he opened his own studio in Hanover.

Manfred Kohrs coined the phrase: "...a tattoo shows who you are. Therefore, when choosing the motif and the body part, you should consider that in the future you may not want to show everyone who you once were.

″To move tattooing forward, German tattoo artist Manfred Kohrs had to take a look backward.″ In 1978 Kohrs "introduced the first new design for a rotary machine in nearly a century. His machine was functionally similar to O'Reilly's except an electric DC motor, rather than electrified magnets, drove the needles. This slimmer and streamlined version became lighter, quieter, and more portable. It also gave artists more control while ensuring the operator's hands and fingers cramped less. While some artists gravitated to this rotary revival, others preferred to stick with their trusty coil machines".

Kohrs tattooed Rio Reiser, Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and other several notable musicians, artists and celebrities of the time.

In 1977, Kohrs was an early member of The National Tattoo Club of the World which was renamed 1984 to the National Tattoo Association, (N.T.A.). In the same year Kohrs was the founder-member No. 25 of the European Tattoo Artists Association. In 1977, Kohrs invited all commercially registered tattooists in Germany to an information meeting in Hanover. "At that time there were throughout the country, only 14 self-employed tattoo artist". The purpose of this meeting were the establishment of a national association, and to introduce technical and hygienic standards. At that time, Kohrs and Streckenbach were the only German tattoo artists who used an autoclave for the sterilisation of equipment.

Kohrs attended the first National Convention at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Denver, Colorado from 23 to 25 March 1979. He made a slide presentation of tattooed people with Tattoo Samy. The speakers on the convention were Terry Wrigley, Peter Tat 2 Poulos, Diane Poulos, Don Ed Hardy, Bob Shaw (who spoke about the importance of using autoclaves and hygiene), Big Walt Kilkucki, Painless Jeff Baker, Dave Yurkew, Arnold Rubin and Jan Stussy. Kohrs, Streckenbach and Terry Wrigley (president of E.T.A.A), were present in October 1980 at the first German Tattoo Convention at Frankfurt. Kohrs gave up tattooing in 1990 and began studying economics in Hanover. Since completing his economics and MBA degree in 1996, he has served as tax consultant and lecturer in economics at a private academy.