Exclusive: Behind The Scenes Of ‘Ink Master’

You know a reality TV show has got fireworks when event he judges are shocked by the contestants. And Spike TV’s “Ink Master” has some really mean players fighting it out for the $100,000 prize.

When judges Oliver Peck, rocker Dave Navarro and Chris Nunez get to see the artists do their work, they are seeing the good side. But behind the scenes, the competitors often turn from nice to real nasty.

In the Newark, N.J., loft where there contestants are stuck together for hours, they bitch, bicker and boast – some blantantly trying to ‘psych out’ their rivals.

One of the most exciting parts of watching the show is seeing how much these guys bicker behind the scenes, Nunez told the News.

“I think they’re so nice, pretty even-tempered during the challenges, but then when I see them lashing out at the house, it’s pretty shocking to me, too. I guess it makes for great TV.”

“I’m seeing their personalities for the first time, just like a viewer, because we don’t interact with them,” said Nunez. “We don’t find out who these guys are until they get there. It’s a big curve ball for all of us.”

Spike TV “Ink Master” Episode 204 Ink Master contestants (from left to right) Lalo Yunda, Clint Cummings, Steve Tefft, Tray Benham and Nick D’Angelo grumble in their loft before the elimination challenge.

And the in-fighting may be having an influence on the outcome, because nice guys don’t finish first.

Twenty-two year-old Nick D’Angelo seemed like a really good guy – but when it came to working a hard piece of needle work on a demanding ‘human canvas’, things went horribly wrong.

One high-strung client plus one amateurish Sacred Heart tattoo design proved a formula for an early exit for the youngest and most genial contestant on Spike TV’s “Ink Master” Tuesday night. D’Angelo’s chances turned to dust in the elimination challenge when his human canvas first couldn’t decide on a design and then needled him over his coloring choices.

As heart-breaking as it was for Chris Nunez and his fellow judges – including special guest judge, L.A. Clippers star Matt Barnes – they had to crush the poor kid’s dream.

“Nick’s a young kid, he’s got a future ahead of him if he sticks it out,” said Nunez. “He was just one of the younger guys, he didn’t have a lot of how-to-control-his-client-to-his-advantage to really put her at ease.