Man behind Rushden tattoo studio praised by Karren Brady in ITV show

Jamey Bowles, 22, who set up the Manhattan Ink tattoo studio, was interviewed by entrepreneur Baroness Karren Brady about setting up the business and his ambitious expansion plan for Monday’s show.

She was concerned that Winslow in Buckinghamshire, the location of his first business, might not be the best place for a tattoo studio - but Jamey said he had done his homework and with rapid expansion of the town and the forthcoming rail link, footfall and demand would be high.

The programme then skipped forward 12 months to see how the high end studio had expanded to include sites in Rushden and Brackley - with Baroness Brady labelling the enterprise a huge success.

Jamey opened the Rushden branch last June after giving the former bridal shop in Queen Street a £25,000 makeover to transform it into a retro studio.

In the documentary Jamey talked about his drive and determination to succeed, and how leaving home at 16 had instilled in him a desire to do well in business.

He said: “I think I’ve always wanted to create stability, and I’ve always wanted to have everything I’ve always wanted.

“At one stage I was living on brown sauce and bread sandwiches when I first left home.”

Jamey, who set up the business with his own savings, had already started a number of successful businesses before Manhattan Ink.

Aged 17 he set up his own construction company, then a cleaning firm, an advertising and marketing business and a large format design and print operation.

But now he is making a living from his chain of tattoo studios and says the business is not only doing really well, but also exceeding their targets.

Baroness Brady had plenty of praise for Jamey during the show, saying: “What an inspirational young man - he just goes for it and that’s exactly what an entrepreneur does.”

And following a visit to the Rushden branch 12 months after first meeting Jamey in Winslow, she told him: “You are going to go from strength to strength.”

Speaking afterwards, the established entrepreneur, who is one of Lord Sugar’s aides on The Apprentice, said: “Jamey is a young man with a vision and a purpose.

“He’s really turned his life around and I think he could take this business as far as he wants to.”