Vancouver tattoo artist fools millions with hot dog prank

A few weeks ago, Rad Carney was looking to fill time on a slow day at the shop.

“I’ve been pulling pranks my whole life,” said the artist working out of Adrenaline VanCity Granville.

“So it was just another day for me, you know?”

Inspired by the East Van cross symbol, Carney decided to make a Tik Tok video of him tattooing the words "hot dogs" on the forehead of a co-worker. 

Carney used a stencil and simple photo editing to make it appear as though the tattoo was real. Even well-known online news outlets fell for the prank. 

So far, the video has garnered nearly 10 million views and thousands of comments.

“A lot of really funny messages,” said Hunter Walls, the "star" of the video, who happily sacrificed his time and forehead.

“People kind of worshipping me in a sense, where it’s like, ‘Woah, the hot dog man.’”

Walls says viewers have even sent him fan art.

Carney, meanwhile, says more than 80 per cent of the comments have been negative and directed towards him.

“People telling me that I have no ethics, I shouldn’t be tattooing if I don’t have any respect for my clients,” said Carney. “(I) got mail saying I offended the whole Christian religion for putting hot dogs in a cross.”

Carney says he was shocked to receive that sort of passionate response for such a harmless video.

“The hot dogs seemed to push society and especially tattoo artists over the edge,” said Carney. “I was kind of watching myself get cancelled in real time.”

Carney posted another video to clear the air and help lighten the mood, but it only received a fraction of views compared to the first post. 

In hindsight, he regrets posting the video due to the never-ending amount of notifications and unnecessary stress.

“I couldn’t use my phone for a week,” he says.

But, he admits, the post was good for business. He said he’s received several requests for his new signature "hot dogs" design.

“It’s just hilarious and people want it,” said Carney with a laugh.

So far, no one has requested the tattoo on their forehead, he added.