Meet Tony

A young man with tattoos, wearing a striped shirt, sits at a table with his head resting on his hand, looking thoughtful. In front of him, there is a stack of books and an open laptop on clear stacked chairs. The background is a plain white wall.

Founder of Ink & Tide • Reader • Community Builder • Professional Overthinker

I’ve always believed that stories change people.

Sometimes quietly. Sometimes all at once.

A book can make you feel understood, challenge what you believe, reconnect you to yourself, or introduce you to someone whose life looks nothing like your own. At their best, stories bring us closer…to ideas, to communities, and to each other.

That belief is what led me to create Ink & Tide, a mobile bookstore designed to bring books directly into the places where connection happens.

But before the truck, before the bookshelves, and before the playlists and coastal color palettes, there was just me: a lifelong reader trying to figure out how to build something meaningful.

A man with a beard, tattoos, earrings, and a nose ring sitting on a clear chair, wearing a black leather jacket and black jeans, smiling and holding a magazine, against a plain white wall.
A person with tattoos on their arm, wearing a black leather jacket over a white shirt, holding a green magazine titled 'Model Home' in front of their face, with a plain light-colored background.

Two Sides of the Same Story

If you know me, you know I live in contrast:

I’m covered in tattoos. I have piercings. I wear a lot of black. I’m drawn to stories that are eerie, emotional, strange, and just a little unsettling. I love dark academia, gothic spaces, horror, fantasy, and books that leave you thinking long after you’ve finished the last page.

That’s Ink.

My life is filled with color. My home is bright and layered. I believe in warmth, laughter, and creating spaces where people feel welcome. I’m someone who wants to bring light into every room I enter. I love stories that feel hopeful, expansive, romantic, healing, and deeply human.

That’s Tide.

A young man with tattoos on his arms, wearing a striped shirt, is smiling and holding his hands near his head. There are three books stacked on his head, with the top book open. The background is a plain light-colored wall.

Ink & Tide exists because I never wanted to choose between those worlds.

I wanted to create a space where mystery and comfort could sit side by side. Where readers could find the book that unsettles them and the one that feels like coming home.

A place where every kind of reader belongs.

More Than a Bookstore

After years working in corporate DEI and building community through conversation, I realized the moments I loved most were always centered around stories.

The book club I facilitated became one of the most meaningful parts of my work. People from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives came together, and somehow books made space for connection in ways other things couldn’t.

Ink & Tide is my way of bringing more of that into the world.

This truck is about more than selling books. It’s about creating moments of discovery, conversation, belonging, and joy, one stop at a time.

Whether you’re Team Ink, Team Tide, or somewhere in between:

Welcome aboard.

I’m really glad you’re here.

become a founding reader
Person with tattoos on hands and wrist, wearing multiple rings and bracelets, reading a book on a gray surface with a green plant partially obscuring the view, and wearing a striped shirt.