In 1994, four years after opening American Art, Dave took a piercing apprenticeship from a well known piercer out of Philadelphia. In 2005 he became Board Certified with the Academy of Micropigmentation in advanced Sterilization and Bloodborne Pathogen prevention. Dave took another Certification in 2014 and an updated piercing instruction in 2024. To this day, Dave always strives for self improvement in the industry.