Today we’d like to introduce you to David Brown.
Hi David, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Redemption Ink, (another of our non profit, 501c3’s that run under the umbrella of our studio, Fallen Heroes Tattoo & Piercing) originally started in 2017 as a free service for people who wanted to leave hate-related or gang tattoos behind. We would either help pay for their removal or cover the tattoos at no charge. Several of our artists volunteered their time and talent, and we continued doing that work for about five years.
Then, around 2022, everything changed.
A young woman walked into one of our studios asking about Redemption Ink. I happened to be near the front desk, and because of the work we were doing at the time, I assumed she had a gang-related or hate-related tattoo she wanted covered. But she told us her situation was private, so we went into my station, closed the door, and pulled the blinds.
That was when she showed me her right leg.
Her upper thigh had been badly damaged. There were brands, cuts, and tattoos of men’s names. I later learned that those names represented people who had claimed ownership of her. She was a survivor of human trafficking.
I spent about six hours covering everything I could with a Peter Pan-themed leg sleeve—Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and the idea of “Never Grow Up.” I think I cried through four of those six hours while listening to her story. That experience changed me, and it changed Redemption Ink.
People call it a pivot, but it felt more like we had been shown where we were supposed to go next.
Today, Redemption Ink serves survivors of human trafficking by covering or helping remove the tattoos, brands, and scars connected to what was done to them. We provide that work completely free, but we only accept survivors through recognized, licensed organizations and therapy providers. We check, recheck, and triple-check everything because their privacy and safety come before anything else.
We usually never learn their real names. We’re given aliases, and the appointments happen quietly and privately. There’s no big reveal, no photographs for publicity, and no celebration that turns their experience into something for other people to see. Everyone in the studio understands that the room is not to be interrupted. We simply take care of that person, protect their dignity, and allow them to leave on their own terms.
We started by helping people remove symbols of who they no longer wanted to be. Today, we help survivors reclaim parts of themselves that someone else tried to take from them. That is how Redemption Ink started—and that young woman is how we got here.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it hasn’t always been a smooth road. It has been a learning curve from the very beginning—but honestly, I don’t know that we ever expected anything different. We’re tattooers. How much could a group of tattoo artists truly understand about human trafficking until we made the commitment to learn?
Once we chose to serve survivors, we also accepted the responsibility of educating ourselves. I attended classes presented by local organizations that are internationally recognized for their work against human trafficking. I learned about the warning signs, how survivors may behave or respond, and how trauma can affect even an ordinary conversation.
We had to learn what questions were appropriate to ask, what conversations we could safely have, and—just as importantly—what didn’t need to be known or discussed. Something that may feel like a harmless question to us could bring someone back to a place they’ve worked very hard to escape. Even with the best intentions, you can cause harm if you don’t understand how to communicate with someone who has experienced that kind of trauma.
That has probably been our greatest challenge: learning how to create an environment where someone feels safe, respected, and in control. The tattooing is the part we already know how to do. Learning how to care for the person receiving it has required much more education, patience, and humility.
But I don’t look at what we’ve learned as a burden. It’s simply part of the responsibility we accepted when we chose this path. If we’re going to help people through something this personal, then we owe it to them to keep learning and to do it the right way.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Redemption Ink?
Fallen Heroes Tattoo is our primary business. We have studios in Colorado and Florida, and at the most basic level, we create tattoos. But what we have built has never felt basic to us.
Tattooing is an incredibly personal form of art. People trust us with their stories, their memories, their grief, their celebrations, and sometimes the parts of themselves they are still learning to accept. We never forget that. A tattoo may be another day of work for us, but for the person sitting in the chair, it may represent one of the most meaningful days of their life.
We are known for high-quality custom tattooing and for having artists with different styles, strengths, and personalities. We want people to feel like they can walk through our doors exactly as they are. Whether someone is getting their first tattoo, adding to a lifelong collection, commemorating someone they love, or trying to make peace with something they have carried for years, they deserve to be treated with patience, honesty, and respect.
What sets Fallen Heroes apart is not simply the art we create. It is what we believe the art can do.
We have always believed that a successful business should be useful to the community supporting it. That belief is behind TATTOOATHON®, the largest tattoo-based fundraiser in America, which we hold at both studios. In Colorado, it supports Sue’s Gift and its work helping people affected by gynecologic cancers. In Florida, it supports the M Family Foundation and its fight against ovarian and pediatric cancers. It is also behind traditions like Ink in the Ring, where our artists compete, challenge themselves creatively, and give clients the opportunity to receive an original six-hour tattoo for only $200.
But perhaps the most personal expression of that belief is Redemption Ink, our 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Fallen Heroes provides the home, the artists, the equipment, and the professional experience that make the work possible. Redemption Ink gives that experience a very specific purpose: helping survivors of human trafficking reclaim parts of their bodies that were used to control, identify, or hurt them.
Through licensed organizations and therapy providers, Redemption Ink offers the covering or removal of tattoos, brands, and certain scars at no cost to the survivor. Our artists donate their time, and the work is done quietly, carefully, and privately. We often never know the survivor’s real name. We do not photograph the finished work for publicity or turn someone’s trauma into content. The person does not owe us their story, their gratitude, or anything else. Our only job is to give them a safe space, do the best work we can, and allow them to leave with a little more ownership of themselves than they had when they arrived.
Redemption Ink is connected to Fallen Heroes, but it is not a marketing campaign for the studio. It is not something we created to sell tattoos or make ourselves look charitable. It exists because one young survivor trusted us enough to show us what had been done to her—and once we understood that our skills could help, we could not simply look away.
Brand-wise, that is what makes me most proud. Of course I am proud of the artwork, our studios, and the reputation our artists have earned. But I am proudest that Fallen Heroes has become a place where talented people use what they know how to do in service of something larger than themselves.
At the end of the day, we are tattooers. We cannot undo what happened to someone, cure cancer, or solve every problem in our communities. But we can use our hands, our art, our studios, and our voices to help. We can create a beautiful memory where there was once a painful one. We can help raise money for families facing the unimaginable. And sometimes, we can help someone look at their own body and see something they chose instead of something that was forced upon them.
That is what Fallen Heroes and Redemption Ink are really about. The tattoos matter—but the people wearing them will always matter more.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
If someone wants to begin doing the kind of work Redemption Ink does with survivors of human trafficking, my first advice would be to tread very lightly.
There are complexities, risks, and emotional realities that you may not be prepared for—and good intentions are not enough. Seek out the people and organizations that truly understand human trafficking. Learn from licensed professionals who can give you informed answers, not guesses. Understand trauma, privacy, safety, and appropriate communication before putting yourself in a position to serve anyone.
You need to recognize the difference between wanting to help and being properly prepared to help. If you get that wrong, you can unintentionally hurt the very person you were hoping to support. Work through recognized organizations, respect their safeguards, and be humble enough to admit what you do not know.
If someone simply wants to start a tattoo business, my answer is different: go for it. I realize that may sound strange in an industry that is already heavily saturated, but I would add one important condition—go your own way. Build it your way. Question the norms instead of copying them simply because that is how tattoo shops have always operated.
And leave your ego at the door.
It’s amazing how quickly people can become impressed with themselves when they open a business or develop a talent. But I don’t think there is much room for ego in tattooing—or in any industry, really. At the end of the day, we’re all just weird monkeys flying through space on a rock, and because one monkey does something differently from another, we decide that makes us special.
The truth is, you are not special simply because you own a tattoo shop. Tattooing itself is not special just because you happen to be the person doing it. What can become special is what you choose to do with it.
That is probably the lesson I wish I had understood more clearly in the beginning. Talent is a gift, but it is also a responsibility. Be grateful that you get to participate in a craft that has changed so many lives. Respect the people who built it before you, respect the people who trust you with their bodies and stories, and never stop learning.
Don’t focus on proving that you are special. Focus on doing something meaningful with the opportunity you have been given. If you understand the difference, you have a chance to build something that matters.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fallenheroestattoo.com/redemption.html
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theredemptionink/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theredemptionink
