Hope
in Ink.

I like to tell people that I decided to start the tattoo with Tony because I was having a bad day at work. That’s partially true. I was having a bad day at work the day I sent the email. The rest of the reason is that I had been having a particularly rough six months, and I had just turned 31, and I had this sudden realization that I was still alive. I was 100% convinced when I was growing up that I would not live past 30, so I put my whole life on hold for a long time because it seemed pointless to do anything if I was just going to commit suicide anyway. When I realized I hadn’t successfully done that, I decided, “I’m not happy, and if I’m stuck here, I am going to do whatever I want to do.” I was going to live the life I wanted, which prompted the decision to get a tattoo.

Initially, when I was looking for artists, I intended to get a small premade design on one of my arms as a test. I have many self-injury scars that I was told were keloids. I was concerned about how a tattoo would heal, considering that. If I got a small piece, I would see how it healed and keep getting more pieces.

I went through many artists. I spent far too much of my workday searching for the right style, design, and person.

I found Tony because of an Instagram post on Inkology’s page. Tony won an award at the Hell City Tattoo Festival, and the piece in the photo was exactly the kind of style I was looking for. It had horror elements I dug and was super vibrant and stunning. When I went to Tony’s page and looked at his work, I was like, “This is the person.”

He is talented and creative, and his designs are unique, and I would love whatever he wanted to create. And then, I found the design on his page. It was this beautiful side tattoo, all in color from the shoulder blade to the hip. It differed from the placement or size I was looking for, but I saw it and knew it was the one. Was it an absolutely insane decision for a first tattoo? Yes. Did I care? No. I also left out that this was my first tattoo when I emailed. He didn’t find out till the first session.

I remember when I reached out, I explicitly said that we could make the design smaller or cut it if tattooing over the scars would be a pain. I understand that scars are something that can be difficult to work with. They are unpredictable; they can be painful, they have weird textures, they might not hold the ink, whatever. I get it.

Tony did not make it smaller when he met me. After a few appointments, he made it bigger and asked to extend the design, knowing he would have to tattoo over scars. It was such a bold move. I was concerned about my scars being challenging to deal with, and they did not phase him. So, of course, I said yes, and he has since tattooed over many scars.

Not once in the entire process has he made me feel remotely uncomfortable about my scars. It means the world to me. I don’t get that same courtesy from many strangers. I get stares, questions, and people obviously whispering about me. I always appreciate it when I meet someone, and that’s not how they act.

The way he has covered the scars on my leg is incredible. I can’t see them. I know they’re there, and I can’t find most of them. My friends are stunned that they can’t see them. It is mind-blowing. I did not think this was possible. I didn’t intend to cover up the scars because I didn’t think I could. I was going to work around them getting tattooed. But now I’ve seen what Tony can do. If I trust anyone to do my arms, where the bulk of the scars are, it’s him. He’s probably stuck with me, and that’s his fault for being talented.

I don’t hate my scars. They made me feel ugly for a long time, and I came to terms with having them. That being said, if I could eliminate them in some capacity, it would change my whole life.

This whole experience has been amazing. It’s given me hope. I feel much more confident. I have gone way out of my comfort zone. I don’t feel like I’m the same person I was when I started. And Tony has been so chilling through all my nonsense. I can’t thank him enough for that and everything.

Monisha Lakhotia

My name is Manuel de Jesus, I am a client of Tony Vilella. I met Tony when I was looking for an excellent artist to pay tribute to my family, my wife and my two children. I searched extensively in New York for artists who excelled in the field, because just as my family is important to me, I wanted to have a spectacular piece, which would represent them and which I would carry with me forever.

Tony crafted a beautiful tattoo, for which I am truly grateful due to the quality and professionalism. I let him create and develop the work, because he is recognized as one of the best artists in the world, which gave me confidence.

In conversation with Tony and telling him about my life story and the value that the tattoo held for me, I ended up learning about the social project Tony runs, called “Coloring Lives with Hope.” This social project helps people who have experienced traumas and who have scars because of it. This project made me very happy, because I have a scar resulting from a shocking work accident, which I do not like to remember and I try in every way not to look at the scar, as it makes me remember every moment of pain and despair I went through.

The accident occurred when I was at work using a gasoline machine and it exploded. The accident happened on my wife’s birthday and I did not get to see her that day, as I was taken directly to the emergency room and was hospitalized. I spent a month in the hospital under care. I remember we were going to travel as a family the day after the accident, so in addition to being away from my family and nearly dying, we lost a trip we had planned to spend more time together. In addition to the time I spent hospitalized, I had to spend another year in therapy without being able to work, given the severity of the accident. These were difficult moments that I do not like to recall.

I am really very happy that Tony accepted me to participate in this social project that he carries out. My scar may not be visible for everyone to see, as I hide it, but it is visible to me, to my wife, to my children. I try not to look at it, but it’s there, on my thigh. There are times when it’s impossible not to see it and when I do see it, everything comes into my head: each moment, each second I spent away from my family, with the uncertainty of everything that was to come.

Having this piece of art on my body will make me reframe everything I went through and, when I look at my thigh, I will see the beautiful work of art that I will carry forever on my body.

This tattoo is a chance, a choice I have to exchange something that causes me suffering for something that brings me happiness, something that I will be proud to show everyone.

Manuel de Jesus