Tattoo therapy helps the formerly incarcerated heal through art and conversation

For Michael McGee, every tattoo tells a story — death in his family, his children, his last time in prison. But after losing his 7-year-old daughter, McGee faced a choice that would change everything. (Credit: KSBY via CNN Newsource)

For Michael McGee, every tattoo tells a story — death in his family, his children, his last time in prison. But after losing his 7-year-old daughter, McGee faced a choice that would change everything.

“I literally kind of had a dream of like, what am I here for? It just can’t be for drugs, violence, gangs, the street life. It has to be something bigger,” McGee said.

Now McGee runs Hustlin Ink, a mobile tattoo shop that mixes ink with conversation, offering people a chance to be heard while they get new artwork.

“You can come in here, sit down, get a tattoo, unwind, talk,” McGee said.

One of his recent clients was 18-year-old Isaac Lara, who joined a gang in Lompoc when he was just 12 years old.

“It’s not really too many options out there for you, you know. You got to pick a side or work a 9-to-5 job,” Lara said.

Lara has been shot four times, but he recently stopped by Hustlin Ink to honor a friend and start a new chapter in his life.

“My friend Monty, he was one of my best friends. He was shot in Santa Maria at a truck meet, and it sucked losing him. That was one of my closest friends,” Lara said. “That was really like (the) point in my life where I was just like (I) knew I need to stop.”

For Lara, McGee’s shop provides something he doesn’t get elsewhere — someone to listen.

“I don’t really have no one to talk to, and it’s good to talk to someone sometimes,” Lara said.

McGee understands the struggle of trying to move beyond a troubled past.

“Everyone wants to look at you as the old chapter, the old book, the old who you was, and they don’t want to allow you to be a new person,” McGee said.

One conversation at a time, McGee is working to break the prison-and-gang cycle, offering a different path where people have a chance to be heard.

Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness spokesperson Suzanne Grimmesey supports this approach to creating change.

“Any way that you have the conversation, that’s what moves us forward, and that’s what takes away the stigma that keeps people from getting the help they may need and deserve,” Grimmesey said.

Through ink and empathy, McGee helps people rewrite their stories, one tattoo at a time.

“Change is possible. It is. It’s not always easy, but it is possible,” McGee said.