'There’s enough hate': Tattoo shop covers up racist tattoos for free

CTV News Channel: 'Starting to catch on' The owner of a Maryland tattoo shop removes offensive tattoos for free and says the idea is becoming very popular.

A Maryland tattoo shop is removing or covering up racist and gang related tattoos free of charge.

While one might think that this sort of service wouldn’t be very high in demand, Southside Tattoo owner Dave Cutlip told CTV News Channel he gets lots of requests.

“My phone has been ringing off the hook,” he said, adding that he receives more than 100 messages a day on Facebook from people either seeking help or looking to help out Cutlip’s shop.

He first got the idea when someone came in looking to get an offensive tattoo removed. Cutlip was unable to help but after consulting with his wife he decided that it would be a good idea to give back to the community in a way that played to his skillset.

“There’s enough hate,” Cutlip said. “I just thought it was a nice thing to do.”

Southside Tattoo either covers the tattoos up or, if that isn’t an option, pays for some to remove it with a laser.

Cutlip doesn’t ask questions but is happy to listen if someone wants to share their story.

For example, he told CTV News Channel of a man who had ‘white’ on one arm and ‘power’ on the other. The man realized that he wanted to go to school and get a good job but his tattoos were standing in the way of that.

Another story he shared involved a man who lived in Angola and ended up with some offensive tattoos for survival purposes. The man was trying to reverse his past mistakes and through one small act of kindness Cutlip was able to help get rid of a painful reminder of a past life.

The tattoo shop hopes to form a non-profit collective of tattoo artists around the world to help people cover their gang and racist tattoos for free. They are currently raising funds using a GoFundMe page.