‘InkPath’ helps former gang members get fresh start

By Randall Newsome

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    BALTIMORE (WMAR) — A tattoo studio is making it possible for people to move further away from the missteps of a checkered past.

Anthony “Ink” Chestnut owns Circa Ink LLC tattoo studio and he believes it’s become his calling to help transform lives “one tattoo at a time.”

The project he calls “InkPath” is a mission to empower and support former gang members in their journey to getting a fresh start and inserting themselves back into society. Chestnut was inspired to start this mission in memory of his mother.

He reminisced on the conversations he had with his mom, Vicky McGee, who died in August of 2022.

“My mother [said] if she had the money we would buy a big enough building and call it ‘The Love House’ and help out anybody and everybody that needed help,” he said. “When she passed I moved back [to Baltimore] and I thought to myself what can I do with my talents to help out and that’s when I came up with the idea for InkPath.”

The program aims to break up the cycle of violence and recidivism by equipping former gang members with career counseling, job training and mentorship. He and his team of artists hope to begin the process by helping participants cover up their tattoos with images that are more suitable for the life they hope to lead in the future.

“In this day and age, second chances are needed,” Chestnut said. He’s no stranger to second chances himself as a person who once battled with addictions to alcohol and drugs.

“There’s no judgment over here,” he said.

Circa Ink tattoo artist, Jermaine “Blaze” Johnson became one of the first examples of this program before it was official.

“When I met him, I actually was in a gang, but then I got into tattooing,” Johnson said. “I started working with [Chestnut] at every shop he’s had. I been with him ever since.”

Johnson talked about what it means to be a part of the challenging process of helping others escape that dark path.

“It’s hard to get rid of that part of your life, but I would hope that we could help somebody to be able to do that and move forward,” Johnson said.

Johnson remembers being motivated by family; specifically, his first-born son.

“I [didn’t] want him to do what I [did],” Johnson said. “I’m going to make sure I’m here for him…give him the right direction…direction I didn’t have. That’s kind of what pulled me into going the right direction in life. It could’ve went a lot different.”

Now, instead of a tattoo of a skull that represented a gang he once belonged to, he replaced it with art that represented the passions that drive his life today. One was music, while the other drives him more than anything else; fatherhood.

“Before anything, I’m a dad first,” Johnson said. “Anybody who knows me will know that.”

Mateo Burnell is one of the first people to officially participate in the InkPath mission. He was also inspired to get out of the gang life by family. His daughter gave him the courage to walk away.

Both men, who can speak about this journey from both sides, shared their thoughts on why people should leave gang life behind and turn toward a different path.

“Eventually over time you realize that people you sign your life away to, are really not for you,” Burnell said about his experience being a part of a gang.

“Stop worrying about what other people think of you,” Johnson said. “You [have to] actually want to do better and you can actually be better.”

Getting tattoos covered as a part of the InkPath program is free of charge.

“We have to do our part to change this place into the world we want to see,” Chestnut said.

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