The Removery studio at Fresno’s River Park shopping center opened in August 2022. Photo by Alex Scott

A local business is helping those with troubled pasts pave the way for a new future.

Removery, located at 7865 N. Via Del Rio in Fresno’s River Park shopping center since August 2022, is a tattoo removal service that provides pro bono work to those wishing to escape the life they once lived by erasing symbols that no longer represent who they are.

The INK-nitiative program is a community outreach initiative designed to provide safe, no cost tattoo removal for those who were formerly incarcerated, gang members, survivors of human trafficking, survivors of abuse and those who wish to remove hate symbols or racist tattoos.

 

“It’s all about giving back,” said Carmen VanderHeiden Brodie, co-founder and vice president of clinical operations for Austin, Texas-based Removery. “Being able to give back in a way that actually changes people’s lives for the better is powerful and makes us feel like we’re part of the greater good. There’s not often that we are provided that opportunity in a lifetime. We get to give back every single day.”

For every paying person who undergoes tattoo removal services at Removery, a removal service is provided to someone who meets the company’s criteria for the INK-nitiative program.

To be eligible for the program:

• Tattoo(s) much be located on the hands, neck or face
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• Previously or currently incarcerated
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• Survivor of human trafficking
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• Have a hate symbol or racist tattoo, and/or
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• Be a former gang member
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Those interested in the program are required to fill out an application and have an official advocate sign and confirm that the applicant has made a change in their life and are ready to reenter society.

Advocates that are accepted include social workers, probation officers, reentry officers or a sponsor who is not a friend or family of the applicant. Advocates can also submit applications on behalf of those who qualify the program.

Established in August 2020, the INK-nitiative program has worked with multiple organizations dedicated to rehabilitation, overcoming trauma and leaving a positive impact on the community.

The free removal program and Removery itself were born from partnerships.

The INK-nitiative partnership includes Project iRise (fighting human trafficking), the Free Radicals Project (fighting global radicalism) and Red Barn Academy (addiction recovery).

Removery was founded in 2019 through a merger of some of the top tattoo removal clinics in the country, including Eraser Clinic, Invisible Ink and the Finery. In 2019, the company operated 33 locations. It has now expanded to 143 locations nationwide.

“There’s not many people that can do what we do and have the equipment to remove unwanted tattoos from people who come out of prison or have been part of the sex trade industry and have markings on their body that really don’t represent who they are now,” said Brodie. “What we do truly changes our clients’ outlook, how people interact with them, if they are successful in getting hired and how they ultimately see themselves after they’ve put in a ton of work to get where they are.”