Like your past, a tattoo is a permanent mark. Sometimes though it's not a representation of who you are, but who you once were.
A local artist is helping people move forward by literally erasing parts of their past. Nick Peirce at Diamond State Tattoo Parlor in Sherwood has been a tattoo artist for eight years and now he's giving back to the community.
Peirce can’t take credit for the idea. He heard of another tattoo parlor across the country offering free cover ups. It stuck with him and now he's doing his part to erase hate.
"I heard something, I don’t know if it was a movie or radio, and it said, ‘When you’re gone, did you take more than you gave?'" said Peirce
Twelve years ago, Anthony Strantz carried around hate like one of his tattoos. He went to prison and he said he was jumped a group of people.
“New kid in town, got jumped. They were a different race and that in itself put me on a path to destruction and hate," said Strantz. “It’s a swastika with a spiderweb. The web contains the purity of the swastika.”
It’s part of a past he can't erase, but wants to wipe away. A father of twin boys, Strantz wants to be the hero they see him as.
“He asks, ‘Dad what’s that for?’ and I have to lie to my son because I don’t want him to know. I don’t want him to even think of that lifestyle,” Strantz said of the racist connotation behind the swastika.
That's where Peirce at Diamond State Tattoo comes in.
"To help people who want to help themselves," said Peirce.
Peirce is erasing hate by covering up gang related and hate tattoos for free.
"People are wanting to make a change and I’m helping them make the change," said Peirce.
Since February, he’s covered up about 14 tattoos. They’re projects that would have cost hundreds of dollars each. From rebel flags to gang symbols, Peirce is using his art to cover up a hateful past, offering hope for a future.
He covered up Strantz’s swastika with a Superman symbol.
“It’s like a weight lifted," said Strantz. “I’m already their hero so now it’s just stamped on me."
Strantz offers the free cover-ups every Wednesday at Diamond State Tattoo.