This St. Pete Tattoo Artist Is Using His Art For Good & Covering Racist Tatts For Free

Do you have a tattoo that could be considered culturally insensitive? If you answered yes, you're not alone. That's why St. Pete tattoo parlor Fredo Ink&Co is offering to cover up hateful and racist tattoos for free.

Narcity spoke with Franklin “Fredo” Alfaro, the owner of Fredo Ink&Co., to learn more about what inspired him to offer the cover-ups.

As an immigrant from Colombia with a wife whose family are also Haitian immigrants, the St. Pete tattoo shop owner has two minority children.

“We knew we had to give back,” Fredo told Narcity. “Now more than ever we need to contribute to positivity and progression. We saw that other cities were doing it and just knew that was the best way for us to contribute; by using our art for good.”

"People change and they learn that what they once thought was wrong. And that tattoo that they got during that time doesn't reflect who they are today."

Alfaro also expressed that he believes the cover-up can not only help those who have changed their outlook move onward and upward but that it also benefits the people of color who no longer have to see the hateful messages.

In his social media posts, Fredo extended the offer to cover up any racist tattoos you may have for free, no questions asked.

All artists at Fredo Ink&Co are working together to complete the cover-ups. The final design is at the artist’s discretion, but they’ll work with the client for input and make it a full collaboration.

There are no limitations to what Fredo and his artists will tackle. “Everything can be covered up with something,” Fredo explained. “And it can be done beautifully, as well.”

Fredo Ink&Co. have been getting so many requests, he says, that they’re actually struggling to keep up. Fredo plans to do these cover-ups for a while, with no current estimated end date to his offer.