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Tattoo Artist Helps Girls Escape Life in the Sex Trade

A Chicago-area tattoo artist and youth pastor helps people find new lives by inking over their tattoos. Sponsored by Grape-Nuts.

About this sponsorship: In honor of the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Mount Everest, Patch and Grape-Nuts are teaming up to highlight those who inspire people around them to climb their own mountains. Walk into Chris Baker's tattoo shop, and you’re greeted by a huge biker-looking dude covered in 140 hours’ worth of ink. Baker’s shop, the first tattoo studio in Oswego, is the cleanest tattoo place you will ever see. A guitar signed by former Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch hangs on the wall, a reminder of a turning point in Baker's life. "His book Save Me From Myself turned my life around," says Chris Baker, a 42-year-old tattoo artist, youth pastor and father of three.   Baker now helps save others by …

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Ink 180 Receives Unanimous Approval from Oswego Village Board

Ink 180, at 27 Stonehill Drive, Oswego, will offer tattoo services for patrons as well as free cover-up tattoos for former gang members and sex-trafficking victims.

Kendall County will be seeing its first tattoo shop in the near future after the Village of Oswego board unanimously voted to approve a special permit for tattoo facility Ink 180. Ink 180, owned by tattoo artist and Oswego resident Chris Baker, will function as both a tattoo shop for patrons as well as a part of the Ink 180 Ministry that provides free cover-up tattoos for sex trafficking victims and former gang members. After the vote, Baker said he’d been hopeful it would pass, but had been expecting a few votes against because of the stigma surrounding tattoo shops. “We’re hoping to turn that conception around,” said Baker. “It’s a great service and God bless him for doing it,” said trustee Jeff Lawson right before the vote in which many…

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Artist Changing Lives One Tattoo at a Time

Chris Baker, founder of INK 180, provides free cover-up tattoos to sex trafficking victims and old gang members.

There’s normally a story behind a tattoo. If that’s the case, then Oswego resident and tattoo artist Chris Baker has seen a whole lot of stories and helped to write hundreds of new chapters. Baker is the founder of INK 180, a non-profit organization in which he creates cover-up tattoos free of charge for victims of sex trafficking and old gang members looking to turn their lives around. Tattooing was always something of a passion for Baker, but never a job. He has been collecting tattoos since he was 18 and had always wanted to make tattoos himself. But when he was younger he dropped out of high school to help support his mom and sister and threw his artistic talent under the rug. It wasn’t until he was about 25 years old and hanging out …

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