Today we’d like to introduce you to Young Bae.
Hi Young, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born in Seoul, South Korea, into a life most people only see in movies like Parasite or Squid Game—except for me, it wasn’t entertainment. It was survival. I grew up in poverty, in fear, and in constant chaos under a violent father. Some nights I slept in a community center, sometimes under a desk, and for a while in a freezing shipping container. But even in all that darkness, I held onto one thing: I was an artist. I didn’t have proof yet, but I had faith.
Immigrating to America as a young woman felt like stepping onto another planet. I didn’t speak the language, I didn’t have money, and I didn’t have connections. What I did have was the same determination that kept me alive back home. I took every job—restaurants, cleaning, whatever I could find—and when someone told me I had the hands of a real artist, it lit a fire. Tattooing became my language before I had actual English words. It was the first time in my life that I felt powerful.
Eventually, that work ethic took me to New York City, where I opened Diamond Tattoos in Times Square. From there, VH1’s Black Ink Crew changed everything. People saw the hustle, the humor, the heart—but they didn’t see the full story. The pain. The trauma. The faith. The fight. I carried all of that quietly while building a career, a brand, and becoming a mother.
My memoir, Young Is Blessed, is the first time I’ve ever told the truth out loud. Not the TV version. Not the Instagram version. The real version. It’s about abuse, immigration, single motherhood, success, faith, and the messy, ongoing work of healing. Writing it broke me open in the best way—it showed me that surviving was only the first chapter. Healing is the next one.
Today, I’m focused on building platforms that reflect who I truly am: an artist, a mother, a businesswoman, a woman of faith, and someone who refuses to hide her scars. I’m growing my companies, expanding my tattoo and apparel brands, and stepping into speaking and advocacy work around healing, resilience, and immigrant empowerment.
I didn’t get here because I had an easy path. I got here because I kept going. And now I want other women—especially those who grew up like me—to know that their past doesn’t get to decide their future. Mine didn’t. And I’m just getting started.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Smooth? Not even close. Nothing about my life has been easy. I grew up in an abusive home where the only constant was fear. I’ve slept in basements that flooded when it rained, in community centers where we hid our poverty, and in a shipping container during winter because we had nowhere else to go. Before I ever tattooed a line, I learned how to survive things no child should ever see.
Coming to America didn’t magically erase anything—I arrived alone, broke, barely speaking English, and carrying years of trauma I didn’t have the language to explain. I worked every job I could find just to pay rent. I lived paycheck to paycheck, ate one meal a day, and heard “no” more times than I can count. People underestimated me constantly—because I was Korean, because I was a woman, because I didn’t fit the mold of what a tattoo artist “should” look like.
Even when my career started taking off, life didn’t suddenly become smooth. Success doesn’t heal you. Fame doesn’t fix the past. Being on TV brought opportunities, but it also brought pressure, judgment, and the hardest thing of all—having to perform strength when I was breaking inside.
I became a mother in the middle of all of this, and that brought its own struggles. Single motherhood. Immigration issues. Business challenges. Healing old wounds while trying not to pass them on to my son. Trying to grow my shop and my brand while parenting and filming and building a life from the ground up.
And that’s why Young Is Blessed exists. The book is not about pretending everything worked out. It’s about showing the truth—that healing is real, but it’s messy. Faith is real, but it’s not always pretty. And resilience isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you earn every single day you choose to get up and keep going.
My road has been anything but smooth. But every sharp turn and every broken piece made me exactly who I am. And I’m grateful for that.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m an artist first—before the TV shows, before the followers, before the Times Square studio. Tattooing is the language I found when I didn’t have words, and it’s still the way I tell stories today. I specialize in fine-line, detail-heavy work that feels almost like drawing breath onto skin. People come to me because they know I don’t just put ink on bodies—I put healing there. Every piece I create is a testimony, a prayer, a reminder that beauty can rise out of a place that once held pain.
Most people know me from Black Ink Crew, where the world got to see my hustle and my heart. But what they didn’t see was the meaning behind the work. Tattooing saved my life. It gave me direction when I had none, stability when I never had it growing up, and a platform to build something bigger than myself. Today, I own Diamond Tattoos in the heart of Times Square, and I’ve built a fashion line, 2one2 Apparel, that celebrates heritage, grit, and rebirth.
I think what sets me apart is that I’m not trying to be perfect. I’m trying to be honest. I don’t hide the fact that I came from an abusive home, or that I grew up poor, or that I had to fight twice as hard in an industry dominated by men. I don’t hide the mistakes or the messy parts. My art comes from that raw place. My faith comes from that raw place. And now, with my book Young Is Blessed, I’m telling that story openly for the first time.
I’m most proud of the fact that I didn’t let where I started decide where I ended up. I built a life my younger self never could’ve imagined: a thriving business, a global audience, a beautiful son who changed everything for me, and now a memoir with Simon & Schuster that is already helping other women feel seen and less alone.
My mission now goes beyond tattoos or TV. I’m using my platform to talk about healing, faith, resilience, and immigrant empowerment. I want people to see that you can come from nothing—literally nothing—and still build a life filled with purpose and blessing. That’s what sets me apart. I’m proof that your past doesn’t get to write your future. You do.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Tattooing has changed more in the last decade than in the fifty years before it — and the future is about to expand even further. Ink isn’t just ink anymore. It’s identity, healing, culture, and lifestyle.
1. Tattoos as Emotional and Healing Work
One of the biggest shifts happening now is the deeper meaning behind the art. People don’t come to me just for a pretty tattoo — they come to reclaim their body, rewrite a memory, or close a painful chapter.
That’s why I created Healed N Free, my nonprofit offering free cover-up tattoos for survivors of domestic violence, abuse, and trafficking.
It’s art with purpose. It’s giving people their power back.
Over the next decade, I see trauma-informed tattooing becoming a major pillar of our industry.
2. More Representation & Global Influence
The industry used to be dominated by one type of artist. That’s changing now — and fast. Immigrant artists, women, Asian creatives, Black and Brown artists… we’re redefining the culture.
I believe the next 5–10 years will be driven by global perspectives and the stories behind those artists.
As someone who went from a basement apartment in Seoul to a tattoo studio in Times Square, I’m proud to represent that shift.
3. Tattoo Artists Becoming Full Lifestyle Creators
The future tattoo artist isn’t just doing tattoos — they’re building brands and creating culture.
That’s the lane I’m moving in now:
2one2 Apparel — New York–rooted streetwear fused with Korean heritage, identity, resilience, and art.
FurBae — my luxury, made-to-order fur fashion line where high fashion meets street edge; bold outerwear for people who want to stand out unapologetically.
Healed N Free — nonprofit work that transforms pain into beauty.
Ten years from now, tattoo artists will be designers, founders, authors, and leaders of entire lifestyle ecosystems. That’s already happening.
4. Innovation in Tools, Technique & Safety
We’re about to see major upgrades: quieter machines, more precise needles, safer pigments, better digital design, and more eco-friendly processes.
Tattooing will become even more sophisticated — both technically and artistically.
5. Studios Becoming Creative & Cultural Hubs
Tattoo shops will no longer be just tattoo shops. They’ll become:
community spaces
wellness spaces
fashion incubators
brand studios
storytelling hubs
Diamond Tattoos is already evolving in that direction — a home for art, fashion, healing, and culture under one roof.
Pricing:
- 28.99 Book
Contact Info:
- Website: https://diamondtattoosnyc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youngisblessed
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diamondtattoos
- Twitter: https://www.tiktok.com/@baeisblessed
- Other: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Young-Is-Blessed/Young-Bae/9798895653982
Image Credits
Cover Photo by Rou Shoots
