Reviews
“…an incredibly literate personal tale that transcends Latin American culture, gang lifestyle, and incarceration. It’s a story of purpose and triumph, and it’s truly remarkable.” — Nick Cassavetes, filmmaker and actor (The Notebook, Alpha Dog, My Sister’s Keeper)
“Freddy’s work speaks to people . . . [He] has certainly lived a colorful life—full of darkness and light—and it is these experiences that speak to us through his work.”— Dave Navarro, guitarist (Jane’s Addiction) and host of Spike TV’s Inkmaster
“Freddy Negrete’s former life is as dark and forbidding as a thick lined skull tattoo on the face of a menacing gangbanger. This memoir by Negrete and Steve Jones is riveting and intense and I couldn’t put it down.” — Patrick O’Neil, author of Gun, Needle, Spoon.
“[Freddy Negrete] was the man who took the Chicano, black-and-gray, joint-style straight out of the prisons and to the top of the tattoo world. To this day, Freddy’s work never ceases to amaze me.” — Danny Trejo, actor (Spy Kids, From Dusk Till Dawn)
“Freddy Negrete’s story is about how even the most troubled young man has vital gifts for the world, intrinsic to who he’s meant to be, and filling a void only an artist can fill. His is the story of our time.” —Luis J. Rodriguez, author of the memoir Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A., and It Calls You Back: An Odyssey Through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing
“You may think your favorite artist is an O.G. of the tattoo world. But compared with Freddy Negrete, almost everyone else is still a rookie. As one of the most experienced and influential tattoo artists in the world, Negrete was already making a name for himself before many of today’s top tattooers could walk.” — LA Weekly
“As I read this gripping memoir, I reflected on the fact that Negrete’s story is a communal one…[In] Freddy Negrete’s life, we see a truer image of Los Angeles’s past and present—a truer image of ourselves. Angelenos are finally learning to take care of their own.” — Los Angeles Review of Books
“The precision, mastery, and nuance of Negrete’s work in skin emerged from a personal history of triumph over a volatile youth. His life story is an inspirational testament to the possibilities of the human spirit.” — Don Ed Hardy, one of the fathers of modern-day tattooing.
