Gilbert tattooist uses art to help charities

Feb. 3—Caleb Wayne Hail has dabbled in all different sorts of art media but he much prefers working with ink and human skin.

The Gilbert tattoo artist is the driving force behind TattooCharity.com, a nonprofit aimed at helping charities raise money through body art.

"With State Forty Eight Foundation, we will have raised just under $50,000," Hail said.

The professional tattoo artist so far has partnered on six events with the foundation, a Chandler nonprofit that provides grants to new or aspiring business owners. It is an offshoot of State Forty Eight, a local apparel company.

Hail assembled other tattoo artists and together they donated their time and supplies to ink one of TattooCharity.com's 22 one-of-a-kind Arizona-inspired designs on an arm or leg for $199, with proceeds going to the foundation. The first joint-event sold out within 24 hours.

"They find ways to empower small businesses here in Arizona," said Hail, a foundation grant recipient in 2023. "They're very, very pro local and I'm a big advocate of that."

Hail founded TattooCharity.com in 2020, and it recently received its tax-exempt status.

Hail said he is fortunate to have partnered with State Forty Eight and "build something that works and now we have a concept that works with any large organization with themed events and raise money for charity."

"We kind of perfected it with State Forty Eight and now we're getting our feet out there," he said.

Hail's journey to where he is now began early.

"I was an artist before I got into tattooing," the 37-year-old said. "The joke in the family is that I was born with a pen in my hand. I was drawing at age 3 and never stopped.

'I sold some art when I was 16 and that really changed the trajectory of my life. That is when I realized I could use my art to create an income and tattooing was the vehicle that allowed me to really turn up the heat on that, namely making a living with my art."

Hail said he had just come out of his teens when he began tattooing his buddies out of his living room for cash.

"I tattooed for a couple of years on my own without any help," he said, adding he would not advise others to do what he did. "I was trying but was not very good. It took a couple of years networking and getting to know people before some artists (noticed) I stuck it out long enough to say, 'let's teach him some rights and wrongs on how to do that.' At that point I was in my early 20s.'"

Hail said he has a background in marketing, which he used to help build his clientele.

"I made a full-time income fairly quickly," he said. "It was enough to pay rent and keep a roof over my head and food in the fridge."

His artistry initially took him all over the country for the next 10 years, where he plied his ink and needle at guest spots in tattoo shops.

He still doesn't have a storefront and practices his trade out of Reaper Madness Tattoo Parlor in Tempe.

"I've lived all over the U.S. and slept on a lot of couches and ate a lot of ramen noodles back then," Hail recalled.

But, he added, "I got to explore, I got to see a lot — experienced new flavors and tastes. I didn't have a lot of that before. It just made life richer for me. Anybody who's traveled a lot can attest to that.

"It all happened at the right timing and was kind of a natural process for me as an artist to pick a new medium, which allowed me to travel and live my early 20s outside a cubicle."

Hail says he's inked people from all age groups over 18 and from all backgrounds.

Why people get a tat runs the gamut — from a coming of age rebel ritual to artistic expression to a memorial to a person or pet that has died, he said.

His oldest client was a woman in her mid-80s but he couldn't recall what tattoo she asked for.

"We were so focused on that it was her first tattoo," Hail said. "She was so excited and we all high-fived her. It's never too early to make changes and to live a cool life."

Tattoos are no longer viewed as the mark of criminals and sailors, according to Hail.

"It's definitely a more common place to see tattoos in the work space," he said. "It's not uncommon to go to a doctor and the doctor has a tattoo on his arm.

"The industry has grown substantially in popularity over the last decade. It is absolutely a trend. A high percentage of people now have at least one."

According to the Pew Research Center, 32% of adults have a tattoo, including 22% who have more than one.

Even politicians have one, including U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania with his nine tatts.

The nonpartisan think tank added that more women than men sport a tattoo — 38% versus 27% — and "adults under 50 are especially likely to have a tattoo."

"More broadly, Americans overall — including those with and without tattoos — believe society has become more accepting of people with tattoos over the past 20 years or so," the Pew Research Center said.

More than any other art medium, etching a design onto someone's epidermis continued to hold Hail's interest all these years.

"Tattooing was always challenging," he said. "There was always more to do. I don't think you ever perfect it. As artists we're continually taking risks. Sometimes it works and sometimes no."

Hail also is a living testament to his love for the craft.

"I'm pretty much covered in tattoos," he remarked, a few by his own hands. "There's no way to count (how many). They just blend together.

"Many of the tattoos I have represent my upbringing, growing up in Arizona or representing my faith. My faith is a super important part of my life growing up and still is."

He has a couple of tatts of Bible verses and one on a knee that reads "Arizona," according to Hail.

"Every time I sit down and my shorts come up, it's a reminder," he said. "This is my reminder of where I grew up and my humble beginnings."

The tattoos stretch from the base of his neck to his entire back, chest, arms and legs, Hail said, commenting that "mom was not ready for face tattoos."

"Mom, she actually passed in 2020 from brain cancer," Hail said; "She was a music piano and singing coach. She played music in church my whole life. She was always helping people."

He said that the death of his mother, Janet Hail, from glioblastoma, played a big role in starting his nonprofit in order "to carry on that example I had with growing up with her giving back."

"For me, this was an opportunity to take my art and give back," he said.

He noted that his mother initially hated his chosen profession.

"She was very conservative and didn't want to talk to me about it," he said. "But before she passed I had tattooed her three times.

"It's just funny how she didn't like it to being she was really my biggest fan."