From Prison to Hollywood: Keith Edmonds' UNBELIEVABLE Journey - EP 18

"When I was homeless or in prison, people that had what I wanted gave me hope." Keith Edmonds Jr. learned to tattoo in prison — mixing ink from the soot of a Vaseline candle and building machines out of CD player motors and guitar strings. Ten years later he walked a red carpet at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood for a documentary about the shop he owns. In Episode 18 of The Shift with Mike & Joe, Keith is back at the table to tell the whole story. He's co-owner of Ink or Dye Studio in Centreville, Maryland, coming up on seven years in business, and this is the most candid conversation we've had on this show. Keith walks us through the addiction that led to homelessness, crime, and prison time — and the recovery house on the other side of it, where he met his now-wife Cheryl. He tells us how he talked a guy with 25 years of experience into teaching him everything he knew, how the prison tattoo economy actually worked, and what it was like to get out with nothing but a 400 credit score and the clothes on his back. Then the build: knocking on five shops before one said yes, a tattoo machine his brother bought him in exchange for a tattoo, and opening Ink or Dye on $17,000 — Cheryl's wedding money plus whatever was left on a credit card. It wasn't enough. What made it work was the recovery community: plumbers, electricians, drywall and flooring guys who either discounted the work or did it for free. As Keith puts it, this community built this shop. We also get into "Ink or Dye," the short documentary directed by Lane Michael Stanley, who came up through the same Baltimore recovery circles. It got into Dances With Films — one of the top ten festivals in the country — and Keith and Cheryl scrambled to get to LA on three weeks' notice. And yes, Joe worked on the film's audio, using a phone held inside a plastic dog cone. The back half turns into a genuinely useful business conversation: how the shop actually makes money, why more artists means a better shop rather than a bigger paycheck, commission structures and why deposits protect the artists more than the owner, and a long stretch on marketing — reading analytics, knowing your audience's age, why Ink or Dye leans on Facebook over Instagram, the Tuesday-morning posting window, and how a $500 geo-targeted Facebook ad pulled 48,000 views and 6,000 link clicks for their event. We also talk about recovery houses and how they fail, the ten trips through rehab it took before it stuck, losing his mom and what that did to his recovery, free cover-ups for gang and hate-related tattoos, tattoo removal, aftercare, whether tattoo culture has gotten watered down, and the ongoing struggle to be present at home while running a business. And we get the full rundown on Tattoos for a Cause — September 20 in Centreville, two streets shut down, five bands, ten artists, forty vendors, and the first Eastern Shore showing of the "Ink or Dye" documentary at 7 PM. The 2023 event raised $14,000 for the Recovery Awareness Foundation. Question for you: What shift have you experienced in your life? CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome — and why we re-recorded this one 01:20 Housekeeping: moving to every other Wednesday 02:30 Who Keith is and what Ink or Dye Studio is 03:15 How a Hollywood director found a Centreville tattoo shop 05:55 Dances With Films, the Chinese Theatre, and the red carpet 07:53 The film itself — and Joe's phone-in-a-dog-cone audio rig 10:33 Why they picked Keith and Cheryl: recovery is the real story 11:52 "People that had what I wanted gave me hope" 13:03 Cereal boxes, graffiti, and wanting to be a vandal 15:46 The first tattoo, 1999 — and deciding not to chase it yet 17:08 Art school, relapse, and going back to prison 17:49 Learning to tattoo inside from a 25-year veteran 18:29 Out with nothing: a 400 credit score and a recovery house 19:52 Five shops before one said yes 21:53 The prison tattoo economy 23:13 Making ink from Vaseline soot 25:54 Building a machine from a CD player and a guitar string 28:41 What a tattoo actually cost in prison 30:43 Opening Ink or Dye with $17,000 of wedding money 33:23 How the recovery community built the shop 35:27 Inside the shop: artists, commission, and how it runs 37:27 The craziest tattoo Keith's ever done 39:28 What to expect if it's your first tattoo 45:31 Deposits, no-shows, and protecting your artists 46:53 Designing tattoos — and where AI fits in 51:36 Tattoos for a Cause: five bands, ten artists, forty vendors 53:38 The Recovery Awareness Foundation and where the money goes 56:25 "It took me 10 times before I actually got it" 59:48 How recovery houses work — and how they fail 1:02:32 Getting suicidal in prison, and deciding to change 1:03:54 90 meetings in 90 days 1:05:17 Grief, mental health, and staying in recovery 1:08:41 A day in Keith's life 1:10:45 Being present at home while running a business 1:13:28 What Keith knows about marketing 1:16:56 Reading analytics and knowing your audience 1:19:38 The best time to post on Facebook 1:21:00 A $500 Facebook ad, 48,000 views 1:23:42 What a shop actually nets on a tattoo 1:26:24 Why more artists means a better shop, not more money 1:28:25 Keith's first tattoo ever: a staple and pencil graphite 1:29:45 Has tattoo culture gotten watered down? 1:35:09 Tattoo removal and covering up old work 1:38:38 Aftercare and Recovery Derm 1:41:20 Keith's own most painful tattoo 1:42:44 Why tattoo therapy is a real thing 1:45:29 Getting Cheryl on the show next time 1:46:49 Tattoos for a Cause details and wrap-up CONNECT WITH KEITH EDMONDS JR. & INK OR DYE STUDIO Website: https://inkordyestudio.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inkordyestudio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inkordyestudio/ "INK OR DYE" — THE DOCUMENTARY Written and directed by Lane Michael Stanley Director's page: https://lanemichaelstanley.com/ink-or-dye IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37702001/ TATTOOS FOR A CAUSE Saturday, September 20, 2025 · 11 AM – 8 PM Courthouse Square, Centreville, MD (across from Ink or Dye Studio) Free to attend · "Ink or Dye" documentary screening at 7 PM Event page: https://www.facebook.com/share/18WPif8CCT/ Benefiting the Recovery Awareness Foundation SUPPORT THE SHIFT WITH MIKE & JOE Website: https://www.theshiftwithmikeandjoe.com Donate: https://www.theshiftwithmikeandjoe.com/giving-page-2-1 Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheShiftwithMikeandJoe-jf9ot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshiftwithmikeandjoe/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574975860350 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theshiftwithmikea Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-shift-with-mike-joe/id1813198065 Podbean: https://joer7.podbean.com CONNECT WITH MIKE & JOE Image & Sound Media (Joe) Website: https://www.imagesoundmedia.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094021747690 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imageandsoundmedia TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@imagesoundmedia YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@imagesoundmedia Joe Bryan Music Website: https://www.joebryanmusic.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550810556745 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joebryanmusic TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joebryanmusic Kent Island Academy of Music (Mike) Website: https://kentislandacademyofmusic.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KentIslandAcademyOfMusic/ Michael Waskey Music Website: https://www.michaelwaskey.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelwaskeymusic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelwaskeymusic PODCAST PRODUCTION GEAR (EPISODE 18) Main Camera (Wide Shot): Nikon Zf + Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Joe (Close-Up): Sony FX3 + Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II Mike (Close-Up): Sony A7 IV + Sony 135mm f/1.8 GM Guest (Close-Up): Sony A7C II + Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art Main Audio: Shure SM7B (Joe & Mike) Guest Audio: Neumann clone kit mic Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 18i18 Audio Software: Reaper Video Editing: DaVinci Resolve Studio Lighting: Amaran 100x & 200x softboxes + Amaran tube lights The Shift with Mike & Joe is fully produced by Image & Sound Media. https://www.imagesoundmedia.com #TheShiftPodcast #EntrepreneurLife #BusinessTalk #mikeandjoeshow #KentIsland #EasternShore #Centreville #MarylandPodcast #TattooArtist #RecoveryStory #InkOrDye