The Kindness Matters Podcast
So. Much. Division. Let's talk about how to change that. Re-engage as neighbors, friends, co-workers and family. Let's set out to change the world. Strike that. Change A World. One person at a time, make someone's life a little better and then do it again tomorrow and the day after that, through kindness.
Kindness is a Super-Power that each of us has within us. It is so powerful it has the potential to change not only your life but those around you, too. Let's talk about kindness.
The Kindness Matters Podcast
Tattoos of Healing: Covering Self-Harm Scars
Tattoo needles aren't just tools for self-expression—they can be instruments of profound healing. Kelsie Shriver, owner of Luminary Tattoo in Lincoln, Nebraska, demonstrates this transformative power through her work covering self-harm scars and mastectomy sites with beautiful artwork.
Drawing from eight years of tattoo experience and her background as a portrait artist, Kelsie offers affordable $50 flat-rate cover-up sessions for self-harm survivors—services that would normally cost around $600. What began as a simple TikTok offer blossomed into something greater when community members like her neighbor Dan stepped up to sponsor free sessions. "It gives people an option to rewrite their story," Kelsie explains, shifting the narrative from painful memories to artistic expression.
The conversation delves deeply into understanding self-harm as a maladaptive coping mechanism for overwhelming emotions, where physical pain temporarily drowns out emotional suffering. For those carrying these visible reminders, daily life becomes a minefield of unwanted questions and judgments that perpetuate shame and isolation. Through Kelsie's compassionate approach, clients transform these painful markers into conversation pieces of their choosing—beautiful images that celebrate resilience rather than trauma. Beyond self-harm work, Kelsie also creates 3D nipple tattoos for mastectomy patients, marking celebratory final steps in cancer recovery journeys.
Here are the details for the scar cover-up.
“The $50 scar coverup offer will be a monthly drawing, where a name will be drawn out of a hat for that month after signing up via email.
To enter for the drawing, please email shriver.kelsie.tattoos@gmail.com with the subject line “Scar Covers”.
Ideally, this will be a 4 hour tattoo or less, retail-valued at $600, and is only for one day of tattooing. Winners will be notified via email and have 3 days to reply with the requested information to schedule.”
If you're struggling with thoughts of self-harm, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by phone or text. And if you're ready to transform your scars into something beautiful, artists like Kelsie stand ready to help you reclaim your story. Share this episode with someone who might benefit from hearing that healing comes in many forms—sometimes through art permanently etched on the skin.
This podcast is a proud member of the Mayday Media Network. If you have an idea for a podcast and need some production assistance or have a podcast and are looking for a supportive network to join, check out maydaymedianetwork.com.
Like what you hear on the podcast? Follow our social media for more uplifting, inspirational and feel-good content.
Well, hello there and welcome. You are listening to the Kindness Matters podcast and I am your host, mike Rathbun. What is this podcast all about? It's about kindness. It's a pushback against everything negative that we see in the news and on social media today, and it's a way to highlight people, organizations that are simply striving to make their little corner of the world a little better place. If you want to join in on the conversation, feel free Go ahead and follow us on all of your social media feeds. We're on Facebook, instagram, tiktok. We're even on LinkedIn under Mike Rathbun. Check us out. We're even on LinkedIn under Mike Rathbun. Check us out and, in the meantime, sit back, relax, enjoy and we'll get into the Kindness Matters podcast.
Speaker 1:Hey, welcome everybody to the show. Thank you so much for taking 30 minutes of your time today to join us. I have an amazing guest for you today. As a reminder, if you see anything or hear anything on this podcast that you find inspiring or motivational or uplifting, please make sure to share it with your friends and family, coworkers, complete strangers on the street, whoever. It would mean the world to me to have you share that with them.
Speaker 1:An important note here we want to inform you that this episode of the Kindness Matters podcast will discuss sensitive topics, including self-harm, mental health issues and possibly suicide. These subjects may be triggering for some individuals. Please, please, please, take care of your emotional well-being and consider whether you are in a safe space to listen to this content. If you find these topics distressing, you may wish to skip this episode or listen with a trusted friend or a mental health professional. Your mental health is important to us. We encourage you to seek support if you need it. Thank you for your understanding. My guest today is Kelsey Shriver, an incredibly talented artist. Shriver, an incredibly talented artist and the owner of Luminary Tattoo. She's just opened her own tattoo shop in Lincoln, nebraska, and welcome to the show, kelsey. Thanks so much for being here.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for having me, Mike. It's gosh you're just such a blast to talk to.
Speaker 1:Um, so are you? Thank you, uh, and, and the reason? Well, first of all, let's talk about tattoo, because that's a nice, calming, um, non heavy subject. Right, because and I say you're an artist, because tattoo is artistry, right, you're just, instead of working with paints and canvases, you're working with ink and a different kind of canvas a body.
Speaker 2:Yes, we all go into it with some form of artistic background. I was a portrait artist for years before I started tattooing, just kind of as like a little side hustle outside of like full-time jobs, and then got way more serious around the time that I started approaching my mentor for an apprenticeship. Ah All of us have some sort of like art background.
Speaker 1:Okay, and we all have mentors at some point or another right.
Speaker 2:In theory. There are some people that do get into it like self-taught, just kind of picking things up like out of their house.
Speaker 1:But a lot of us did go through like a formal apprenticeship under a mentor.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm just saying I don't think I could find a YouTube video about tattooing and do any kind of good work. It takes a long time to really start to get it down. I mean, I've been doing it eight years and there are artists, that I look at their stuff and I'm like, oh, am I ever going to hit that level? Because that is amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. So you started about eight years ago as an intern. Is that correct?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 2:Oh sorry, go on. No, you're fine, Go ahead. Yeah, I started getting tattooed by Cody Schneider that owns Scarlet Raven Tattoo, also in Lincoln, nebraska, pretty close by where I just opened luminary. Um, I got my first tattoo from him when I was 17. My mom signed off for it and over the course of the next like six years, um, I just would bring my art portfolio to him, get his advice and his feedback, try to learn from it, and then eventually, in 2017, I think that was June of 2017, started pre-apprenticing, which was kind of just going into the shop, answering phones, cleaning, watching how he would set up for tattoos, watching him do tattoos, and then we made it official about a month later.
Speaker 1:Nice, I was going to say. What does an intern tattoo? What does that look like? You're basically learning everything about the shop right and the art.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So my apprenticeship which I think from what I understand everybody's is a little bit different Mine was, yeah, helping set up, talking to clients that would come in the cleaning, taking trash out, all that kind of stuff, but then also he gave me like a stack of reading materials to kind of go through and for as poorly as I did in high school, just because I was one of those kids that was like, man, I don't care about anything that I have to learn right now if I care.
Speaker 2:I am such an overachiever about it and I still have my little composition book where I like have diagrams of tattoo machines with notes on like how to take them apart, put them back together, all of the bloodborne pathogens, information for like the testing and study course for that.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:First aid and still have that and I think I've got it in the shop right now as a resource for the apprentice that I have.
Speaker 1:And now you have your own apprentice. Yes, it's come full circle.
Speaker 2:It has. That's so fun, but yeah, then eventually kind of got into tattooing on like practice skins under guidance of my mentor and graduated to real people. After getting all of my like state and county licensing figured out and just kind of that. I knew for a while be like human guinea pigs to see how it went on real skin okay, because you had you said something there and I immediately froze and I stopped listening.
Speaker 2:Practice skins yeah, they're like this weird rubbery kind of material and they just come in like flat pieces. They also have things called uh the brand is pound of flesh and they're like synthetic body parts, which that's really interesting. I had clear drawers in my room at Scarlet Raven and just a forearm wrapped in plastic that was for practicing tattooing and I was like I probably look like a serial killer right now you know, like do people call you dexter?
Speaker 2:thankfully not oh, good, good look at it and be like, uh, what is that why? Why do you have an arm in a plastic drawer?
Speaker 1:and now I'm just like wondering if, years and years and years ago, before they had practice skins, did they like go down to the morgue and ask to use a corpse?
Speaker 2:I don't know so you actually uh fruits, a lot of fruits that have skins, like oranges, bananas, melons and things like that. You can practice on those and I have not, but from what I've heard, it's pretty comparable. There also are people that have gone to like butchers and asked for pigskin fair enough, yeah also similar from what I've heard.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I yep, that seems more, much more reasonable yeah we are not going into the morgue.
Speaker 1:It might be an option, I don't know. So, and the reason, the reason I'm talking to you today is because I saw a post that you had on on Facebook not Facebook TikTok, I believe it was yes, and it had a lot to deal with mental health and, coincidentally, may is mental health awareness month, so it was oh, let me see if I can pull a big word out of my fortuitous that I should see your, your, your, tiktok, um, because we're talking about you.
Speaker 1:Do something for people who have self-harm yes and when we talk about self-harm, um, I had and I is, I don't know, is this fairly recent, I mean like within the last 50 years that people have started doing this?
Speaker 2:I honestly don't know. Um, I know that it's been like it's been a thing that people have used as a maladaptive coping mechanism. For longer than I've been alive I've covered scars for people that are older than I am. Like the scars are older than I am and more obviously faded in those cases and a little easier to cover up. But I do feel like specifically in the last maybe 20 years, it kind of became a more common thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh yeah, I mean because self-harm comes from anxiety, depression. What are some of the Hello kitty?
Speaker 2:Sorry, that's probably Dutch. He likes to yell.
Speaker 1:So and you said something, you said maladaptive, and I was looking up the causes of self-harm and one of the things, one of the definitions I got was it's a Usually the result of an inability to cope in healthy ways with stress and emotional pain. Yeah, Does that ring true for you?
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Okay, and then there was two actually. And the other one said having a hard time controlling, expressing or understanding emotions may lead to self-injury. The mix of emotions that trigger self-injury is complex. For example, there may be feelings of worthlessness, lowliness, panic, anger, guilt, rejection, self-hatred, being bullied or having questions about your sexual identity may all be part of that mix of emotions.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I found it interesting because oftentimes when people will self-harm and we'll get into what that looks like in a second but they'll see those scars and then that will make them feel regret or ashamed, which may trigger another self-harm episode. Is that right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then I mean you walk around out in public with them visibly on display and occasionally people will ask about it or like, specifically, what I've seen a lot of is like a lot of young kids that just don't understand that will acknowledge it. Um, I had one of my emails. Actually, there was an individual that was talking about having scars acknowledged by a small kid and being like, yeah, I want to fight with a tiger, um, but you, yeah, having to like either deflect or acknowledge that publicly as well, to like strangers or people that you know yeah, and then having to like walk back through that is something that also can be triggering for a lot of people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then having to like walk back through that is something that also can be triggering for a lot of people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's like a self-perpetuating kind of thing. Yeah, and the types of self-harm I know I think a fairly common one is cutting right. Yes, I think a fairly common one is cutting right.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Okay, and what is? Do you know what that looks like? I mean, are you, you're familiar with it? Did you engage in that?
Speaker 2:That was the form that I used when I was younger, but no other people as well that either like, did that in conjunction with or independently, um would burn or hit or things like that as well now is this something like hitting a wall when we say hit like hitting themselves oh I've encountered a handful of people that, like that was kind of their form of it, which I feel like leaves a more obvious um visibility in the moment but tends to have less of the long-term visibility in the way that, like cutting or burning does.
Speaker 1:Right, but now a lot of times, not a lot of times. Sometimes, self-harm can be a way of signaling that you are trying to reach out for help, can it not?
Speaker 2:Oh, it absolutely can.
Speaker 1:Kind of that like silent cry for help, can it not? Oh, it absolutely can. Kind of that like silent cry for help? Yeah, for sure. Um, and I, I was wondering why. You know why? What? What does what does the act of burning yourself or cutting, what does that is? Does it bring a relief? Does it bring a what?
Speaker 2:in the days where that was a coping mechanism that I was using. Um, it was a lot of like what I am feeling emotionally is so overwhelming and unbearable that like this will. This is a feeling that isn't emotional. That's going to distract me from that. Um, and yeah, did kind of have like a little bit of a sense of relief in just even if it was for like a couple minutes not thinking about what else was going on.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Like almost kind of a and this is maybe a poor comparison to make, but I had seen something on I think it was Facebook a few days ago talking about like kind of the grounding in like getting tattooed and how it's something that's like a physical thing, that like brings you back to your body almost. Interesting but it's like again the most in the sense of self-harm, like the worst way that you can do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. And I saw one again with why people do it. And somebody said to feel something, anything, even if it's physical pain, when they're feeling emotionally empty.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Wow, I can't imagine. I mean I just I struggle with that, but the feeling I have never. I don't think I've ever engaged in self-harm. I've known people who never admitted it to me, but I know that they did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've found that a lot of people don't really like to talk about it, and it's something that they just kind of bury down and hope that other people don't bring up, which, again, having like those visible scars makes it something that gets brought up, which is why I decided to kind of reach out and offer the scar cover-ups in that TikTok video.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is so cool and I wasn't quite ready to go there yet, but you did, so let's talk about it. No, no, no, no, no, no. You're fine Because really you know what it's like to walk around literally with those scars. Yes, Literally with those scars.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And the fact that you're offering this service is kind. I mean, you charge for it, but it's a lot less than a regular tattoo would cost.
Speaker 2:Yes, I am offering them for a $50 flat rate once a month, typically, so hypothetically, if it's a four hour tattoo, my in shop rate is 150 an hour, so that's like a $600 tattoo for $50 to make that more affordable. Um, and the 50 is really just kind of covering my supplies and everything that I'm going to use, although something that I thought was super awesome and was not anticipating when I made that video is the number of people that reached out and asked if they could donate and pay that $50 cover for it, and I actually it was a couple days after I had uploaded the video my neighbor Dan, who is just a fantastic person, clearly. Yeah, we had talked in, I think March, about doing like 40 bucks a month for lawn care stuff at my house and he approached me a couple days after I had uploaded the video, told me that he watched it and that he had everything covered all summer long not to worry about it and just to take that and apply it to those scar cover tattoos.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:And so like all summer pretty much, those are just on my neighbor Dan for free. Thanks, dan, dan is awesome.
Speaker 1:That's so cool and I mean okay, because back to cutting for a second. Oh yeah, I apologize. Typically, the place you do that is like an arm. Is that correct? Because back to cutting for a second. Oh yeah, I apologize. Typically, the place you do that is like an arm, Is that correct? It varies, thighs, I think thighs sometimes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've seen a lot on like the arms and the thighs, but I've also seen it on torsos, like really everywhere calves.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow, okay so, and I guess maybe I'm struggling to figure out how big of an area we're talking about here, and obviously it depends on how long they were cutting right. Yes, okay about here, and obviously it depends on how long they were cutting. Right, yes, okay, so what helped you? What helped you to stop cutting?
Speaker 2:honestly, I got into therapy pretty intensely back in I think that was 2019, if I remember right. That helped a lot, but so did just in my case. I was like I don't want that high visibility.
Speaker 1:And I don't want people to like look at me, see this and make assumptions based on what they're seeing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because they will right.
Speaker 1:I mean, that's how we are right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, that person's xyz yeah, it's something that, like, I feel like leads to a lot of judgment from others, which then kind kind of perpetuates the cycle of self-hatred and things like that.
Speaker 1:Then you go back into the shame and the regret.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it kind of leads to this vicious vicious cycle.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. Now and I mean we've all had our dealings with the medical care in this country before. Yes, and maybe somebody doesn't have access to mental health treatment. What would you say to somebody that you knew was cutting? What can you do? Just on a personal level?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think on a personal level, really just letting people know that like you're there and you care about them and like you want good things for them, Like they've got a support system and that the world is a better place with them in it.
Speaker 1:Yes, don't give up.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure, okay, but you didn't really stop at cutting cover-ups, because you've also done work with mastectomy scars.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Talk about that.
Speaker 2:I go, which I've taken a little bit of a break from it this year since I've been opening the shop, but I have worked with Cody Schneider at Scarlet Raven at Brian West Hospital um doing 3d effect nipple tattoos for breast cancer patients that have had to have full mastectomies and are kind of at the end of their cancer treatment journey. It's sort of the last step in like image recovery.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So usually everybody is just having a great time on those days because our patients are like woohoo, we're done. This is the last thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you said. Did you say soul mastectomies? Maybe, not, maybe not. I might have misheard.
Speaker 2:I may have misspoken something and said something that sounded like that.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Oh, I thought you said full mastectomy.
Speaker 1:Full. Yes, that's exactly what it was. Yeah, and so we're talking both breasts. Yes, Now is this. This is just for people who have, who've had, reconstructive surgery right.
Speaker 2:Yes, that is the majority of patients that we see and work with um and it kind of, from what I understand, because we just show up in tattoo but it's covered by their insurance and everything. Um, it is we at the beginning, and I think something in the insurance industries like changed in what they would cover for people undergoing like top surgeries for gender reassignment and things like that as well, where individuals opted to just have everything, including the nipple removed, or they would replace it and we would repigment around it.
Speaker 1:Okay, I was going to.
Speaker 2:Oh sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you, no no, keep going.
Speaker 1:I interrupted you.
Speaker 2:I haven't gotten to do as many of those cases at the hospital anymore, since the insurance issues have become a thing, but I've still taken a few of those at the shop as well had the full mastectomy but not the reconstruction.
Speaker 1:Or, as you mentioned, gender reassignment surgery, where they've had mastectomy and I mean, if you're going one way, you don't really want to do a reconstruction, but yeah, that's. And I was going to ask if you had done any of that type of work as well, because it's just the chest right.
Speaker 2:Yes, I haven't gotten to do one of like the full chest scar covers yet for those. I have done a lot of scar covers that are more like kind of in that vein for like breast reduction implants, other surgical scars, even some like people that have gone through surgeries for skin cancer and things like that where they've got big scars left behind.
Speaker 1:Never even thought of that one. Melanomas, or what have you Wow, or what have you Wow. And it's just such an opportunity to create something beautiful. Where once there was something I don't want to say ugly, because I mean that's part of who they were, but you know where once there was a reminder, and maybe not a very happy reminder.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I feel like the scar cover work in general just kind of gives people an option to like rewrite their story and instead of people looking at that part of their body and being like, oh, what happened there yeah, you get to be like oh what a pretty, a pretty tattoo yeah.
Speaker 1:Is that the south of France, a unicorn?
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:Nice, Nice. Well, we want to. Both Kelsey and I would like to remind you that if you are feeling like harming yourself, or if you're feeling destitute or like there are no other options, please make sure to reach out and call 988. That's the new suicide prevention hotline.
Speaker 2:I think yes, and I believe they have a text line. Oh, it's that same number, if I remember right. I have cards at the shop that have the text line on it as well, for people that hate talking on the phone.
Speaker 1:Okay, no, I'm not going to do that. I'm on the 988 website and I wanted to look and see if I could find the text line, text line, and there's a link here that says text, and I started to click it and it's like, okay, what do you need? Are you feeling helpless? But, yes, 988 for sure. If you're feeling in that kind of place, it was so awesome to talk to you today, kelsey. I really, really, really appreciate your time and what you're doing for people who need it.
Speaker 2:Yes, I appreciate you having me on and trying to help me spread that reach to people.
Speaker 1:So many people need the services that you're providing and I mean it's sad that they need that or that there are that many people that need it, but thankfully there are people. If you're in the Lincoln, nebraska area, omaha, grand Island, worms, nebraska I had to throw that one in. You know what it's not that far. Go see Kelsey and she can get you hooked up. I will have links to your website and all of your social media on the show notes, and I hope you have a fantastic week.
Speaker 2:Awesome, thank you so much. I hope you have a great week. Awesome, thank you so much. I hope you have a great week too.
Speaker 1:I will Take care, kelsey. We'll talk again soon. I want to thank you for taking this time to listen to this episode with my guest, kelsey Schreiber. Please make sure to check out the show notes, where you'll find additional information on her offer to cover up self-harm scars. I hope you're able to take something positive from the time that you spent with us. Maybe you'll be inspired, maybe you'll be motivated, maybe you'll be moved. If you experienced any of those positive feelings, please consider sharing this podcast with your friends and family.
Speaker 1:I'm always striving to offer you a better podcast, so give me some feedback, let me know how you think I'm doing. Email me, leave me a message on the socials. It would mean the world. We'd also be honored if you would follow us on our social media accounts like Facebook, instagram, linkedin and TikTok. This podcast is part of the Mayday Media Network. If you have an idea for a podcast and need some production assistance, or have a podcast already and are looking for a supportive network to join, check out maydaymedianetworkcom and check out the many different shows, like Afrocentric. Back again next week with a brand new episode and we would be honored if you would join us. You've been listening to the Kindness Matters Podcast. I'm your host, mike Rathbun. Have a fantastic week.
