Principal Larry Varn said it’s always a positive experience when young people can interact with successful people who have come from where they are now. “They spoke the truth, and they weren’t conceited at all,” she said, adding that she feels more encouraged about her future as long as she stays focused in school. Student Sabrina Eseon, 17, said she appreciated the guests' “realness.” “One guy said he didn’t like school, and I don’t like it either, but he said he made it, so it encouraged me to do more things with my life,” she said. The students said they appreciated the guests' honesty.īeyonca Mason, 17, said she loved their energy and the relatable stories they shared. “I’m rooting for you all, because I see the potential,” Brumfield said, before delivering a sober reminder: “People getting killed out here. I just lost a friend. He knew he didn’t like working for people, so he forged a career path that let him work for himself.īoth guests stressed the importance of at least finishing high school and staying focused. He said he almost didn’t graduate from high school and that college wasn’t for him. “I’ve always been a crafty, artist type of dude.” “The tattoo thing just kind of fell into my lap,” he said. “It afforded me to be able to take care of my family.”īrumfield also started out drawing and designing shoes and shirts. “Art skills never die out, so I jumped into tattooing,” Johnson said. He spent some time in jail, and when he got out, he wanted to help take care of his family. He said he had been painting shoes and designing clothes for years. Johnson, who said he always took art seriously, told the students a mentor suggested that he give tattooing a try because he was already gifted at drawing and painting. Others wanted to know what inspired them. Questions included, “How much do you charge?” Ībout 80 students filed into the auditorium to listen to the tattoo artists share how they broke into the industry and encourage the kids to stay focused on whatever it is they’re passionate about. VH1’s “Black Ink Crew” cast members Phor Brumfield and Van Johnson visits Hirsch High School. They overcame obstacles and ended up on TV.” “I thought it was important that these guys grew up on the South Side, they’re from the same hood, and they made it.

“The kids don’t really appreciate art, and they don’t know the extent to where they can take it,” she said.

Black ink crew van