Don’t judge these teens by their tattoos

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From left to right: Teachers Mark Sujak, Sarah Lorraine, Jeremy Robinson and Sophia Faridi pose with students and podcast finalists Julian Fausto and Eric Guadarrama for portraits in front of Morton East High School, in Cicero, Ill.





Olivia Obineme for NPR



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Olivia Obineme for NPR





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Julian Fausto shows off his «Chicago tattoo.





Olivia Obineme for NPR



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Students, cousins and podcast finalists Julian Fausto (right) and Eric Guadarrama in the Morton East Library where they recorded their podcast.





Olivia Obineme for NPR



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Olivia Obineme for NPR

They told me they’ve liked tattoos from such a young age because everyone they loved had them. It was a very normal, comforting thing. «Everyone I look up to has tattoos and my mom has tattoos everyone in my family has tattoos, says Julian.

Eric and Julian say their moms got their first tattoos together when they were 13 in a friend’s basement. But when Julian’s 16th birthday rolled around, he wanted a professional one. He drew it himself, researched an artist online, and drove to Indiana with his mom. (In Illinois, even with parental consent, you have to be 18 to get a tattoo.) And now he’s ready for more.

«My goal by the end of college is I want [from] my neck down, he says.

Eric and Julian hope their podcast and their story will encourage people to not judge a book by it’s cover. Or a person by their tattoos.

«Like, you see a 17-year-old kid with ‘Chicago’, it doesn’t mean that he’s in a gang, you know? Like, let’s normalize having tattoos, says Eric. «If you see somebody with a tattoo, you know, just pretend like it’s not even there. Don’t think too much about it.