Ryan Hadley, the tattoo artist known for his appearance on Ink Master, has died. He was 46.
The Indiana gallery owner, who competed on Season 6 of the Paramount competition series, died on Thursday, two months after he shared that his cancer had become “non-treatable” and had spread to his liver and lungs
“Ryan left this world last night surrounded by loved ones,” his family announced in a post. “While his life was cut short, in that time he left a legacy behind in both the art and tattoo world. He loved his many fans, his friends and clients, and most of all his children. He’ll be missed and always remembered. A legend forever. #rip #fuckcancer”
In December, Hadley revealed his diagnosis with seminoma, a malignant germ cell tumor that develops most often in the testicle, as well as the brain, chest, abdomen and other body parts.
He opened up about his health struggles to his 32,000 Instagram followers while undergoing chemotherapy “earlier than I expected,” as he asked for donations to a GoFundMe for his medical expenses.
“The last time I went through with this it nearly killed me and scared the hell outta me,” he wrote at the time. “I have no other option but to do the chemotherapy and to make sure I do not get sick while going through the cycles of chemotherapy this time around. Thank you reading and I’m hoping to it through this to the end.”
Hadley thanked his supporters in April, sharing that the chemo “wasn’t a success at all” and that he expected to die within months.
“I made that decision to follow the oncologist orders and do everything that they asked for during my treatments,” he wrote at the time. “Chemotherapy wasn’t for me and now my cancer has spread to my liver and lungs. This is a non treatable cancer in my liver and death is the outcome.
“I may be around for another week or maybe another 3 months, either way it tears me apart that I’m leaving my children behind. Death doesn’t scare me in any way.. it’s the fact of abandonment with my kids is what pisses me off and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ll keep everyone updated to a certain point in all this. I’ll be signing off very soon forever,” added Hadley.
