Ink Master Star Ryan Hadley Dead at 46 After Cancer Battle

Corinne Heller
·3 min read
1

Originally appeared on E! Online

The tattoo artist community has lost one of their own.

Ryan Hadley, who competed on season six of the Spike reality show Ink Master in 2015, died June 20 after battling cancer. He was 46.

"Ryan left this world last night surrounded by loved ones," read a message posted on his Instagram June 21. "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 #f--kcancer."

The Fort Wayne, Ind. native, a father of six, revealed last December on a GoFundMe page set up by his adult daughter Whitney that he was undergoing chemotherapy for a seminoma, a malignant germ cell tumor. It was not his first time undergoing cancer treatment.

"I am now hospitalized to doing the chemotherapy way earlier than I anticipated," he wrote on Instagram. "The last time I went through with this it nearly killed me and scared the hell outta me."

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While he did return to work, Hadley revealed in April that his treatments had failed and that his cancer had spread.

"I want to give thanks to all of my clients, sponsors, friends, and family for 25 wonderful years of tattooing. I'm opening up and telling everyone that my chemotherapy wasn't a success at all," he wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of himself tattooing a client. "I made that decision to follow the oncologist orders and do everything that they asked for during my treatments. Chemotherapy wasn't for me and now my cancer has spread to my liver and lungs."

He continued, "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."

Fellow tattoo artists shared tributes to Hadley following news of his death. "The greatest time I ever had tattooing was along side Ryan," Fort Wayne's Jacob Wilfong commented on his last post. "I learned so much, he always pushed you to your fullest potential. Past what you thought was possible and plus he was always showing people what is possible by taking things above and beyond to that next level. He made me the artist I am today and I am grateful to have known him like that."

Tattoo artist Timothy Boor wrote, "I definitely owe him a lot. He helped my career tremendously and I will never forget it. He will be missed."

Hadley spent the final days of his life with his loved ones. "He and his family spent his remaining time together golfing, going on little trips, and tattooing," read an update on the GoFundMe page. "His family is still collecting donations to help with funeral costs and to help raise his children ages 2-11."

His daughter Whitney also shared a personal message about her father. "I just want to say thank you for all the support we have received from my father's follow artists, clients and social media," she wrote on Facebook. "My dad wanted to leave his mark on the world with his twisted creativity and he did. He was truly an art master and was well respected by many. His art will live on in my skin and so many others as well as on canvas with his various paintings. Love you dad - you got your legacy."

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