500 Strangers, 500 Tattoos And The One Man They Got Matching Tattoos With

By Sidra Lackey

Don Caskey of Cleveland, Ohio has more than 500 matching tattoos with complete strangers from six different countries on three different continents, WCPO-TV in Cincinnati, reports. Caskey met and asked 500 people to get a matching tattoo with him and they unanimously said, yes. Why? On Caskey’s website Stranger Ink, he says: “I like to celebrate life by creating human connections via matching tattoos with strangers. I believe a form of your body goes to heaven, that’s why I chose tattoos.”

Caskey is terminally ill, diagnosed three years ago with renal cell carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer. Caskey has been lucky in a sense because he was told by his doctor he had months to live, not years. So Caskey has been using his extra time on earth to travel the world. 

"I decided to travel the world and meet strangers and get matching tattoos with them to make human connections before I pass away,” Caskey told WCPO. “Now I’ve got more than I’ve had in my entire life just by connections from people.” He said once he got the first tattoo, “it kind of just snowballed.”

Caskey finds the willing and wonderful participants to get matching tattoos with him simply by not planning in advance. Once he’s in a new town, he visits a tattoo studio, “with a good rating and the rest takes care of itself.”

Caskey recently got tattooed at the Villain Arts Tattoo Convention in Cincinnati and got around a dozen new matching tattoos with strangers. Two included: the talented Columbus tattoo artist Majin and Kyle Dunbar of Ink Master.

Majin and Caskey got matching wishbone tattoos with their initials on their lower backs. She said, "I never thought I’d have a tramp stamp yet here we are. After he told me his story, I found myself hoping for an abundance of vitality for him. He’s incredibly easy to talk to and so after exchanging stories and laughs, luck seemed a fitting thing to leave each other with."

Caskey’s matching tattoo with acclaimed tattoo artist Kyle Dunbar, who appeared on season 3 (alongside Think Before You Ink’s very own creator, Richard “Made Rich” Parker) & 4 of the popular tattoo competition reality show, Ink Master, was the number 13. Dunbar was Caskey's 513th matching tattoo. They got it in the 513. Dunbar said of the experience, “We are entangled in some sort for the rest of my life.” Caskey will be appearing soon on Dubar’s podcast: "Straight to the Point & Completely off Topic with Kyle Dunbar."  

Caskey also travels to raise awareness for his nonprofit, Stranger Ink. He started it in 2021 with the selfless goal of taking financial burdens off families by covering the funeral costs for those who are terminally ill too. “I wanted to help other people by paying for their funerals if they are terminally ill so that they can spend the money and the time enjoying what they’ve got left and not necessarily put the burden on their family after they pass away,” he humbly told WCPO.

Don Caskey’s story is sad but uplifting and heart-warming at the same time. It is powerful too because it shows the power tattoos can hold — how tattoos truly can connect and heal people. Don Caskey is heroic for fighting to help the terminally ill while he is still fighting for his own life. Here’s to a miracle of him beating the odds even more and living even longer.

To find out how you can get matching tattoos with Don Caskey and to learn about / donate to his nonprofit Stranger Ink, click here

Check out tattoo artist Majin's tattoo art on IG: @majinbuddah

Check out tattoo artist Kyle Dunbar's tattoo art on IG: @inkbykyledunbar