While the employees’ hijinx are enough to satisfy viewers, the shop’s occasional celebrity clientele also keeps ratings up. The show has a large supporting cast of 9MAG staffers that has evolved over the years. “I didn’t do TV to say, ‘Hey, let me be on TV!’ I did it to show a different part of what you knew about my city, and to give a lot of stuff that’s relatable.” “My thing ain’t about acting the fool in public,” he continued. “I didn’t want to be all on TV.”īut it seems his pride for his hometown made him reconsider. “When I first received the offer it was a no,” Henry told The Source in 2019. His tattoo shop, 9MAG, is the subject of Black Ink Crew: Chicago-but Henry has previously confessed that the show almost didn’t happen. The Chicago artist specializes in traditional Japanese art and creative freehand designs. Ryan Henry, 33, has been tattooing for over a decade. Ryan Henry Brings The Drama ‘Black Ink Crew: Chicago’ (Celebrity clientele also keeps viewers glued to the screen, but more on that later.) For a sample of what goes down in the everyday lives of these colorful Chicagoans, check out this montage of most-watched clips from the show: He and his staff entertain TV audiences with a mix of great ink and a healthy dose of drama.

The Midwest sister show stars Ryan Henry, owner of 9MAG, a tattoo shop in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. It premiered in 2013, and its popularity spawned two spinoff shows in Chicago and Compton.īlack Ink Crew: Chicago debuted in 2015. The original VH1 series Black Ink Crew is a reality program that follows the day-to-day happenings at Black Ink, a black-owned tattoo shop in Harlem, New York.

Get the details of his life before the show, and find out what he’s currently up to. But throughout its run, his approval rating with viewers has been volatile. Ryan Henry, the owner of the Chi-town tattoo shop, has put his life on display for all six seasons of the series.

Since 2015, reality TV fans have gotten to know the staff of 9MAG on VH1’s Black Ink Crew: Chicago.

Black ink chicago