Editor's note: Don Caskey passed away on February 6, 2023 in a Toledo hospital.
Orignial article below:
Don Caskey's legacy and impact will live on within the skin and ink of hundreds of people across the world.
Three years ago, he was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer. It changed everything.
The average survival post-diagnosis is 13 months, with a 5-year survival rate of only 10% of patients, according to the National Library of Medicine. Caskey's doctor said he had months, not years.
"I decided to travel the world and meet strangers and get matching tattoos with them to make human connections before I pass away,” Caskey said. “Now I’ve got more than I’ve had in my entire life just by connections from people.”
Within a few short years, Don acquired quite a collection of ink. He has more than 500 matching tattoos with complete strangers from six different countries on three different continents.
“Once I got the first one, it kind of just snowballed," Caskey said.
Don's home base is in Cleveland and when he isn't in a tattoo shop, he's traveling around the country, making unforgettable connections with people and raising awareness for his nonprofit Stranger Ink. He started it in June of 2021 with the goal of taking the financial burden off families by covering the funereal costs for people who are terminally ill, like him.
“I didn’t realize what all was entailed in a funeral until I had to plan one for myself," Caskey said.
Caskey said almost every penny he has is spent on trying to stay alive.
“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 said.
So how does he find these willing partners in ink? Usually, Caskey said he doesn't plan in advance. He ends up in a new town, goes to a tattoo shop with a good rating and the rest takes care of itself.
Caskey recently stopped in the Tri-State recently and got about a dozen new tattoos with random strangers at the Villain Arts Tattoo Convention in downtown Cincinnati, including two prominent artists in the industry.
"I was printing out a stencil at the printing station and he just randomly sparked a convo and casually said we should get matching tattoos. I liked his vibe so I obliged," said Columbus artist who goes by the name Majin.
Caskey and Majin got matching wishbone tattoos with their initials on their lower backs.
"I never thought I’d have a tramp stamp yet here we are," Majin said. "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 also got matching tattoos with Kyle Dunbar, a celebrity artist who appeared on two seasons of the tattoo competition show Ink Master.
"We are entangled in some sort for the rest of my life," Dunbar said. They both got matching number 13 tattoos.
Dunbar was Caskey's 513th matching tattoo. And they got it in the 513.
Despite getting more than a dozen tattoos at the convention, Caskey said he has plenty of people that want to get matching tattoos the next time he's in the Queen City.
Caskey will soon appear on Dunbar's podcast "Straight to the Point & Completely off Topic with Kyle Dunbar."
Despite his diagnosis, Caskey said he's never felt better about living life.
“I wish I would’ve spent less time working, trying to chase that dollar and spend it with people,” Caskey said.
To learn more about Caskey's nonprofit, click here.
You can see more of Majin's art on her Instagram @majinbuddah
You can see more of Kyle Dunbar's art on his Instagram @inkbykyledunbar
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