THE HUMAN HALF
Vinnie Myers grew up in suburban Baltimore. After high school he served six years in the U.S. Army as a medic — and taught himself how to tattoo while stationed near the DMZ in South Korea in the early 1980s. After his service he took the step into professional tattooing, opening a parlor in Westminster, Maryland in 1991.
The 1990s were a turning point for the tattoo world. The old school artists of the 40s through 70s were giving way to something new — bio-mechanical imagery, Neo-tribal trends, a wave of younger artists with an energy that opened society's eyes to what tattooing could become. Vinnie traveled the world during that period, attending hundreds of conventions, gatherings, and competitions across the globe. From the first-ever Russian Tattoo Convention in Moscow after the fall of the wall, to the celebration of 2,000 years of traditional tattooing in Western Samoa in November 1999.
Around that time, a local Baltimore plastic surgeon — Dr. Adam Basner, MD — asked Vinnie if he could help restore something that breast cancer had taken from women. Vinnie said yes. He pioneered the art of 3D nipple and areola tattooing and began a journey that continues to this day.
He has since tattooed more than 16,000 women and men who lost their breasts to cancer, working with Johns Hopkins Hospital, Lankenau Hospital in Philadelphia, Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction in Charleston, East Coast Area Plastic Surgery, the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery in New Orleans, and Defy Plastic Surgery in San Diego.
His work has been featured by the BBC, AFP, Fox News, CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and publications and news outlets around the world. He was selected for Fast Company magazine's Top 100 Creative People in Business.
He is the founder of The Pink Ink Project — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides funding for restorative tattoos for women and men in need.
He currently works in Westminster, Maryland on a part-time basis with his daughter Anna, who has taken over the Vinnie Myers Team at her new location.
AI art is the newest form of art on Vinnie's list — and in his eyes, the most powerful new medium in the history of art. Like every form he has taken on, it comes with controversy. Every new tool that emerges in art history brings those who resist it. The camera. Digital. Airbrush. Now AI.
Two years ago, when AI art was at its earliest stages, Vinnie began creating what has since become a collection of over 100,000 images. He approached it the way he approaches everything — seriously, with full attention, learning what the tool actually does and developing an eye for what it can become.
In March 2026 he invited Marie into the world of art. What followed became something neither of them planned.
Follow on X: @VinnieM84556