The Ink Masters: Redemption Moment That Drove A Former Canvas To Tears

While a tattoo may be permanent, the pain one feels when getting one only lasts the duration of the session (often with some soreness after). However, if that pain is severe enough, the grueling memory of it can endure for a lifetime. As Insider reports, tattoo pain varies from person to person. With the exception of a few common denominators (age, sex, pain threshold, weight, etc.), how much a tattoo hurts really is subjectively determined by the client. There it is. You have the facts, you know the stakes, so if you're hungry for some new ink, you more or less know what to expect.

One tattoo enthusiast who didn't know what to expect before hopping into the chair was an "Ink Master" participant named Katherine. If you're a fan of the show and tuned in for season 6, you might remember her as the "Cheetah Girl." In one harrowing segment, Katherine experienced a violent panic attack while four separate artists were tattooing her at once. They were collectively working on a large cheetah print piece that covered different parts of her body, and in the midst of it all, she became overwhelmed with the unpleasant sensations assaulting her skin and begged the contestants to let her tap out. Even worse, she absolutely hated the final product. 

"I didn't expect it to be [on] this much of my body. I hate yellow and I hate orange. I feel like I've got a block of yellow with spots of orange surrounded by black," Katherine told host Dave Navarro when she returned for Spike's "Ink Master: Redemption" series to discuss her previous experience on the show. When all is said and done, yellow ink interspersed with blots of orange and black is pretty much what one should expect if they ask for a cheetah print tattoo, but if you end up hating what you're left with, there's really no way of ignoring it. 

"Ink Master" contestants are presented with different tasks that test their competency as tattoo artists, and this particular competition required four separate artists to work together on one human canvas to create a harmonious piece within a limited time frame. While Katherine knew the stakes going into it, she argued that the contestants' collective response to her desperate plea was unacceptable. The "Redemption" series allows dissatisfied participants to return to the show and hopefully right the wrongs they felt were done to them during their original appearances, so when Katherine was offered a chance to rectify what she felt was a total tattoo disaster, she stood before the four artists that imprinted her body and leveled some pretty strong words at them that they likely won't forget any time soon (via Inked magazine). 

When artists Chris Blinston, Katie McGowan, Big Ceeze, and Dave Clarke beheld Katherine standing before them for a second time, they admittedly weren't surprised. They recalled the uncomfortable instance as well as she did, though the extreme pain that came with the cheetah print tattoo was restricted to her memory alone. "I feel like there were so many better ways that everything could have been handled," she told them. "Because I'm not somebody who has panic attacks out of friggin' nowhere!" (via YouTube).

During the uncomfortable exchange, Katherine's husband, who accompanied her this time around, accused the four "Ink Master" artists of dismissing his wife's needs and told them that they should have at least afforded her a short break before pressing forward with the competition. "Being that insensitive to a panic attack is not great," she continued with tears in her eyes. "That's f***** up!" By the end of it all, Katherine was on the verge of sobbing and doing her very best to maintain composure.