Ryan Henry is an American internet personality, tattoo artist, and reality TV star, who’s probably best known for appearing in the reality show “Black Ink Crew: Chicago.”
Age, Early Life, and Education Background
Ryan Henry is a native of Chicago, Illinois, born under the Gemini zodiac sign on 27 May 1986, making him 37 years old as of early 2024. He’s the son of Keith Henry and Yolan Henry Corner, who’s an employee at HouseNation. Sadly, his dad passed away a few years ago. Henry is of Afro-American and Japanese roots. He became fascinated with Japanese culture at a very young age, and also grew up inclined toward the arts.
Henry is the only son in his family, but has two sisters, Jillian Nicole Henry and Nova Henry. Sadly, Nova and her toddler daughter were tragically shot dead in 2009 in front of her infant son by her boyfriend, the Chicago attorney, Frederick Goings, with whom she had an on-and-off relationship. Goings ultimately received a life sentence for killing the duo. Ryan often condemns his sister’s killer on social media – in January 2017, Ryan shared Goings’ mugshots describing how he killed his sister and niece on Instagram. He captioned one of the photos, ‘Maybe your God forgives him, I don’t…That’s why it’s no sun out today.’
Henry attended the South Holland, Illinois-based Thornwood High School, matriculated in 2004, but hasn’t disclosed whether he then joined college.
Hobbies and Interests
Henry has been an indirect victim of domestic violence and as a result, he’s keen on advocating against the abusive behavior. He uses his social media platforms to raise awareness about the matter.
He has disclosed that he uses tattooing as a means to connect with people, especially women who have survived domestic violence. He launched his tattoo shop in honor of his slain niece and sister, who supported him financially when he was launching his business.
Henry is a philanthropist, who’s the founder of the Novastar project, a charity organizing events for fundraising in Chicago. Moreover, he’s organized several celebrity basketball games to raise awareness about breast cancer and mental health.
He’s a culinary enthusiast, who’s a huge fan of Mexican dishes.
Henry loves listening to Jay-Z music, and often posts the artist on his Instagram account.
He has a keen eye for trending fashion and is known for his distinctive and stylish sense of style.
Career
In 2009, Henry was noticed by the renowned American celebrity tattoo artist, film producer, painter, and curator, Miya Bailey, who owns the tattoo and piercing business, City of Ink. Miya took Ryan under her wing, mentored him, and even introduced him to other prominent figures in the tattooing industry.
After learning from Miya for around four years, Henry launched his tattoo parlor, 9Mag, in Pilsen, Chicago, in 2013. Henry has tattooed numerous celebrities including the Trinidadian-American rapper, Nikki Minaj. He’s solidified his reputation as a skilled artist, and some of his other clients include the famed rappers Chris Brown and Chance the Rapper. He’s also tattooed the American Football defensive lineman and Super Bowl champion Shane Ray, and the rapper Young M.A.
Ryan made a brief appearance in the 2012 documentary “Color Outside the Lines: A Tattoo Documentary” In the mid-2010s, TV producers discovered Henry’s talent and expressed their interest in casting him in a show that was based on his tattoo parlor; the show would be the spin-off from the acclaimed reality show “Black Ink Crew.” In 2015, he was cast for a recurring role in the VH1 reality show, “Black Ink Crew: Chicago” – as its name denotes, the show was filmed in Chicago and follows the daily operations of 9Mag. He appeared in 17 episodes from 2015 to 2021 and shared the screen with the likes of Charmaine Walker, Phor Brumfield and Van Johnson.
Concurrently, in 2019, Henry appeared in an episode of the TV series “Tattoo Tales,” which reveals entertaining, unique, and sometimes poignant insights into why many Australians chose to get tattooed. He’s also made guest appearances in a 2018 episode of the MTV2 TV game show “Hip Hop Squares,” which was originally hosted by the radio DJ and TV presenter, Peter Rosenberg, and in 2019, he appeared in two episodes of the News program “WGN Morning News.”
Ryan manages the clothing line, Life Is Yours, which comprises a wide range of accessories and streetwear. In 2022, he disclosed that he was planning to launch his own clothing line, 9Mag. Henry has also appeared in numerous publications, including “Inked Magazine.”
Social Media Presence
Ryan is active on X (formerly Twitter) with around 60,000 followers – he joined the platform in August 2009 and goes by @TheRyanHenry. Henry is also active on Instagram (@ryanhenrytattoo) with nearly 2 million followers. He’s fond of showcasing his tattooing expertise on his social media platforms.
Personal Life
Henry is dating his childhood friend, the entrepreneur and beauty businesswoman, Rachel Leigh. In 2012, the couple launched their luxury nail polish firm, Pear Nova. The duo are seemingly much in love and often post their photos captioned with romantic messages on special occasions such as Valentine’s Day. On Mother’s Day (14 May 2018), Henry gifted Leigh a new Benz truck. Henry and his girlfriend have a son named Mason, who was born in 2007. The couple often posts Mason’s photos on their social media platforms. In January 2019, Henry and Rachel broke up when the latter found out that he was cheating on her with his 9Mag employee, Kat Jackson. Fortunately, the duo reconciled a few months later.
In October 2020, Ryan took to Instagram to reveal that the dating rumors between him and his best friend, Anthony Lindsey’s former girlfriend, were true. In the post, he disclosed that he had a sexual relationship with her, and apologized to his fans and family for ‘disgracing’ himself.
Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Henry is of Black ethnicity and has a set of dark brown eyes and black hair. He’s 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall and weighs approximately 175lbs (79kgs), body measurements 40-32-35. The TV personality wears shoe size 8 (US), and has inked numerous tattoos on his neck, arms, and chest.
Net Worth
Henry has become popular, and accumulated a good sum from his appearances in reality shows. His tattoo business is flourishing, which has significantly increased his wealth. Henry is worth approximately $800,000 as of 2024 and seemingly leads a modest lifestyle.
