I am Justin Haines, the not so mysterious figure behind Dead Ink Apparel. You can find me behind the table at every event we vend, most likely with a drink in hand. Also, when I say “we” I am referring to Dead Ink Apparel as a whole and myself. It’s a one man operation.

I graduated from Youngstown State University in 2008 with a degree in fine art/graphic design.

From the tender age of 4 years old I was fascinated with monsters, ghouls and goblins. I rented horror movies with my dad based on how cool the VHS box art was at our local video store in Niles, OH, R&R Home Video. Over time I think I saw every movie they had on the shelf.

As I got a little bit older I began to understand the process a little more. I watched the “making of” featurettes at the end of Full Moon movies, read books on special effects and of course repeatedly watched Tom Savini’s Scream Greats. I had a subscription to Fangoria magazine at 7 years old. Horror consumed me.

One day my mom came home from Phar-Mor with a VHS for me… The Monster Squad. After that, it was over. I started my own monster club and even had a clubhouse built for me in the backyard. When I wasn’t watching horror movies I was drawing monsters and when I wasn’t drawing monsters I was reading books about monsters.