Born in Belarus in 1991. Left at 18 to study journalism in Lithuania.
Came back, wrote stories and poetry, then left again. Belarus wasn’t safe or hopeful.
Moved to Paris in 2016. Worked construction, got fired. No money, no language.
Started tattooing. The drifters, the burned-out saints, the models who cry in silence. But skin was just the entry point.
Somewhere along the line, I began to interview my clients before a tattoo, searching for a word that could cut through the noise, something they would carry on their skin like a compass, a charm, a vow. If it felt right to them, only then did I tattoo it.
And that cracked something open, for them and for me.
Because when a stranger trusts you, really trusts you, they hand you the raw parts: fear, desire, grief, belief, rage, hope.
Since then: 29 countries, over 900 interviews, thousands of tattoos.
If you’re curious, read some of their voices: https://yourstoryby.me/interviews
And if you want to be one of them, write to ysbm@pm.me or message me on Instagram. No promises, except that I will listen. Maybe better than most.
