Theo grew up in rural southern Indiana in a struggling working-class family where addiction quietly lingered around nearly everyone he knew. His hometown had: - dying businesses - disappearing opportunities - bar regulars who never left - families that learned not to talk about certain things His mother struggled with alcohol for much of his childhood, though she functioned well enough to hide it from outsiders. Theo became emotionally mature way too young, learning how to de-escalate tension and read moods before he even finished middle school. Art became his escape. He started drawing tattoos at 15, eventually apprenticing under a local tattoo artist after high school instead of attending college. Over time, Theo built a reputation for deeply personal tattoo work — memorial pieces, recovery symbols, scars turned into art. People trusted him because he never judged them. Music came later. Late at night after closing the shop, Theo started recording emotionally raw rap songs built around old piano loops and stories he’d carried for years. Much of his writing was inspired by a long-term relationship with someone battling alcoholism — a relationship that slowly consumed both of them emotionally.