‘Ink Master’ Contestant’s Family Announces His Death at 46

Getty Ink Master.

“Ink Master” contestant and tattoo artist Ryan Hadley has died at the age of 46, according to a June 21 post on his Instagram page, which indicates the cause of death was cancer.

“Ryan left this world last night surrounded by loved ones. While his life was cut short, in that time he left a legacy behind in both the art and tattoo world,” the post says. “He loved his many fans, his friends and clients, and most of all his children. He’ll be missed and always remembered. A legend forever.”

On Instagram, Hadley revealed that he had liver cancer as well as cancer in his lungs.

The post was accompanied by a hashtag that included an expletive with the word cancer. A photo with the words “forever a legend” and “RIP” accompanied the death announcement.

Hadley appeared on 16 episodes of “Ink Master” in 2015, according to his IMDb page. That page says his death occurred on June 20, 2024.

Ryan Hadley’s Family Requested Donations to Help Pay for His ‘End of Life Expenses’

Three days before his death, Hadley’s Instagram page requested “end of life” donations to help his family. “Ryan would like to thank everyone for their support over the years. He’s always taken great pride in his work. His family is currently taking donations to help pay for end of life expenses,” the post said.

On April 22, Hadley revealed that his chemotherapy was not working.

“I want to give thanks to all of my clients, sponsors, friends, and family for 25 wonderful years of tattooing. I’m opening up and telling everyone that my chemotherapy wasn’t a success at all. I made that decision to follow the oncologist orders and do everything that they asked for during my treatments,” he wrote on Instagram.

“Chemotherapy wasn’t for me and now my cancer has spread to my liver and lungs. This is a non treatable cancer in my liver and death is the outcome. I may be around for another week or maybe another 3 months, either way it tears me apart that I’m leaving my children behind,” he wrote. “Death doesn’t scare me in any way.. it’s the fact of abandonment with my kids is what pisses me off and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ll keep everyone updated to a certain point in all this. I’ll be signing off very soon forever.”

Ryan Hadley Shared His Cancer Journey on His Instagram Post, Saying the Cancer ‘Came From Testicular Cancer’

Hadley gave fans updates about his cancer fight on his Instagram page.

“I’ve got the first week down with the chemotherapy and now it’s high alert to make sure I don’t catch any sort of cold or flu during this time. I go back on the 8th-12th for another full week of chemotherapy,” he wrote in December 2023.

“I’m on a 1 week on and 2 weeks off of chemotherapy. Approximately 122hrs of poison pumped into my heart to fight off the Seminoma cancer that came from testicular cancer and is a very fast moving cancer cell that seems to make tumors wherever it goes to,” he added. “I do thank you for all the support that everyone has giving me and I do appreciate the kindness. I’m only 45yrs and I’m not ready to leave here yet. I will not abandoned my children and loved ones. I’m here fighting one day at a time.”