There’s no place like home, and for Lorenz Elion that’s Englewood. Just ask anyone who’s seen his tattoo.
Elion, 23, has a tattoo that spans a forearm showcasing where he grew up and still lives — at 69th and Bishop streets.
His childhood home stands behind a street sign, and bright red capital letters spell out “Englewood.”
Below that, script letters declare to the world: “Only the strong survive.”
There are “pros and cons” about living in the crime-plagued South Side neighborhood, he says.
Englewood has had 33 killings this year, according to data kept by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Elion, who works in real estate, can tick off the names of friends and acquaintances who have been shot to death and others he knows now in prison for murder.
But there’s a camaraderie and resilience that comes with being raised there, he says.
“Everybody is going through the same stuff, but, once you get to school, it goes away because everybody gets it,” says Elion, who graduated from Simeon Career Academy at 81st Street and Vincennes Avenue.
Mark Thomas did the tattoo. Thomas, 30, grew up on the East Side, where five people have been shot to death this year. He, too, has friends and family who have been killed.
“I can’t even count on two hands how many people I’ve lost,” Thomas says.
Talking about their upbringing, Elion and Thomas say they’ve been judged at times for where they grew up. While a student at the University of Iowa, Elion says people sometimes “looked at me sideways” because of where he’s from.
“People look at you a little crazy, like, ‘How’d you make it out?’ ” he says. “The media portrays it like” the video game Grand Theft Auto. “But it’s not always like that.”
Thomas says he’s been stereotyped for being from the South Side and having tattoos. He’s been barred from clubs because of a face tattoo that he says has nothing to do with gangs or violence. He says its letters “LMM” stand for “Left My Mark,” a play on words with his first name.
“Everybody should be able to express themselves,” Thomas says.
Elion says: “They think just because you have tattoos, and you from the ‘hood, you’re in the streets. I hate that.”
Despite the violence in his neighborhood, Elion talks about Englewood being a tight-knit community of people who understand each other. He sees the value in having to share an experience of living somewhere outsiders misjudge.
When he got his fresh tattoo earlier this year, he says his family and neighbors loved it. His mom boasted about it on Facebook. And people have told him they want something similar.
Thomas has worked at 9 Mag Tattoo for a few years. Before that, he says he learned his trade on “YouTube University,” watching tutorial videos every day.
He says he’s always been creative, doing custom paintings for friends on their boots and sneakers before picking up tattooing.
The Englewood tattoo was the first of several architectural tattoos Thomas has done. He says neighborhood pride is a key part of being a Chicagoan and that people are picking up on showing that through tattoos.
Thomas is in the process of getting his back tattooed to represent his home, with the street signs showing 87th Street and Stony Island Avenue and the Stony Sub shop, the backdrop to many happy memories.
He and Elion the neighborhoods where they grew up were fundamental to who they are and that their tattoos represent that.
Elion says, if he had the chance, he’d try to get that across to his younger self, saying, “There’s bumps in the road, but you can do it.”
