9/13/2025

Over the course of the last several months, Evolved Body Art, its ownership, and its management team have been working diligently to deliver on the promises made to this community which is a responsibility that none have taken lightly. To do so most effectively, Evolved began by retaining Sharon DeLay, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, who is the owner of GO-HR as well as a Certified Equal Employment Opportunity Investigator and Society for Human Resource Management Certified Workplace Investigator, to conduct an objective and thorough investigation of alleged workplace misconduct. Specifically, the two-month-long investigation reviewed claims of alleged sexual harassment, unsafe working conditions, employee misclassification, unpaid wages, and inappropriate conduct involving minors receiving tattoos. While some of the allegations were serious—and taken as such—the investigation found no substantiated evidence of human trafficking, wage theft, or illegal activity involving minors. The investigation concluded that while there are, like most workplaces, opportunities to improve in several areas, there was no clear indication of systemic abuse or misconduct.

As a result of the investigation, Evolved has been focused on enhancing the structure,
accountability, and professionalism within its everyday operations, like implementing formal hiring and onboarding systems; clarifying employee classifications and compensation; separating personal relationships from business operations; and establishing a respectful workplace culture with clear boundaries and documentation practices. The investigation also identified opportunities for additional leadership training, consistent enforcement of policies, and a more structured and equitable employment model. With these processes, many of which have already been put in place, Evolved’s goal is to improve the employee experience and restore trust inside the organization and within our community.

Further efforts of Evolved’s management team include:
● participation in nearly 100 hours of training and counsel on human resources, consent,
substance use, and business management;
● publication of a robust employee handbook prepared by GO-HR which includes clear
direction for reporting workplace concerns to a neutral third party;
● initiation of thorough background checks on applicants and appropriate, informed hiring
decisions based on the results of those background checks; and
● implementation of benefits and revised pay structures for staff.

Those efforts also included the engagement of The Reconnection Circle LLC (“TRC”). TRC is a consulting firm that specializes in fully exploring alleged harms and their impact on the community as well as implementing restorative practices targeted toward harm reduction and harm repair in that particular community. Throughout this past summer, Nick Wolak and Evolved have worked closely with TRC to roll out restorative practices in response to the allegations raised earlier this year. At the bottom of this message, you can find a timeline with brief summaries of the work performed by and among TRC, Evolved, and Nick.

After engaging TRC, Nick and Evolved publicized the restorative repair process to the larger community several times via Evolved’s social media, various distribution lists for the events hosted by Nick and Evolved, and by way of personal invitations. The repair process was designed to allow individuals to participate in various ways and based upon their level of comfort. Specifically, participants could submit written feedback via an online form, attend in-person listening circles, or submit via email more elaborate responses to the listening circle prompts. Unless a participant explicitly opted to share their feedback and/or identity beyond TRC, all names and contributions were anonymized and kept confidential.

Following outreach, a total of 22 individuals provided written responses to the online form, four individuals participated in listening circles hosted in-person, and one individual contributed to the listening circle by responding to prompts via email. TRC then compiled and analyzed the data it collected through these various means and shared it with Nick in a manner consistent with the participants’ wishes. TRC compiled the community’s recommendations, all of which have been and continue to be under consideration by Evolved, Nick, and other members of management.

A summary of those recommendations is as follows:
● Increase the number and visibility of hosts at sponsored events and provide adequate
means for hosts to easily communicate during such events (e.g., two-way radios);
● Facilitate mandatory consent seminars for contractors and volunteers prior to each
sponsored event;
● Establish an electronic system through which individuals can report concerns and ensure
such system is easily accessible by way of posting QR codes inside Evolved shops and
affiliated event spaces;
● Ensure that Nick and his business leaders undergo education on gender-based violence,
accountability, and event safety among other topics conducive to creating better and safer
work and event spaces;
● Provide updates on takeaways from training and education undergone by Nick and others; and
● Consider reports of alleged harm when making business decisions with respect to hiring and contract engagement.
Evolved remains open to the constructive feedback of the community and welcomes respectful and productive discourse on the matters discussed on this page and the ways in which we have addressed them. We remain committed to continuing our progress, and we continue to appreciate
the support of those rooting for us in the process.