Pioneering black-and-gray tattoo artist Freddy Negrete was twelve years old and confined in the holding cell of a Los Angeles juvenile facility when an older teenager entered—covered in tattoos. Freddy was in awe, not just of the art, but of what it symbolized, and he wanted what this kid had: the potent sense of empowerment and belonging that came from joining a gang. The encounter drove Freddy to join the notorious gang La Sangra, and it didn't take long before he was a regular guest at LA County's juvenile detention facilities. By the age of twenty-one, Freddy had spent almost his whole life as a ward of the state in one form or the other.

Enthralled by the black-and-gray tattoo style that in the 1970s was confined to the rebel culture of Chicano gangsters and criminals, Freddy started inking himself with hand-poked tattoos. Everyone wanted a piece of Freddy's black-and-gray style--gangbangers but also Hollywood starlets and film producers.

In a riveting narrative that takes the reader from Freddy's days as a cholo gang member to evangelical preacher to Hollywood body art guru to addiction counselor, Smile Now, Cry Later is, ultimately, a testament to that spark within us all, that catalyst which gives us the strength to survive, transform, and transcend all that can destroy us. "The precision, mastery, and nuance of Negrete’s work in skin emerged from a personal history of triumph over a volatile youth. His life story is an inspirational testament to the possibilities of the human spirit." —Don Ed Hardy

“Freddy's work speaks to people … He is not a tattoo artist. He is an artist, who is a master tattooer as well."—Dave Navarro, guitarist (Jane's Addiction) and host of Spike TV's Inkmaster 

"[Freddy Negrete] was the man who took the Chicano, black-and-gray, joint-style straight out of the prisons and to the top of the tattoo world. To this day, Freddy's work never ceases to amaze me." 
—Danny Trejo, actor (Spy Kids, From Dusk Till Dawn)

"Freddy Negrete's story is about how even the most troubled young man has vital gifts for the world, intrinsic to who he's meant to be, and filling a void only that an artist can fill. Freddy is a true vato loco, yet he pioneered the aerosol art of the barrio back in the 1970s and also the now famous tattoo style of the black-and-grey, both of which came from the Chicano barrio gang experience he was a part of. His story needs to break out of whatever confines such stories usually end up. His is the story of our time." —Luis J. Rodriguez, author of the memoir Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A., and It Calls You Back: An Odyssey Through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing

"By the time I met Freddy he'd probably been my idol for four years. Freddy's just pure magic . . . something right every time." —Mark Mahoney, owner of the Shamrock Social Club, Sunset Strip, LA, whose clients include Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, and David Beckham

"You may think your favorite artist is an O.G. of the tattoo world. But compared with Freddy Negrete, almost everyone else is still a rookie. As one of the most experienced and influential tattoo artists in the world, Negrete was already making a name for himself before many of today’s top tattooers could walk." —LA Weekly

"Freddy Negrete’s former life is as dark and forbidding as a thick lined skull tattoo on the face of a menacing gangbanger. Vivid and to the point, SMILE NOW, CRY LATER takes you from Negrete as a “cholo gang member to evangelical preacher to Hollywood body art guru to addiction counselor”—which is one hell of a journey. This memoir by Negrete and Steve Jones is riveting and intense and I couldn’t put it down." —Patrick O'Neil, the author of Gun, Needle, Spoon, Amazon.com Reader Review