Katherine von Drachenberg, famously known as Kat Von D from TV’s LA Ink, opened up on Allie Beth Stuckey’s “Relatable” podcast about her recent baptism and return to Christianity after facing significant backlash for sharing her baptism video online.
The tattoo artist, originally from Mexico, was raised in a Christian missionary family, but she veered away from her religious upbringing during her teenage years and early adulthood.
In her youth, after moving to the United States at age six, Von D began to challenge the beliefs she was raised with, embracing a freethinking mindset. This led her to distance herself from the church, a rift that grew so deep that she ran away from home at 14.
In her twenties, Von D’s spiritual search took her through New Age practices, including tarot cards and meditation retreats. However, just before the 2020 lockdown, Von D found herself unhappy with the path she was on, prompting her to reassess her life and spirituality.
“I started just kind of re-evaluating. Going down the list of what I’m doing with my life and what my perspectives are and then it got to the part of my spirituality and that’s where I started really rethinking a lot of things,” Von D said.
This period of reflection led her to Christianity once more, as she began to watch sermons and study the Bible, finding herself increasingly drawn to the faith she left behind.
She took action, throwing away a series of her occult books ranging in topics from witchcraft, meditation and yoga.
“I came to this really awesome realization that night that I don’t want these crutches in my life anymore – and that’s what I really saw them as. I just want Jesus,” Von D said.
“I feel like it’s a very narrow road. I feel like these breathing techniques or spellwork or nature worship – all of these things are just crutches. They’re not really my answer,” she added. “I would rather eliminate any distractions and this is just what works for me.”
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Von D’s dedication to learning more about Christianity culminated in her decision to be baptized, a step she took very seriously. During her baptism, she was clothed in white—a symbol of new beginnings—and the pastor baptized her with the traditional Christian invocation, signifying her renewed commitment to her faith.
Despite this significant personal moment, when Von D shared a video of her baptism on social media, she faced harsh criticism from some viewers. They doubted her sincerity, with comments ranging from technicalities about the baptism procedure to accusations of orchestrating a publicity stunt.
Von D was aware that her decision to share the video could attract negative attention, but she felt it was important to make her personal transformation public.
“To publicly proclaim this was me setting some things right,” she said. “It was important to me to share that because I could have just kept it to myself and just kept going on but I was like no this is something I want to celebrate and I want to be open and honest about it.”
Von D says she is now “on fire for Jesus,” adding: “I don’t plan on this dimming out.”
In sharing her story, Von D touches on themes familiar to many: the exploration of faith, the challenge of questioning long-held beliefs, and the personal search for meaning.
Her experience is a testament to the idea that it’s never too late to change direction in life and that spiritual fulfillment can be found in returning to one’s roots. There is always redemption in coming to Jesus.
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