17.05.12
Bryon Widner was the very face of racism.
A neo-Nazi enforcer for 16 years, he bore on his skin the hate in his heart. Most of his face and body were heavily tattooed with the ink of ill will toward anyone different. The tats included a blood-dripping razor, swastikas and the letters H-A-T-E on his knuckles.
But that canvas of contempt was removed by 25 surgeries over 16 months. First though, he had to face up to his past, face down his fears, and face off with his enemies.
By age 30, Widner had spent four years in jail for a string of offences. Though accused of murder and other serious crimes, he was never convicted, mainly because he threatened victims and witnesses. He was known as "the pit bull" of skinheads, feared and despised everywhere.
But Widner's life began to change when he fell in love with Julie Larsen, a single mom of four, active in white supremacist circles until she grew tired of the life and its effects on her kids. They married and Widner left the neo-Nazi movement in 2007, finding peace as a father and renouncing his former beliefs. But that was just the start of his journey through adjustment.
Source: Brantford Expositor