Arizona Tattoo Parlor Co-Owned By CHESTER BENNINGTON Hosts Benefit In His Honor: Video, Photos

The Arizona tattoo parlor partly owned by Chester Bennington hosted a benefit for the late LINKIN PARK singer yesterday (Sunday, July 30).

The event at Club Tattoo in Tempe was attended by hundreds of fans who shared stories with the crowd of how they connected with Bennington's music.

"His music touched a lot of people in a lot of ways, especially with his suicide, and people who were having depression because he sang with every ounce of his being," Jenn Lewis Pauch, a fan who helped organize the event, told ABC 15.

During the benefit, the parlor had a notebook for fans to write messages that will be delivered to Bennington's family. Donations were also accepted for the One More Light Fund.

Bennington and his partners opened the first Club Tattoo in Phoenix more than two decades years ago and expanded with at least three more in Arizona. They also opened a Club Tattoo location in Planet Hollywood's Miracle Mile in Las Vegas.

In a 2009 interview with Las Vegas Weekly, Chester stated about Club Tattoo: "Our goal the entire time we have been in business is to lift the stigma that tattoos and body piercing had in the past. We did that by having a sketch artist work for us and the world's best body piercer work for us. I think the fact that technique and the ink, the different types of needles we have today that weren't available thirty years ago, really open up our artists to truly do works of art and masterpieces on people's bodies. For a long time, it was uncool to have a tattoo."

He continued: "I think more people are opening their minds to a tattoo, as well as I think there is a right of passage you go through when you get pierced or tattooed. It is painful, so there is dedication and commitment, and I think people are looking for something they can hold on to and commit to even if it hurts a little bit. I think the reality is that tattoos have become better; there are better artists. You can get a replica of the Mona Lisa on your back that is going to look exactly like the real thing. The possibilities are endless, and the interaction between the artist and client is special. We try to do all of this better than anyone else. We hope to turn tattooing into a popular, more acceptable form of art."