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WBIR News: Forging the future | Knoxville nonprofits breaking chains, bonding through transformation and welding

There are no mistakes in metalwork, only opportunities to mold and change. That’s the message behind the new Knoxville nonprofit, insPYRE, the Institute of Fire.

Author: Katie Inman, WBIR

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Four different nonprofits are invested in breaking the chains and transforming lives. Each has a different mission, but a common bond.

A Knoxville business owner famous for his intricate metal creations is using his passion to create a new nonprofit school, aimed at forging a brighter future for at-risk populations.

Preston Farabow is no stranger to the fire, freedom and fearlessness welding and metalwork can create. He found his niche in crafting ornamental metal pieces and started Aespyre Metals in the late 90s. 

“In metalwork, nothing is irreconcilable,” Farabow said. “You can make mistakes and you can find solutions.”

Since the success in his business, he has yearned to create a space where he could give back to people and teach them a new, valuable skill in the process.

At the end of 2025, that dream became a reality when insPYRE, The Institute of Fire, was born. He, Master Welder Joe Hall and Mary Thom Adams are investing their time, energy and expertise into it.

The program is a 15-week course, focusing on welding, forging and metal working. The students learn safety protocols, build their skills and tap into the transformation process.

But the students in the workshop each session are going through transformations of their own. The school brings in marginalized and at-risk individuals to hone new, real-life skills. From those aging out of the foster system, to women who have been abused, those recovering from addiction and people who were formerly incarcerated, there is no “typical” student.

“It’s about forming community and it’s about breaking free of whatever it is that binds you,” Farabow said.

Inside the InsPYRE space at 1200 McCalla Avenue in East Knoxville, there’s a certain kind of spark, even though it’s only been up and running for about a month and a half. Farabow, Hall and Adams are teaching transformation.

“We’re just now starting to set things on fire here,” Farabow said.

Will Shaffer, a 29-year-old currently in the Men of Valor program in East Knoxville, is one of the first students learning skills in the program.

“I’m someone who grew up in a good family and then just wanted to go down a different route,” Shaffer said. “I turned into a bad person and lived that for several years, and then it ended up me being in a constant battle with addiction, and then it ended up in a five-year prison sentence.”

Men of Valor is a nonprofit focused on helping men stay out of prison, while also teaching a message of faith and purpose. An idea that goes hand in hand with transformation and redemption.

“We’re all trying to change and be a better person,” Shaffer said. “You were once in bondage, but now you’re free.”

Breaking the chain is not just symbolic, though. The students are using literal chains to craft their first commissioned sculpture in the workshop.

“Every one of these chains represents a dog in the ChainFree program,” ChainFree Knoxville Co-Founder Kyle Lang said. “These chains were removed from dogs after we freed them into enclosures. Every one of these chains used to be on a dog’s neck, where they were living 24/7.”

ChainFree Knoxville donated the real-life restraints as a reminder, both of how a community can link together and how being free from bondage is a liberating kind of freedom.

“The whole is bigger than the individual parts,” Lang said. “I think that is very symbolic of the journey that the dogs have been on and the amazing artists from the Men of Valor program have been on in their lives.”

The metal from the chains is being crafted into a new creation. A sculpture that will be completed live at the ChainFree Ball on January 31 at the Crowne Plaza in Downtown Knoxville.

“Now we’re giving the chains a new life and using some of the transformative possibilities and metalwork to liberate them from that restrictive kind of negative connotation that it held,” Farabow said.

The Men of Valor students are also crafting unique centerpieces to be displayed and sold at the ChainFree Ball.

The welding, metalworking and life skills found in the InsPYRE classroom can also be translated to set the stage for future stability.

“They will leave with the ability to get a job as a welder in an industry that was underserved by over 300,000 jobs in America last year,” Farabow said. “So there’s plenty of opportunities for them.”

While the Men of Valor are the first students, there will be more groups and populations welcomed into the program as time moves forward. The institute is also always open to ideas for commissions.

“We are available for art commissions if you have a project in mind and want to bring it here,” Farabow said. “But I couldn’t be more thrilled with this first project out of the gate. It’s beyond anything that I’d ever dreamed of.”

A bond forever burned together through transformation and forgiveness.

“It means a better chance at life,” Shaffer said.

There are still tickets available for the ChainFree Ball on January 31. Click here for tickets.

After the gala, Lang says Dogwood Arts will display the sculpture of chains in Downtown Knoxville for the next year.

Read the article in full on the WBIR website!