Man Discovers Niceness By Tattooing Skull On Face
| July 10th, 2008Bizarre has an interview with Rick, a man who is having his entire body tattooed to look like the living dead. It’s a striking effect:
Rick’s body is a work-in-progress. In the interview, Rick speculates at future modifications he might do to his face, including having his eye whites permanently blackened (”I’m thinking that in five years from now, if no one’s gone blind from it by then I’ll go and get my eyes tattooed black, so there’d just be big holes in my face”) and having one of his ears and the tip of his nose removed.
What I enjoyed most was this surprising bit of Norman-Rockwell-grade sweetness from the end of the interview:
Q: Do you think your life would be better or worse if you hadn’t had your tattoos done?
A: Actually, since having them done I’ve become a much happier and nicer person. Before, I hated pretty much everything and everybody. I just wanted to pass out in the gutter and swear at cars as they went by, shit like that. I wasn’t a happy person at all.
That’s why I got the skull tattooed on my face in the first place, I suppose – I wanted to fucking kill everybody. But then, as time went on, I started getting all this positive feedback – people would come up to me and say how cool they thought it looked. I started getting invited to parties and bars all the time. Strangers ask to have pictures taken with me.
I’ve been having so much fun with it that life has definitely changed for the better. I honestly wouldn’t change a thing… not that I have much choice in the matter.
Awwww…. It’s like a Disney movie or something.
Curtsy: Boing Boing.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:47 am
I was one of the first girls on my block, decades ago (not telling HOW MANY) to get a very small (since enlarged and colored in) tattoo, and although I wasn’t hateful before, I thought I was being all rebellious, feminist and in-your-face. And I was certainly shocked at the positive response, even then, even in the Midwest. Granted, its a hippie-dippie, lovey-dovey symbol (a heart), but that’s the point, it drew folks to me; they reacted TO THE SYMBOL–it gave them an excuse to reach out, as it has for this guy too.
I remember thinking, people are often far better than we give them credit for.
This comment was written by DaisyDeadhead.Report this comment to the moderators
July 11th, 2008 at 10:08 am
I’m wondering what this guy does for a living. I should think it’s not a physically customer-facing job.
This comment was written by RonF.Report this comment to the moderators
July 11th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Musician in a metal band is “a physically customer-facing job”.
This comment was written by jed.Report this comment to the moderators
July 11th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I’ll grant that there are exceptions. But not too many. Few businesses have customers that would not be put off by this.
Here you go; would a business be justified in refusing to hire this man for a job as, say, a sales rep? Or the front line at a fast food joint, or a grocery cashier?
This comment was written by RonF.Report this comment to the moderators
July 11th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I dunno, Daisy, when I read this: ” I started getting invited to parties and bars all the time. Strangers ask to have pictures taken with me.” I was thinking that this guy might be being invited as a conversation piece/”freak”, not because of who he is as a person.
And while I have no problems with tats, I wonder if this guy may have a bit of surgical addiction in the making (removing appendages? really?)… which is a mental health issue that I can’t just go “yay!” about, without knowing more about the guy’s state of mind.
This comment was written by Lyonside.Report this comment to the moderators
July 12th, 2008 at 12:00 am
When I read this:
I lost any of the respect I had for Rick as a performance artist and realized he’s just a jackass. “Able to get his nose cut off”? “Jealous”? He either needs help, or some sort of empathy implant.
This comment was written by Auguste.Report this comment to the moderators
July 12th, 2008 at 12:25 am
[...] Man Discovers Niceness By Tattooing Skull On Face [...]
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July 12th, 2008 at 3:16 am
I don’t know, I don’t read it that way. I can see being jealous of something that happened to someone else that I wanted to happen to me — of course it would be a tragedy for them, and I would wish they hadn’t been subjected to it, but that wouldn’t stop me from craving it.
This comment was written by Mandolin.Report this comment to the moderators
July 15th, 2008 at 5:21 am
Shocker - when you treat people nice, they act like decent human beings. When you ignore them and alienate them, they get grumpy and act out. Film at 11. Second surprise - interesting, exciting people get treated nicer than dull losers.
Attention interesting, exciting people: this may be why some folks seem inexplicably bitter about you.
This comment was written by Silenced is Foo.Report this comment to the moderators
November 30th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Some of you with negative views on his alternate/wanted modifications need to realize that this sort of modification is a lifestyle choice. This sort of modification has nothing to do with the particular persons ’state of mind’.
Rick has obviously put much thought into what he wants and is willing to do with his body. I apologize but I find it completely ignorant and disrespectful when people believe those with modifications to be ‘mentally ill’ or ‘freaks’ because they are doing something different with their lives.
Personally I love what he has done and cannot wait to see what he will do next. I appreciate how far he will go to be himself/feel himself. Open your minds people
This comment was written by Tea.Report this comment to the moderators