Tattoo ‘king’ calls for end to discrimination
THE UK’s most tattooed man has called for an end to discrimination against people with body art.
The comments from The King Of Ink Body Art, formerly known as Matthew Whelan, aged 37, from Birmingham, came after he revealed he was stabbed in what he believes was a “hate crime”.
He hit out at laws that class people who willingly undergo some body modifications as victims of abuse.
The tattoo fan, whose full name is “King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite”, became a walking advert for his favourite TV programme when he got The Jeremy Kyle Show tattooed on the back of his head before appearing on the show.
He has devoted his life to body modifications but he said it had exposed him to abuse from thugs. “It’s a very mixed reaction,” he said.
“I find it quite fascinating when I’m with new people because I’m unique, people stare, and it’s a new experience for them. I’m used to it as it has been happening for years. You don’t do something like this and not expect that.
“The reactions can go from amazement to hate crime.”
Mr Whelan was stabbed in 2009, leaving him in intensive care and later confined to a wheelchair for weeks while he recovered.
As well as prejudice among the public, he said he faced discrimination by the state and from employers.
The Offences Against The Person Act 1861 classifies people who undergo extreme modifications such as dying their eyeballs as consensual victims.
Mr Whelan has more than 300 tattoos after having his first at the age of 16. He said: “Modified people are proud people. We are proud to be modified. They haven’t been forced into it. It’s something that many people will have thought long and hard about.”