“I risked going blind to look like a dragon”
Amber Luke always wanted a unique look and says men find her tattooed eyeballs and forked tongue beautiful – though women aren’t quite so impressed!
For most people who want to stand out from the crowd, a few tattoos will probably do the trick. But despite having more than 50 inkings, 23-year-old Amber Luke still wasn’t satisfied.
So the adventurous tattoo artist has splashed out almost £6,000 turning herself into a dragon, and despite agonising surgery and even going temporarily blind, she can’t wait to have more work done.
Amber, who calls herself the “Blue Eyed White Dragon”, says, “My love for body art started when I got my ears pierced at the age of nine. Now I have over 50 tattoos – including on my eyeballs – and my tongue is split in two. Lots of people say mean things and call me ugly. But dragons are beautiful, mystical and made from pure imagination – I can’t think of anything I’d rather look like.”
Growing up, Amber always dreamed of being unique.
She says, “As a teenager, I was very plain and absolutely hated the way I looked because I just blended into the crowd. I was diagnosed with depression at the age of 15 and got bullied for having a mental illness; other kids called me ‘attention seeking’.
ADDICTED
“So, as soon as I turned 16, I got my first tattoo to cheer myself up and had the words ‘you can keep knocking but you won’t knock me down’ inked on my ribs, as a reminder of what I’d been through. I loved the sensation and even fell asleep while I was being tattooed as I found it so relaxing.”
Amber quickly became addicted to body art and, within a week, she had another two tattoos. And now, aged 23, she has 58 – covering everywhere from her face to her feet.
She says, “My favourite tattoo is my neck piece. At the moment my body is 50 per cent covered in tattoos, but I plan to be 100 per cent covered by the time I’m 25.”
And Amber has even risked going blind for her look, after getting her eyeballs inked.
She explains, “I got my eyeballs tattooed in March 2017 after seeing Ethan Bramble – who calls himself the ‘world’s most modified youth’ – on Instagram. He’s got his eyes completely blacked out and, originally, I was going to do the same. But my tattooist convinced me to go blue instead – as it would make my naturally hazel eyes really pop.
“I was warned that by tattooing my eyeballs I might go blind, but I tried not to think about the risks too much, as I knew it would be worth it. It cost £1,100 and only took 40 minutes, but it was very intense and painful as there was no anaesthetic. My eyelids were peeled back and I was injected eight times – there was an indescribable burning and stinging sensation. Afterwards, I couldn’t see anything. I kept blinking furiously, desperate to see what was going on. But there was just darkness. I was terrified that I was going to be blind forever.”
Amber, who lives in Sydney, Australia, couldn’t see for three weeks following the procedure.
She says, “I completely lost my independence; my mum had to help me eat and wash and I spent most of my time in bed. There were moments when I wondered whether it was worth it.
PAINFUL
“But as blurry vision returned to my left eye a week later, I knew I’d made the right decision. My eyeballs looked just like blueberry
❛EATING IS DIFFICULT, I GET FOOD TRAPPED BETWEEN MY FORKED TONGUE❜
jelly and bright blue tears leaked down my face as the excess ink escaped.
“I couldn’t see out of my right eye for a further two weeks and had to seal it with an eye patch and apply saline drops every ten minutes. But now, every time I look at myself, I’m thrilled. Tattooing my eyeballs was the best decision I ever made. It also earned me the nickname “Blue Eyed White Dragon,” from my friends. After being bullied, it felt great to represent something so strong.”
In June 2017, Amber went under the knife again and got her tongue split in two at a cost of £300. She says, “It was the most unique and different thing that I could think of. My tongue was sliced in half under a local anaesthetic and neatly stitched up on either side. It was incredibly painful and, for eight weeks, I lived off mashed potato and slushies. I had to keep wiggling my forked tongue to prevent it from healing together as a whole. Even now eating can be difficult and I often get food trapped between my two tongues. But I find it funny.”
On top of this, Amber has also had her earlobes stretched, piercings on her forehead, chest, lip, cheek and arms, and had chunks of her ears chopped off so she could get pointy implants. All her modifications are done by a close friend, who allows her to pay him over time. And with nearly 73,000 followers on Instagram, Amber says she attracts attention wherever she goes.
FANGS
She explains, “Dating is really easy. Men say I’m beautiful because I look so different, but women say that I’m a freak or that I looked better before my procedures. It can be hurtful, but I know it’s just because they’re jealous.”
And Amber doesn’t plan on stopping yet. She says, “I want to have my teeth sharpened so they’re like fangs – after all, what’s a dragon without pointy teeth?
“My family and friends are all very supportive as they know how much I love it. My mum tells me all the time how beautiful I am. I love being unique. It’s not every day you see a blue-eyed white dragon.”