An ink fanatic has spent over £25,000 on tattoos and body modifications and loves his extreme look – despite family and friends feeling otherwise.
Twenty-nine-year-old Mattia first began splashing the cash on altering his appearance at just 18 – but what started with innocent tattoos has since developed into something much more unusual.
The supervisor, based in London, has gone on to ink his eyeballs and split his tongue – which he says was a “nightmare” body mod – alongside having metal horns placed into his head.
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Not everyone is a fan, with Mattia being labelled a “bad person” simply for being “different”.
“It was a little shocking at [my family’s reaction] at the beginning,” the body modder told What’s The Jam.
“[They] didn’t expect me to go this far in terms of [being] ‘different’.
“But with time they come with the realisation of thinking that tattoos and piercings don’t make one a bad person.
“They thanked me for letting them understand that part of that sentence [is] ‘never judge a book by the cover’.”
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Mattia’s friends have had their reservations too, but he insists that other people’s opinions simply don’t matter.
He said: “People’s opinions differ from person to person.
“The only thing important is how I feel about myself.
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“Getting tattooed and modified is something that I totally enjoy doing and experiencing all the time.
“So what comes out from other people’s mouths is irrelevant.”
The Italian native has splashed tens of thousands on his altered appearance, including stretching his lobes to 50mm and getting a subdermal implant shaped like a spider on his chest.
He also has two subdermal implants on his thumbs in the shape of a spine and four transdermal implants on his head, attached to titanium horns, plus a small scarification across his left eye.
Mattia said: “Some people might say that the most extreme [body modification] would be the eyes and, in a way it’s true, cause if the procedure is done wrong or the needle pinches the pupil, then you’ll go blind.
“Even catching an infection if the tools aren’t sterilised, forcing you to have to get rid of the eye itself.
“But personally, I think that the tongue split was the most extreme, not for the procedure itself, mostly for the healing process.
“Not being able to talk or eat properly, and drooling constantly due to the swelling.
“Having [a] constant headache, having trouble to sleep, that was a total nightmare, but gladly it lasted less than a week, so I’d say [it] is manageable.”
With his 30th birthday on the horizon, Mattia initially thought that he’d be done with adding ink to his body but with some spaces still free, he isn’t planning on stopping anytime soon.
He also hopes to get some daring genital piercings.
Mattia said: “I thought around my 30s I would have reached all the end for tattoos at least, but I’m still finding myself with a lot of gaps to cover.
“For tattoos, I’m still doing research about designs, positions and artists, so [there is] a lot to try and calibre.
“I have planned to place subdermal horns (half sphere shape) on my head, so three on each side next to the hairline in the middle, starting from small to big till reaching half of my head.
“Then some genital beadings, but that still requires study on shape and positions.
“I’m waiting to finish tattooing my arms as I want to place some other implants in there, but will see which.”
Although he loves his different looks, Mattia says that the body modification community can be a tough place to navigate.
He added: “I wouldn’t suggest to get things just for trying to get ‘cooler’ or getting attention.
“There are actually more cons than pros in terms of society space.
“A lot of misjudgement and ‘free hate’ for whoever looks ‘different’ compared to the majority of the norm.
“Whoever is interested should take their time to do their research and to really think if it’s something they really want to do and get.”
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