BRITAIN’S most tattooed man has revealed what he looked like before covering every inch of his body in ink and fans can’t believe it’s the same person.
Mathew Whelan, 45, from Birmingham, who legally changed his name to King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-ite, has spent a whopping £40,000 and more than 1,600 hours under the needle.
Now covered head to toe in black and grey body art, from his shaved scalp to the soles of his feet, and even his eyeballs , resurfaced photos show just how much he’s changed.
Snaps from when he was just 16 and 18 show the now-inked-up icon with a fresh face, buzz cut, and smooth skin.
In one shot, a young Mathew poses proudly with his very first tattoo which was a bulldog on his arm.
Fast forward nearly three decades and he’s had his eyes permanently dyed black, nipples removed, ears reshaped, and almost no visible skin untouched by ink.
The transformation began when he was just nine years old after developing a fascination with tattoos and body mods and over the years, he’s pushed it to the extreme.
He even holds a world record for the most tattoo artists working on him at once, after 36 tattooists inked him simultaneously at a Derby expo in 2016.
But going full body art hasn’t come without complications.
His tattoos have caused him physical damage.
He told The Sun Online that the knuckle duster implant has done nerve damage but he hopes his arm can be saved – although this is undetermined until surgeons operate.
This week, King of Ink Land revealed he’s been locked out of adult websites because facial recognition software can’t recognise his face, mistaking it for a mask due to the heavy ink.
He believes it’s another example of being unfairly treated based on how he looks and said his face is as much a part of his identity as his name.
He told the Metro : ‘It’s as important as the name really and I changed my name legally.
‘Without a name you haven’t got an identity, and it’s the same with a face. It’s my skin, my permanent identity.’
King of Ink got his first tatt when he was 16 and has since splashed £40,000 on body modifications.
He told how he had his nipples cut off to make room for more inkings and keeps them in his freezer “next to his sprouts”.
He’s also admitted that day-to-day life can be tough.
In 2015 he admitted his unusual looks were making it hard for him to find a job.
He has since called for an end to discrimination towards people with body modifications , claiming he has been the victim of a “hate crime” due to his extraordinary appearance.
People avoid sitting next to him on buses, he gets stared at constantly, and strangers often try to sneak photos, which can sometimes lead to confrontation.
Mathew previously shared how his boss hid him because he hated his tattoos .
But despite the challenges, he says it’s a lifestyle he chose and loves, even if it has to take a back seat for now.
The tattoo lover has recently announced he’s pausing his inking habit to focus on paying off his £66,000 mortgage, saying he’s putting his tattoo journey “on hold” while he clears his debts.
He still plans to get the odd tattoo every couple of years, but says it’s time to be sensible, even if it means scaling back the extreme ink.
He also revealed plans to remove some of his past body mods, including a hand implant, saying that although his transformation is a huge part of his identity, he’s always evolving.
