The human body has been a canvas for art for centuries, and some people have leaned into extreme body modification, becoming the most heavily tattooed people in the world.
As an artist, you’ll have clients who have all kinds of goals for their tattoos. Understanding their goals can allow you to create designs that help them reach them.
This article will highlight the most tattooed man - and the most tattooed woman - in the world…and explain why they choose to get so many tattoos.
Most Tattooed Man in the World - Meet Lucky Diamond Rich
Lucky Diamond Rich is an aboriginal Australian performance artist and Guinness World Record holder for being the world’s most tattooed man.
Rich, who was born Greg Paul McLaren in New Zealand, has covered his body in over 1000 tattoos and various piercings, including a full-body suit of white ink. Lucky Diamond Rich was given his middle name by friends who described him as a “rough diamond”.
Collecting Tattoos
Lucky joined the circus at age 16 and would juggle chainsaws, ride a ten-foot unicycle, and swallow swords. After he got his first tattoo of a small juggling club on his hip, he waited over two years to get tattooed again.
At 18, he continued getting more and more tattoos with the money he made as a street performer. He wanted the way he looked to be part of his performance art.
At 28, Lucky Diamond Rich got his first full-body suit of black ink, which he would later go over with a layer of white ink as well as multiple layers of color. He now has tattoos covering his entire body including the skin between his toes, his eyelids, his ear canals, and even his gums. He has also had his teeth replaced with silver veneers.
As the most tattooed man in the world and one of the world’s most distinct-looking people, Lucky Diamond Rich says that he does not regret a single one of his tattoos. Now that his entirebody is covered, Lucky Diamond considers himself to have only one tattoo.
Even with the tattoos, he doesn’t feel different to anyone else. In addition to working as a performer, Lucky Diamond Rich has also worked as a support worker for an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center in Australia.
Most Tattooed Woman in the World - Charlotte Guttenberg
In 2015, 69-year-old Charlotte Guttenberg overtook the Guinness World Record for being the most tattooed woman. She has over 98.75% of her body covered in tattoos, including the back of her head.
Most Tattooed Senior Citizen
Gutenberg and her partner have also been crowned the most tattooed senior citizens in the male and female categories.
Charlotte Guttenberg did not get her first tattoo until her 50th birthday, and she immediately knew that she wanted to get a full suit to cover her entire body.
Now, Charlotte wants to use her personal re-brand as a way to promote people’s self esteem, as well as the beauty and history of tattoos.
Other Heavily Tattooed People
Julia Gnuse
Julia Gnuse previously held the world record for being the most tattooed woman. A rare skin disease that resulted in scarring led her to have almost her whole body tattooed.
Rick Genest
Rick Genest, also known as Zombie Boy, was one of the most tattooed people before his death in 2019. He had his full body tattooed as a living skeleton and worked as an actor and model, even appearing in Lady Gaga’s music video for the song “Born This Way.”
Prepare for a Tattooing Career with the Artist Accelerator Program
Learning the details of tattooing is an important step in your journey, but it can also be pretty eye-opening to how difficult tattooing can be. Without the right knowledge, it’s impossible to level up your skills and become a professional tattoo artist.
However, finding the straight-forward information you need to progress is difficult. And with so much out there online, it’s hard to avoid picking up bad habits from incorrect and outdated resources.
This is one of the biggest struggles new tattooers face, and too many talented artists have given up their goal of getting into tattooing because of the years it would take to unlearn their bad habits.
That’s why aspiring artists are learning to tattoo with the Artist Accelerator Program’s structured course. As a student, you learn every step of the tattooing process from professional artists with the experience and advice you need to build your skills and create incredible tattoos.
With the Artist Accelerator, you can stop wasting time searching through incorrect information. You just get the clear, easy-to-understand lessons you need to start improving fast… along with support and personalized feedback from professional artists in our online Mastermind group.
Over 2500 students have already gone through the course, with many of them opening up their own studios. If you want to join them and learn the skills you need to start tattooing full time faster…
Click here to learn more about the Artist Accelerator Program.
