Man Documents Tattoo Removal After Divorce Led Him to Cover 95 Percent of His Body in Ink: ‘Felt Like a Circus Attraction’

NEED TO KNOW

• Leandro de Souza is documenting the process of removing his over 170 tattoos after converting to evangelical Christianity

• The photographer, 36, was once known as the most tattooed man in Brazil, having got his first inking at age 13

• “It hurts a lot, no matter how much anesthesia they use, the pain is horrible,” Souza said of removing his tattoos, per local news outlet O Globo

A man once known for having the most tattoos in Brazil is revealing his jaw-dropping transformation after having multiple surgeries to remove the ink.

After getting his first tattoo at the age of 13, Leandro de Souza, from Bagé, a city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, went on to cover 95% of his body in ink. His obsession with body modification led to him being officially crowned the most tattooed man in the nation at the Santa Rosa International Tattoo Expo in 2023, Brazilian news outlets G1 and O Globo reported.

The 36-year-old photographer once claimed his appearance made finding work difficult and that he had to live in a shelter for a while, per CNN Brazil. Since converting to evangelical Christianity around two years ago, Souza fell out of love with his tattoos and has been documenting the painful removal process on Instagram.

“I didn’t feel good, it didn’t suit me anymore,” Souza told O Globo of his decision to remove his tattoos. “It was a world of excess, which no longer did me any good. There came a time when I felt like a circus attraction.”

On Thursday, Aug. 28, the former tattoo enthusiast shared a photo on Instagram of his face following his most recent tattoo removal procedure alongside a snap of when he was covered in ink. He revealed it was his fifth procedure and had been performed free of charge at Hello Tattoo studio in Franco da Rocha, São Paulo.

The tattoo studio said Souza “lost his self-confidence” after going to prison, suffering from drug addiction and living on the streets in the caption of a video from the procedure shared on their Instagram.

“It’s important to remember: tattoos don’t define character,” the studio captioned the video. “What transforms a life are choices, effort, and the determination to move forward. In this process, tattoo removal is merely a reflection of a much larger internal change that helps align the external image with the new identity being constructed.

“When we hear Leandro say ‘dignity has been restored,’ we understand that our work goes far beyond aesthetics,” the caption continued. “Each session also represents the opportunity to witness stories of overcoming obstacles.”

Souza has revealed that it could take up to eight sessions to remove all of his tattoos, per G1. He applies ointment and ice post-session, while also swearing that physical exercise benefits the procedure.

“If you imagine that a person goes there to remove one from their finger and already complains of pain, imagine a session on the entire face, which involves three types of laser,” he told the outlet. “There’s the first, for removal. The second, CO2, to rejuvenate and not leave a stain. And the third is a type of sealer.”

“It hurts a lot, no matter how much anesthesia they use, the pain is horrible. But that’s part of the price for the things I did in the past,” he added, per O Globo.

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Souza began experimenting with drugs after the breakdown of the relationship with his ex-wife at 25, per G1. Having gone to a shelter to get help with drug addiction, he met a woman who began to evangelize to him, leading to his eventual conversion.

His change in appearance and lifestyle comes as he searches for a formal job to pay child support for his son and to regain guardianship of his elderly mother, who is currently in a nursing home, according to G1.

“Think carefully before getting a face tattoo because I regret it,” Souza said, per CNN Brazil. “I was in the tattoo business, and back then, I didn’t pay for these face tattoos. I got paid by the tattoo artist I worked with. And I regretted it. I was the most tattooed man in Brazil, and I also tattooed others.

“Today, I don’t tattoo. I don’t condemn tattoos. I believe that, after baptism and conversion, there are more important things for us to do, my dear brothers,” he concluded.

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