A TATTOOED hermit known as the leopard man of Skye earns pride of place in the Guinness Book of Records as the most tattooed man in the world with 99.9 per cent of his body covered with tattooed leopard spots. The only parts of this ex soldier’s body not to have gone under the needle are the insides of his ears and the skin between his toes. Once a week, Tom Leppard leaves his rudimentary hut of sticks and stones, and travels by canoe to the nearest post office to collect his pension and stock up on supplies. Now in his sixties, Tom recently topped his transformation from man to beast by having a full set of fangs tattooed onto his mouth.
Until a few years ago most people had the notion that anyone who had a couple of tattoos was either a drunken sailor, a criminal, a Hell’s Angel, a psychopath or a prostitute. But then movie stars, footballers, and pop idols started to get the needle habit with the result this ancient form of body art has now become pretty much mandatory in celebville. Like everything else that starts with the stars, the faithful became followers of this particular fashion, and we now have a more tattooed society than ever before.
Tattooing has few equals in its power to move the viewer. Looking at the state of Leppard’s body, you can hardly fail to react, whether repulsed, admiring, even sympathetic, or just plain angry, an anger probably brought about by being exposed to such a vivid reminder that we are just a short step from our primal past. Indeed, Leppard’s reclusion is the result of regular stoning and verbal abuse.
Over the past weeks, I have had the chance to admire some pretty outstanding examples of walking ink painting, with British tourists displaying an increasing infatuation with inking. I have spotted countless sleeves of tribal Moko tattoos (Maori), lots of Hindi inscriptions, countless Angels, barbed wire round the biceps, and the odd Virgin Mary. One chap from Bolton had the full crucifixion on his back but was reluctant to have it photographed as he felt that it might offend some people. Not so the lady who happily pulled up her halter top to expose a pair of heavily tattooed breasts (accompanied with nipple rings). She went on to inform me that she had yet another more intimate piercing but (mercifully) that was only for her boyfriend to see and enjoy!
Anthony J Treapleton (Tony) owns the Guns and Roses tattoo shop in Kato Paphos and there’s very little this man doesn’t know about tattooing. Through his craft, he told me, he can tell a great deal about his customers. “Someone coming to me for a tattoo needs time and attention, not only with the actual tattooing, although that goes without saying, but the gaining of trust is a vital factor as I am basically going to ‘scar’ that person for life, so there needs to be an equal level of total trust and professionalism.
“If the potential client already has a tattoo then that also gives me a quick peak through the window of his personality and helps me to suggest certain suitable designs from the 1,500 that are currently available.”
I ask Tony if there is anything he will refuse to do. “I will never tattoo on the head or the face. The nape of the neck is as far as I will go. Neither will I tattoo minors unless their parents are present. But yes, I have tattooed most parts of the human body.”
Tony runs a tight ship and is a slave to the essential hygiene and safety laws that go to making a clear difference between a professionally-run shop and that of a common “scratcher” – the derogatory term for those who just go out and buy a tattoo gun then set up a business with little or no understanding or appreciation of the craft.
“I never use a needle more than once and always give after care instructions, my place is as sterile as I can make it without it becoming an operating theatre and, yes, I always ask people about any medical history just in case they have a condition or are taking medication such as Warfarin/Aspirin which may react adversely with the process.”
Alex, a young Welshman, thoroughly enjoys his beer, so much so that he has had “pint please” tattooed onto the inside of his lower lip, so when the time comes and total incoherence strikes at the bar, all he has to do is roll down his lip. Tony was swift to point out that he had not been party to this particular tattoo but he had proudly placed on Alex’s arm a set of rather fierce tribal markings.
Jeff who hails from Torquay also has a good collection of Tony’s images, the most recent being a perfectly-painted head of an American eagle executed only a few days previously.
Annemarie is another enthusiastic human canvas who boasts rather more feminine images, with a liking for fairies, flowers and angels, plus an admission that there were other images on her body, though again these were of a somewhat more private nature.
Private or not, in Japan the collecting of tattoos by grand masters of the art is big business, with not only a Tokyo museum dedicated to the art, but small private galleries where you can browse and buy painted sections of someone’s dead skin. This is considered to be a form of art investment, with the owner of the tattoos getting paid for a section of skin before they die, on condition that the gallery owner receives from the family a perfectly flayed piece of artwork after death.
“I now tend to see everyone without a tattoo as a blank canvas.” said Tony, eying my empty arms. With that I made my excuses and swiftly left, though I do admit to a mini moment trying to visualise a tattooed bluebird on my bottom. But, after hearing from Tony that the older and wider you get, so the tattoo expands, what might now be termed a bluebird could down the line resemble a wandering albatross.
n Guns and Roses. Tel: 99 675646 (tattoos by appointment only)
