I Tattooed The Guinness World Record Holder For Most Tattooed Woman

The first time I got paid for a tattoo, I did a rebel flag on a skinhead in Dallas, Texas. I was stressed out because I saw some missing chunks of skin. It was a small tattoo, so they were small chunks of skin. But I was kind of worried because he was from a tight organization and the next thing you know I could have gotten my ass kicked. But it healed alright and he didn't even notice.

My biggest project so far was Julia Gnuse - the Guinness Book of World Records holder for Most Tattooed Woman. Julia wanted me to tattoo her because she had a serious skin condition called porphyria, which caused scarring all over her body. She wanted to cover up the scars with tattoos. She'd already been through several doctors with different recommendations, all of which failed.

The first one was a medication the doctors prescribed. Pretty soon after she started taking it, things started to look pretty dim and blurry. She complained to the doctor and he told her that one of the side effects was blindness. So, she sought other alternatives like dermabrasions and chemical peels. That did nothing but leave her skin permanently purple. She gave up on that and just decided that tattooing was her remedy.

It was November 26, 1991 or 1992. She walked into a shop that I was working at with my brother at Newport Beach, California and said she wanted a full body suit. My first reaction was like, "Yeah right." Most people never follow through or they run out of funds before they can finish. But she came loyally every week, sometimes twice a week, even three times a week. She was constantly healing.