A firefighter who has 90 per cent of his body tattooed has said that he can’t imagine life without being inked up – despite critics saying he looks like a criminal.
Andreas Stauffiger, 44, from Zurich Switzerland, has over 100 tattoos on his body, ten piercings, his eyeballs tattooed and his tongue split.
The the pastry cook and voluntary firefighter estimates that he has spent around £26,000 on his ink over the years.
Andreas has always enjoyed getting tattoos and body modifications, he started as soon as he could, a few months after his 18th birthday.
He opted for a dolphin tattoo on his right upper arm. He says his loves this tattoo and would ‘do it again every time.’
Andreas Stauffiger, 44, from Zurich Switzerland, has over 100 tattoos on his body, ten piercings, his eyeballs tattooed and his tongue split
Andreas said: ‘My latest mod was the split tongue and my last tattoo was a little dragon, it’s so fresh it’s still healing.
‘My transformation started 26 years ago but it is not finished yet by any means. I think it will never be finished, I imagine I will always be getting some modification done.
‘I currently have ten piercings, with six more planned right now, I have an unknown number of tattoos. It’s almost a complete bodysuit. I would guess it’s more than 100 single tattoos on my skin.
‘If i had to put a number on it I would guess I have spent £26,000 but that’s only a number, the real amount is unknown.
Andreas said: ‘I currently have ten piercings, with six more planned right now’, here he is pictured with clamps on his back
The pastry cook and voluntary firefighter got his first tattoo a few months after his 18th birthday
Although things haven’t always been easy, as Andreas has received criticism for his inked up body – with some people even comparing him to a criminal.
‘Most people tell me that they are a little skeptical of me at first because of my look but that is usually only until the get to know me better. And that’s totally ok. I’m a very calm person it is almost impossible to get me in to rage,’ he said.
‘Children look at me with large opened eyes and say ‘who is that’, they have real wonder so children are often more accepting.
‘Older people seem to like me and are very open to body modifications.’
‘When I’m in my firefighter uniform and on duty. The victims or civilians take no notice of my ink at first, usually that comes much later,’ Andreas said
The 44-year-old said: ‘They are unique because the first time they see there is something different about me isn’t always straight away, some people don’t catch my inked eyes’
But when he’s saving lives it seems people do not take notice of his tattooed body upon first glance.
‘When I’m in my firefighter uniform and on duty. The victims or civilians take no notice of my ink at first, usually that comes much later,’ Andreas said.
‘I am not treated any differently during a rescue and I think it is because of the uniform and helmet.
‘I think in a scary situation it is very easy for them to overlook any of my ink they can see. In my experience, victims are just happy to get help.’
With 90 per cent of his body tattooed, Andreas says he likes to test his limits, adding: ‘I’m a person who doesn’t think about what could happen if I do something, I tend to just do it, what’s the worst that could happen?
The inked up individual said: ‘I am not treated any differently during a rescue and I think it is because of the uniform and helmet’
The pastry chef is pictured here before his ink transformation, which he says happened over time
‘I have always felt like a normal guy, before and even now it is normal for me, my tattoos, piercings and mods, belong now to me, I can’t imagine life without them.’
Andreas has many body modifications and it has not always been a painless process.
Some of his modifications can be a little unsettling, even to those closest to him.
He said: ‘Oddly the eyeball tattoos were very easy for me during the procedure. That wasn’t painful at all, it’s more unpleasant for a few days after.
‘The tongue split was really rough, because of the swelling. It’s not possible to eat or drink anything for about three days, it is difficult even to speak.
With 90 per cent of his body tattooed, Andreas says he likes to test his limits. Pictured: Andreas partaking in a martial art
Andreas said that he could not eat or speak for three days after his tongue split and that it’s difficult to speak
Andreas said: ‘My mum and dad were never happy about it, but they accepted me and my decision to do it’
‘I think that my face tattoo and my eyeball tattoos are probably the ones I get most reaction to.
‘My face tattoo is very polarising usually the first moment you meet me, people are surprised. As soon as they know me better they are more fascinated and open to asking questions about it.
‘My eyeball tattoos are very special. Often I hear ‘I like it really, I would never dare to do it, but I really like it’.
‘They are unique because the first time they see there is something different about me isn’t always straight away, some people don’t catch my inked eyes.
He said: ‘My face tattoo is very polarising usually the first moment you meet me, people are surprised’
The voluntary firefighter says he is planning on getting six more piercings and already has ten
Andreas opted for a dolphin tattoo on his right upper arm as his first mod. He says his loves this tattoo and would ‘do it again every time’
Andreas said: ‘My mum died of cancer, and we never had a real discussion about it. To this day I am troubled by that’
He said: ‘Oddly the eyeball tattoos were very easy for me during the procedure. That wasn’t painful at all, it’s more unpleasant for a few days after’
Speaking about civilian’s reactions to his tattoo when he is on shift as a firefighter, he said: ‘I think in a scary situation it is very easy for them to overlook any of my ink they can see’. pictured: Andreas on a fire training exercise
‘You see me now and my ink, piercings or modifications all at once. But for my parent’s it was piece by piece.
‘My mum and dad were never happy about it, but they accepted me and my decision to do it.
‘However, my face tattoo was difficult for both of them to understand. My mum died of cancer, and we never had a real discussion about it. To this day I am troubled by that.
‘My dad has accepted me, he also sees that I live my life, I have a job and am a member of the community.’
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