A tattoo enthusiast has laid claim to being the ‘most modified transsexual in the world’.
Eva Tiamat Medusa, from Bruni, Texas has spent more than $60,000 (£42,000) to resemble a dragon – complete with a forked tongue, tattooed scales and eight ‘horns’ on her head.
In 1997, Eva was living as a man and working as a vice president for one of America’s leading banks, but a HIV diagnosis changed Eva’s – named Richard Hernandez at the time – life course, and she was determined ‘not to die a human’.
Leaving the corporate world behind, Eva began morphing into the reptilian form she’d always longed to have, claiming that after being abandoned by her parents at the age of five, she was ‘born again’ under the care of the western diamondback rattlesnake.
The now 56-year-old began her transformation with a series of scale tattoos before later having her nose re-shaped, ears removed and the whites of her eyes permanently stained green – all costing an estimated $60,000 (£42,000).
‘Dragon lady’: Born Richard Hernandez, Eva Tiamat Medusa, from Texas, has spent more than $60,000 (£42,000) on her extreme transformation
Now the tattoo enthusiast claims to be the ‘most modified transsexual in the world’
Eva, seen while still living as a man in 1998 and before embarking on her extreme makeover, still has a further $40,000 worth of procedures in mind
But with a further $40,000 (£28,000) worth of modifications still planned, Eva opened up about her ‘trans-speciesism’ to The Wizard of Odd TV in the hope that it will break down the boundaries for others like her.
Eva said: ‘For me, my transformation is the greatest journey of my life.
‘There are profound reasons and deep meanings about my transformation and why I’m doing it.
‘I have two mothers: One is my original birth mother and my second birth is to my reptilian parents, which are the rattlesnakes.
‘I hope that my story will help other people – not only those who have gone through hard times, but also people who have lost hope.
‘I myself know what it’s like to be at that point. Before my transformation I was vice president of one of the largest banks in the U.S. and I left when because I became HIV positive and feared I was going to die.
Eva says it was learning she was HIV positive that altered the path of her life
After living as a gay man for 53 years, Eva now lives as a transsexual woman
‘My big thing though was I didn’t want to die in this world looking like a human.
‘As much awesomeness and goodness there is in humans, compared to other species they are the most destructive and hateful.
‘I decided at that time, that it was time for a change in my life, so I wanted to look like something that wasn’t human.
‘I have eight horns on my forehead; I have had my ears removed; my nose reshaped; most of my teeth removed; I’ve had the white-part of my eyes stained; my tongue bifurcated; my whole face is tattooed and I’ve had some scarification and branding on my chest and wrist.
Eva has had her nose re-shaped, teeth removed, her tongue bifurcated for a fork effect – and even had the whites of her eyes stained
The colourful tattoos that cover her body are the least extreme element of her transformation
Eva says she is morphing, over time, into the ‘reptilian form’ she has always longed for
The Texan is a fan of body art and extreme piercings – she has several in her face alone
Eva says her ‘metamorphosis’ is the ‘reason why I get up every day and live’
‘I would like for there to be an open dialogue about the world of body modification and understand what it was like to live as a gay-man for 53-years and now as a transsexual woman.
‘There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what it means to be transsexual and then further than that – something that I’m introducing – the idea of trans-speciesism.
‘I consider myself not just to be human anymore; I’m human and reptilian.
‘My greatest desire in life is to continue my body modification until my metamorphosis is complete.
‘This is what drives me – this is the reason why I get up every day and live.’
According to Eva, who was born a man, she was abandoned by her parents at five, and ‘born again’ under the care of a rattlesnake
Eva has had scales tattooed onto her own skin to enhance the reptilian effect of her look
Having already spent upwards of $60,000 on her ‘metamorphosis’, Eva plans to undergo several thousand dollars worth of additional procedures