A British model is sporting a unique look after embracing body art and getting a total of more than 150 tattoos.
Sammy Farrow, 24, has so far gained 23 face tattoos and more than 127 elsewhere on his body.
The fashion retail worker, from Essex, became interested in body art after his 18th birthday and went on to surprise his parents after turning the ink to his face.
“It was obviously a shock for them. I didn’t let my dad see until I had about four or five face tattoos," he told the Daily Star.
Despite being stared at in the street, Sammy said he has "blossomed and become so much more confident in all aspects" since having face tattoos.
Sharing throwback photographs of himself, he told how the old Sammy would be "proud and inspired" of his new look.
He added: “When I see photos of myself without face tattoos I see a boy who wasn’t quite himself, someone who was shy, nervous and hiding."
Friends told Sammy, who now lives in Cambridgeshire, he did not look "even slightly right" when he posted photographs of his bare face.
Some even went so far as to say that they could not "bear to look at the photo" as it removed a part of the person.
Sammy got his first face tattoo at the age of 21 and said his biggest concern was showing his mum and dad.
He showed his parents by taking a selfie beneath the Christmas lights at Oxford Circus without acknowledging the tattoos.
Despite the initial shock, he said his parents have become more accepting and see through the general stereotype.
They have since gone on to have body tattoos themselves and do not see it as a bad thing, he explained.
Sammy tends to choose well-meaning tattoos with the word 'gentle' on one side of his face and the word 'lover' under his eye.
Most face tattoos he sees online are aggressive including dagger drawings and 'death' mottos.
He chose his 'gentle' tattoo to express who he is, but is often judged by strangers despite his more welcoming designs.
People stare when he walks into shops but he said it no longer bothers him as it must be interesting and unusual for many.
But he is left frustrated by shop security guards and online trolls that judge him without knowing him.
“That’s the most annoying thing but you just can’t let it bug you,” Sammy said.
The tattoo fanatic said he wished people would try to see the person he is rather than drawing negative assumptions based on stereotypes.
Sammy added: “A tattoo doesn’t change a person, you can get a tattoo and stay the same. You don’t instantly become a bad person just because you have a tattoo."
