A body-modification addict claims that he’s “harassed” in the street after having both his nose and nipples removed in the name of body art.
“People love hating anything different,” Odin, who goes by his first name only, told Jam Press of the reaction to his extreme transformation.
Over the past 11 years, the 32-year-old Californian has spent $8,000 on body modifications, including ribbed genital implants, an intentionally branded chest, and ink everywhere from his ribs to his eyeballs — some of which he did himself.
“I also tattooed my own chest, my own eyes, my gums, and I tattooed my face some, too,” recalled Odin, who shares videos of his artistic self-mutilation to his over 3,300 followers on Instagram.
His body isn’t a temple, it’s the Sistine Chapel.
Odin’s latest cosmetic endeavors have included ditching his nipples and removing the top of his nose as part of a septril piercing, which cost him only around $80 at the time.
He started off small with a 4-millimeter portal, before widening it via a biopsy operation like a human hole puncher.
“I have been stretching it bigger for the last eight years or so,” explained the body-art enthusiast, who now boasts a 19-millimeter-wide nasal crater reminiscent of something out of “The Walking Dead.”
Odin frequently plugs the perforation with various pieces of jewelry, on which he’s spent between $700 and $1,000.
The serial body-modifier explained that he embarked on this journey out of his “appreciation for tribal history, culture and art.”
“I think my body is a vessel for art and I think changing how I’m seen is part of that practice,” he told Jam Press.
“My mother was a museum curator when I was a child, and I found what I have learned to be very influential in my philosophies, and in everything I do and see in this world.”
This meaning didn’t translate for gawkers, who frequently make fun of Odin’s unique appearance.
“I’ve had people harass me on the street,” lamented the tat addict. “I don’t ever focus on it though. I just walk by any strangers acting like animals.”
The trolls have taken potshots at Odin’s septril piercing.
“I could imagine a piercing like this would lead to nasal sinus infections,” criticized one. “With the internal structure exposed.”
Another person wrote, “Stopp im gunna pukke. U need to just settle down OK?”
And it’s not just strangers trolling his countenance. “My family is not terribly fond of what I’ve done to my appearance,” Odin said.
Despite their apparent disgust, however, he says he’s still invited to holiday dinners and regularly converses with relatives.
“We are on good terms despite disagreements,” declared Odin, claiming that, “Many of my friends usually seem a little proud to be friends with me, like I’m a one-of-a-kind person to know.”
And the prolific piercer says he has no plans to slow his body-modification journey.
In the future, Odin plans to have his ears pointed and his naval removed as part of his ongoing metamorphosis.
Unfortunately, the negative effects of extreme body modification can go beyond simply attracting stares in public.
Earlier this month, a woman with 800 tattoos claimed that she has struggled to find gainful employment because bosses cast judgment on her inked-up appearance.
