‘Britain’s most tattooed man’ quits ink to pay mortgage and ditches ‘risky’ arm implants

‘Britain’s most tattoed man’ has quit his ink addiction to pay £36,000 off his mortgage.

King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-ite – formerly known as Mathew Whelan, and goes by Body Art for short – is known for his heavily tattooed look, but said last year he would be pressing pause on getting any more ink done as he wanted to use his money to pay his mortgage instead.

Now, one year later, the 44-year-old man has managed to pay off a whopping £36,000 from his £66,000 mortgage and says he’s on track to being mortgage-free within three years.

He explained: “My rate is jumping by quite a lot soon, but I’m on course within my budget. I’m coming off a fixed rate like so many other people, but hopefully, I’ll be able to get this fixed again in future – thanks Conservatives for crashing the economy – roll on the general election.

“I’m trying to stay reserved and disciplined to my budget plan so I can get this paid off. I want to be mortgage-free in the next three years, and I’ll be happy to have that out of the way and done. It’s life, and priorities change, so when it’s paid, an ink session will feel much more special.”

Body Art has also decided to remove his “risky” arm implants, as his skin is now so thin he’s worried it could tear and leave him with a nasty injury. The man previously endured a “medical situation” in which he almost lost his arm as a result of an implant in his hand, and wants to avoid that happening again.

He added: “Unfortunately, the skin has worn thin on one side and I’m concerned it could tear. I don’t want to be in a medical situation again like I was with my knuckle duster implant a few years ago. Again, the skin tore, but then it began rotting and filling with plasma which needed to be drained multiple times.

“I still have a scar and it’s slightly deformed, but this was removed in time before I was at serious risk of blood poisoning. I can’t have that happen again, as it almost cost me my arm, and this was going a similar way – so I’ve made the tough choice to remove this ‘crown’ implant too before it’s too late.

“Also people are amazed and shocked when they see my implants and think they have the automatic right to touch it. It’s really not cool – and it’s something I won’t miss when it’s gone.”

Body Art claims he’s spent 1,500 hours getting tattooed, and set the record in 2016 when he had 36 tattoo artists work on his body at once. Since his interest in body modifications sparked at the age of just nine, he has had his eyes stained black, his nipples removed and his ears shaped.

His most recent modification was having his name legally changed, which has helped him complete his goal. He said: “I am living an abbreviation of my name, B Art, as I’m being art in my life no matter what others say or think of my tattoos.

“My last inking was the start of blackout style and I don’t intend on doing much of this, but tattooing is a personal art collection for me. I want to be able to evolve and change them if I want to and then, I’ll get blackout, and put another ink over the top to achieve my end goal.”

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