That night, Mark Cropp, a young man from New Zealand serving a two-year, three-month term for an unsuccessful drug transaction, made a choice that would alter the course of his whole life.
He and his brother were so inebriated from producing their booze from fermented apples, bread, and sugar that they decided to get Mark’s face tattooed. They melted play knives, forks, and toothpaste to make the ink.
Unfortunately, by the end of the night, Mark’s whole face—including his lower cheek and jaw—was covered with tattoos that said “Devast8.”
This misguided decision had a detrimental effect on his life once he was released from prison. To support his wife and children, he was determined to start again and find employment. In addition to wishing to leave behind his old lifestyle and integrate into society properly, he discovered that this was far more difficult than he had anticipated.
Despite Mark’s extensive professional experience, his huge facial tattoos—rather than his criminal record—made him unhireable. In an interview with Daily Mail Australia, this dejected guy disclosed the history behind his tattoo.
You know that I used to contaminate everything I came into contact with for a long time. He proclaimed, “I would destroy everyone I came in contact with or came close to.”
“Whenever I did or said something that disappointed them, they would always say, ‘That’s awful.'” I knew as soon as I got started that I had to finish. The outline was still there when I should have quit, to be honest. I looked like this before I even realized it. It was swollen, like a red pumpkin,” he went on.
He searched for experts who might help him erase the awful “art” from his face, ready to go to any lengths to do so, but no one was ready to lend a hand. Mark decided not to even contemplate laser treatment since the cost was simply too high, so he turned to social media users.
Mark begged for a job and the chance to start again on Facebook by sharing a photo of his tattoo.
The level of attention his post garnered proved the power of the Internet. After being uploaded several times, his request gained momentum and caught the attention of the staff at Sacred Tattoo, an Auckland tattoo parlor.
Thankfully, they showed their compassion once again by offering to remove his tattoo for free, proving that they are people who care about the community.
Mark was paid $22 per hour for his work at PR Contracting, a scaffolding firm, after getting his tattoos erased.
