French teacher Freaky Hoody tattoos eyeballs black
Eight years ago he had no visible tattoos, but he now looks distinctly unrecognisable as he runs out of places to ink.
A primary school teacher who is tattooed from head to toe – even his eyeballs – says he won’t stop until ink covers 100 per cent of his body.
Sylvain Helaine, known as Freaky Hoody, admits some kids in his classes are scared of his extreme look but they quickly get used to it.
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Sylvain, 35, is supply teacher in Paris and also works as a model and comedian.
He did not get his first tattoo until he was 27 and living in London, where he says he was inspired by body modification.
After starting with a simple sleeve, he spent eight years and $A63,000 getting more ink all over on his torso, limbs and face with a snake travelling down his skull.
He also has tatts on his palms, the soles of his feet, his genitalia and even gums and tongue.
Two years ago he admitted he was unsure about having his eyeballs tattooed in case he went blind.
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But new pictures show he has taken the plunge, and the whites of his eyes are now a spooky black.
Sylvain says, “I will never stop getting tattoos. If you love it you don’t count the money.
“One day I will end up fully covered in black ink.
“I will keep covering myself layer after layer, ending up black – not necessarily because I want to but because the more you cover the darker you get.
“When you’re passionate about something, it is never too much – as long as it doesn’t hurt my health, I’ll keep going for ever.”
Sylvain worked as a martial arts coach before turning to teaching 12 years ago.
‘JUST A REGULAR GUY’
As a supply teacher, he often works in primary schools where people have not met him before – which can raise some eyebrows.
He says: “When parents don’t recognise me, they are sceptical because they’d see me – a male teacher covered in tattoos on the playground – and it’s weird for them.
“Sometimes an old grandmother will see me in the playground and call my boss to say, ‘Hey, who was that weird guy around the children?’
“But as soon as they see I’m an intelligent teacher they are OK.
“I’m just a regular guy, a schoolteacher – once they realise they should never judge a book by its cover, everything goes smoothly.”
Perhaps surprisingly, he says the young children are more comfortable than the grown-ups with his striking appearance.
He says: “Some of the children are afraid when they see me, usually when they are younger, but it goes away really fast and after a couple of minutes they are fine.
“They are more surprised because I’m a male teacher – not because of the tattoos.”
Despite the initial reactions to his appearance, teaching gives Sylvain a deep sense of fulfilment.
He says: “What I like most about it is you can mould these young minds – you can try to make them a better person and help them to make the world a better place.”
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
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