A German man's quest to resemble a skull led him to surgically remove his ears. His future project is to tattoo his eyeballs and chop the tip of his nose, according to reports.
Sandro, popularly known as Mr Skull Face on social media, spent over US$8,000 to modify his body – including splitting his tongue in half, tattoos all over his body, piercings on the nose, around the lips and forehead.
The 39-year-old native of Finsterwalde, a town in north-eastern Germany, was first fascinated with body modifications in 2007 after seeing a person on television who had spikes implanted in head.
Thirteen years later, Sandro now boasts of 17 body modifications, which allowed him to have implants on his forehead, forearm, the back of the hand. He also underwent surgery to place a payment chip under the skin on his wrist. Sandro kept his surgically removed ears in a bottle of solution. He said his friends insisted him not get the body modifications done, but he went ahead and did so because he liked to "go his own way." According to Sandro, body modifications boosted his confidence.
"If people stare I really don't care. If someone says something like 'you are a sick old man' then I will answer with 'thank you for the compliment.' Negative comments go in one side and out the other. It has strengthened my self-confidence above all," Sandro told the Sun.
While the modifications may have improved Sandro's confidence, his rather unconventional appearance made him difficult to find a job and a romantic relationship. He stressed that he should be accepted not for his appearance but for the values he held.
"My transformation has influenced my life, but I don't care. I should be accepted as a person, and above all because of my inner values. My appearance has had a huge impact on my chances of getting a job because a lot of companies are still very conservative and prefer to go with the flow," he told the British tabloid. "I think that it has of course had an effect on me finding a relationship, as it scares most people off, but of course, many people also find it very interesting."
The apprehensions from the society have not stopped Sandro from achieving his quest to appear more like a skull. He is planning to get his eyeballs tattooed and chop the tip of his nose. However, he had a word of advice for people who wanted to dive in the world of body modifications and surgery.
"If you're a beginner, do long and thorough research, think carefully about everything and take your time," he said, adding that people should not get modifications done just to look cool. "It has to come from the heart and be for yourself."
