A blind man with tattooed black eyeballs has revealed his extreme body mods turned into a nightmare after a metal implant in his head became so infected it had to be surgically removed.
Juliusz, who goes by InkedJuliusz online, has transformed his appearance with black eyeball tattoos, a split tongue, extensive inkings and transdermal metal implants in his head.
But while the 27-year-old says many of his body modifications helped him reclaim his identity after losing his sight, he now admits the metal implants have become a painful regret.
One became so badly infected that pus formed around it and doctors had to remove it surgically.
“My eyeball tattoos, my split tongue, and most of my tattoos, I don’t regret them at all,” Juliusz, from Kreis Mettmann, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, told Need To Know.
“They were conscious decisions, made after I had already lost my sight, and they helped me reclaim a sense of control and identity that the disease had stripped from me.
“The transdermal implants, the metal pieces on my head, are a different story.
“I didn’t regret getting them at the time, but they now cause frequent inflammation and pain.
“One of them had to be surgically removed, because the infection became so severe that pus encapsulated around it and it could no longer be managed conservatively.
“Honestly, I would now prefer to have all of them taken out.”
Juliusz also admits he wishes he had taken more time planning his facial tattoos.
He said: “As for my face tattoos, I wish I had thought everything through more carefully from the start.
“Back then, my motto was essentially ‘full coverage as fast as possible,’ and in retrospect that was a mistake.
“Now I have a bit of a patchwork look on my face rather than one cohesive design.
“I would have much preferred a proper, coherent zombie or monster aesthetic from the beginning.
“I’ve already discussed with my tattoo artist the idea of lasering the tribal parts lighter so we can cover them with something better.
“So the overall lesson, the one I would pass on, is that I should have gone slower, and thought longer, instead of rushing.”
Juliusz is blind as a result of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1), a genetic condition that caused tumours to grow along his optic nerves.
Juliusz’s removed metal implants. (Jam Press/@inkedjuliusz_)
He says his eyeball tattoos are frequently blamed for his blindness despite being done only after he had already lost his sight.
The content creator is now urging anyone considering extreme body modification to think carefully before going ahead.
He said: “Think extremely carefully and that goes double for eyeball tattoos.
“Even though in my case the blindness was caused by optic gliomas from NF1 and not by the tattoos, scleral tattooing genuinely is an extremely dangerous, irreversible procedure that can lead to blindness.
“If you’re considering eye tattoos, ask at least ten different people who have already had it done.
“Find out who tattooed them, and what their experience was actually like.
“The more people you ask, the better.
“Ten is the absolute minimum.
“Only then should you even begin to decide.
“he same applies to face tattoos.
“Think very, very carefully.
“They are permanent and they are highly visible, and they will change how the world treats you for the rest of your life.”
Juliusz hopes sharing his story will help others understand the risks before making irreversible changes.
He added: “Extreme body modification should never be done impulsively, and never as a way to escape something.
“Research it thoroughly, talk to many experienced people, be brutally honest with yourself about why you actually want it, and about whether you can live with the consequences for the rest of your life.
“If you can’t answer those questions honestly, you’re not ready.”
