Leandro de Souza, recognized as Brazil’s most tattooed man, has embarked on a significant and painful journey to erase the extensive tattoos that cover 95 percent of his body. The 35-year-old photographer from the Brazilian border city of Bagé has already completed two laser removal sessions as part of his quest to remove over two decades worth of ink.
De Souza made the decision to remove more than 170 tattoos after embracing evangelical Christianity. Reflecting on his past, he shared with Brazilian news outlet G1, “I did the first one when I was 13. The first ones were very much about the idolatry of the time.” His tattoos were inspired by popular rock bands of that era, including Nirvana, Guns N’ Roses, and Metallica.
The path to this transformation was not straightforward. De Souza’s life took a downturn following his divorce ten years ago from his wife, with whom he has a 10-year-old son. During a challenging nine-year period, he experimented with cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, and alcohol. “I couldn’t stand the life I was living anymore,” he admitted. “I was an attraction at (events I attended) and it felt like a circus animal.”
A pivotal change occurred when de Souza visited a shelter and was introduced to evangelicalism. He recounted, “The first step in everything in life is to accept that you can’t do it alone, that you are an addict, that you are a drug addict. And I managed to do that, I entered the municipal shelter in Bagé. Within a week, there was a lady who referred me and started to evangelize me.”
De Souza’s tattoo removal journey is ongoing, with six more sessions scheduled every three months, each lasting between 30 to 40 minutes. “It hurts a lot more than doing it,” he said. “It hurts three times more than doing it. Even with anaesthesia, the process is very painful.”
