This is the most painful tattoo in the world
It could be argued that it is now more common to have a tattoo than to not have a tattoo. Everywhere you look, you are likely to see someone with some form of body art, whether it's a swallow, a skull or something a bit less common. Such is the frequency that people are now getting inked, the next generation of teachers and politicians will - quite literally - be a colorful bunch.
Whatever your reason for getting a tattoo - whether its to commemorate a loved or simply to achieve a certain aesthetic - one thing that is undeniable, is that tattoos hurt.
Having gone under the needle myself, I can comfortably tell you that tattoos are a painful thing to endure. While some are more painful than others, all tattoos have an element of pain to them. However, while mine may have simply felt like someone was continuously pinching me my arm to an annoying degree, they fail to compare to the following.
The Brutal Black Project claim that their tattoos are the most painful in the world. These body art fanatics get tatted with dense blocks of black ink in order to see how much pain they can withstand.
"If you want a brutal-looking tattoo, there is only one way to get it: brutally," Cammy Stewart, one of three Brutal Black Project tattooists, says. "If you want to look brutal, you have to go through the process."
The group's look is pretty extreme, with it being dark and very in-your-face. The process is done free of charge for those who can endure it and is often accompanied by screams of pain, splashes of ink and a constant stream of blood.
Despite the often graphic scenes, Stewart insists that he and his collaborators are not sadistic. "If they’re pleading, you stop," he says. "It's not forced upon them."
Regardless, the process is still about being able to withstand extreme amounts of pain, rather than walking away with a pretty floral design or a butterfly. As Stewart puts it, "This is a big 'f - - k you' to what most people believe tattooing to be. The marks left by the tattoo are only a reminder of what you learned about yourself during the process."
So far, there have only been three people who have been able to withstand the excessive amounts of pain, but the artists have loved every moment. 3Kreuze, one of the artists behind the group, says that "seeing the pain in their eyes, the shaking from their bodies and the mess, it makes me proud that I’m reaching goals together with my clients."
While these tattoos undoubtedly sound frightening and painful, it's up to the customers to decide what they want to do with their bodies. It may not be to everyone's taste, but if it's not harming anybody, who are we to judge?