Woman hits back as she is accused of trying to ‘change race’ after tattooing 90% of body

A woman who has been accused of 'trying to change her race' by tattooing almost all of her body has hit back at her critics.

Finding an un-inked spot on Mariana Knapitsch would be quite a difficult task, given that 90 percent of her is adorned in artwork.

The Austrian woman got her first inking from her best friend, who at the time was an aspiring tattoo artist, when she was just 15 years old.

She allowed her pal to use her skin as a sketchpad of sorts over the following years, so Mariana acquired a variety of designs on her arms and legs.

But, like a lot of people, she ended up coming to regret some of her inkings as she grew older.

Explaining that the body art 'didn't fit' her 'vision' any longer, Mariana said she then decided it was time to get rid of them.

90 percent of Mariana Knapitsch's body is covered in ink (Facebook/Mariana Knapitsch)

Although some people opt for the painful process of laser removal, like comedian Pete Davidson, Mariana instead chose to black them out.

Now, the social media star's arms, a big chunk of her legs and a portion of her chest are blacked out with ink.

"My body is completely covered except for my face, head, soles of my feet, breasts and private parts," she told the Daily Mail.

"Next steps are my right armpit, right palm, and left fingers."

A host of famous faces have hopped on this blackout tattoo trend too, such as former LA Ink star Kat Von D and rapper Machine Gun Kelly.

Speaking about the rise of the inkings, tattoo artist Maxime Buchi previously told the Guardian: "Tattooists and customers have started to see how limited traditional cover-ups are in terms of aesthetic results.

"You will always see there is something underneath - they can be okay, at best, in my opinion. I recommend blackouts instead, they always work very well.

"We are in a sort of golden age of tattooing; the average customer is now fairly educated about tattoos, and so more people go for these extreme forms.

"The internet, and Instagram, has also completely changed the tattoo industry over the past five or six years."

The Austrian woman explained she got blackout tattoos to cover up designs she no longer liked (Getty Stock Image)

Despite thousands of people also sporting similar tattoos to Mariana, she claims to have been targeted by a lot of trolls online over her 'extreme look'.

The influencer said that a host of people on social media have sent her messages accusing her of 'trying to change her skin colour' with the blackout tattoos.

"My response is always depending on the situation," Mariana said of how she deals with critical comments. "Most times I just say nothing, as it makes no sense discussing with dumb people.

"When they have the need to discriminate others for their looks, they can't be empathic, good people in my opinion. So they are punished enough with living like this."

She insisted the inspiration for her blackout tattoos is merely her love for all things 'gothic', while pointing out she used to express her personality as a teen by dyeing her hair 'different colours every week'.

"When someone says I want to be born as a black person, I really don't know what to say," Mariana went on. "I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings as this topic is very sensitive.

"I always loved to express myself with piercings, hair colours, and clothing."

Mariana said she 'can not go anywhere where [people] don't stare' (Facebook/Mariana Knapitsch)

Mariana claimed she doesn't get much of a better reception in public either, as strangers aren't shy about sharing their distaste for her bold tattoos.

She said she 'can not go anywhere where [people] don't stare', claiming that a man told her she was 'so disgusting' while previously holidaying in Croatia because of her inkings.

"I turned around looked at him, and told him that I can understand what he said and that it's my body and my choice," the tattoo lover said.

"He laughed and it was very uncomfortable. I am always confronted with stuff like this, sadly."

Mariana also revealed that some of her former pals have turned their backs on her because of her appearance, saying: "Many old friends told me during my transformation that this is not me. I haven't talked to them since.

"I feel more myself than ever before. My family is very cool about it... I am the only tattooed one in our family but they stand behind me. I am very grateful for that."

In the future, she wants to 'start all over' again and cover her blackout tattoos with white ink to 'create a completely new bodysuit'.