A Canadian man has become an online sensation for slowly but surely tattooing his entire body blue.
Donnie Snider, 26 from Scarborough, Ontario, lives - by his own account - in a 'clapped-out transit bus' and makes his living selling earrings.
After a handful of abortive early tattoo attempts, his sister inked up a part of his leg and foot in a turquoise colour in 2017, and created Donnie's life's work.
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He explained: "Questions from strangers about my genitals have increased by like 10,000 percent. To be honest, I just like the look of it. I thought it would be neat. It's definitely striking, and I think it's a beautiful colour."
Donnie shares his progress with thousands of followers on his Instagram page @trism_driver.
Some traditionalists in the tattoo world are annoyed by the plainness and simplicity of the design, but that's not a problem for Donnie.
Donnie continued: "I like the clean look - unladen by symbols. There's a whimsical element. I thought I'd do my part to keep things interesting, maybe make someone smile. You've only got one life - might as well have some fun, eh?
"Over several years I had been isolating myself, and making efforts to tone down my less-than-pragmatic impulses, out of fear and lack of confidence - and I was extremely miserable.
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"After going in circles for far too long, I decided to quit hiding, break myself out of stagnation and remake my life as I'd like it to be, and redirect it to the pursuit a life I'd actually be happy to live."
And the reactions from strangers continue to spur Donnie on, as he explained: "I get all kinds of comments and reactions when I'm out. Some people love the tattoo, others are clearly not thrilled about it. The questions are endless, and many people are very curious - I don't blame them, of course.
"I've had many bizarre interactions, as you can probably imagine - I get surprised looks, unblinking stares, snarky comments, interesting comments, compliments, light-hearted jokes, mean-spirited jokes, stupid questions, odd questions, invasive questions.
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"Whispers, smiles, double-takes, outright laughing, flirting, gasps, eye rolls, thumbs up, free beers, looks of disgust, strange propositions, chuckling, handshakes, people pulling at my clothes to peek underneath, high fives, looks of horror.
"Hugs, honking, shouting from cars, people asking to take pictures with me, people taking videos without asking, fist bumps, and even a couple people licking their thumbs and trying to rub the tattoo off." You get the gist.
Though Donnie is insulted from time to time, he doesn't let any negativity get him down: "Most insults are unimaginative and predictable. In fact, most can be lumped together in the category of 'unflattering comparisons to other things that are blue'."
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Apparently his friends barely mention the tattoo - as they don't really notice them any more - but his mother took longer to come around to her blue son.
Donnie said: "Mum was definitely annoyed at first. But she quickly accepted blue skin as the new normal. I feel a renewed optimism about the feasibility of pursuing wild dreams.
"I feel as if I'm slowly becoming re-energised after a protracted period of stagnation. I might become a trillionaire, or move to Mars. Or just carry on selling earrings and get my bus fixed up."
Featured Image Credit: Jam PressTopics: Community, Weird, Tattoo