Lethbridge man sharing journey of a life in ink

By Lethbridge Herald on January 17, 2025.

Herald photo by Remy, as he goes on social media, has inspired many around the world by sharing his ink journey and says being able to inspire others is the biggest compliment he could ever receive. Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – apulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Many believe tattoos are forever and in a way they are correct. But that doesn’t mean tattoos cannot be re-worked or covered up, as a Lethbridge man has proven multiple times to a vast audience. 

Remy, as he is known on social media platforms, has been sharing his ink journey for many years. He says he is unsure of how much of his body is covered, but believes it to be somewhere around 95 percent. 

“It’s really hard to say because I’ve been at the same point of coverage for close to 15 years. I’m not covering more space, I am done. For example, my face isn’t fully covered and that will never change,” says Remy.

He says some people on social media have made comments like “oh you missed a spot” or have asked when he will finish his face tattoos, but he has a good reason not to. 

“I’ve refined and I’ve changed my face tattoos a lot. Probably over 100 hours on my face and I still don’t have a full-face tattoo because that’s just something I don’t want to do. I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror and still see me and if I fully covered my face, I feel like I won’t see myself anymore,” says Remy. 

He adds that another reason is because once you tattoo your face, everything you wear looks different. And is also the first thing people see and that could change the way they approach you, even though that is not something he has ever worried about. 

Instead of adding any extra coverage, Remy has been “layering” as he has blacked out his body to cover tattoos up and start from “scratch” in a matter of speaking. Even though many thought it was impossible. 

“For me it’s been something I have always enjoyed. I like having the power to re-invent myself, to customize my body however I want,” says Remy.  “I have had crazy hair styles including a two feet (standing up) mohawk, multiple colours on my hair, dreadlocks, a reverse mohawk, multiple piercings and also multiple body suits as some areas of my body have been blacked out and re-worked.” 

It all began at the age of five years old, when Remy had his first ear piercing done back in the early 90s, while bonding with his step father who also pierced his ear at the time. 

“Someone asked me online how I looked like before and I literally had to look for a picture of me at four years old, because that was the only time I didn’t have something on me,” says Remy. 

With his piercings, Remy says he began to stretch them out to modify his ears, his nose and other parts of his body, but slowly removed a few of them when he began his ink journey in 2006. 

“My first tattoo was done by Rick, one of the artist that works here at Rocky Mountain tattoo now, and he has been tattooing me ever since. We have a weekly session now that we work together,” says Remy. 

He says he may consider himself addicted to getting tattoos at this point, but believes it to be a positive thing. 

“I don’t think every addiction is bad, it’s been great for me because it’s been a great creative outlet. And at times in my life, it’s been therapeutic as well,” says Remy.

He shares that he has gone through some struggles in his life and during those times he was getting tattooed more. 

“I feel like there’s some kind of a cathartic release that happens and that’s not something that you can always get from just talking to someone. I would say I’ve learned more about myself through getting tattooed than almost everything else,” says Remy. 

He explains that there have been moments that he is getting parts of his body blacked out, where he has had to go to places he didn’t know existed mentally. 

“You find that there’s no end to your will to survive if you really need to, and I feel like a lot of people never really have to deal with anything like that. But I believe there’s something to be found in that extreme physical exertion that feels dangerous and scary,” says Remy. 

He says he believes a lot of people like getting tattooed because it gives them a safe simulated version of that feeling. 

“You’re not going to die from this, but it’s going to push your limits. And I think some people like that more than others,” says Remy. 

In his experience Remy says there are only a few spots on his body that he has not particularly enjoyed getting ink on, but as with everything else in life, have provided him with a story to tell and memories to keep. 

Some of those memories and stories have reached people all around the world thanks to his vast social media presence. 

“I had 1.2 million followers on TikTok and 220,000 on Instagram, but both of those accounts were removed after being mass reported by people who don’t like me. Currently, I have 120,000 on Instagram and I’ve got a YouTube with around 30,000 and my new TikTok is only at 30,000 followers,” says Remy. 

He says it is great to have a following because many have sent him messages that include pictures of their ink journey thanking him for the inspiration, including tattoo artists that have taken up the challenge of blacking out now that they have seen it work on him. 

“Everyday I hear from people who have been inspired by me for all kinds of reasons, for piercing stuff, but more particularly the colour on black stuff there. We do a YouTube show and I have literally had thousands of people send me their blackouts,” says Remy. 

He says thanks to his following, many times people have come into Lethbridge to be able to get work done at the shop he manages. 

“With the blackout I have showed people that there’s a life on the other side of it and you could start over. We have people that fly into this shop to get those styles of tattoos, because a lot of artists won’t do it,” says Remy. 

He says that because people have seen blackout work on him, they have been inspired by it and it has created a ripple effect in the tattooing community.

“It’s nice to be able to do something good for the community with something that you just enjoy anyway. It’s the highest compliment to do what you love and you’ve always enjoyed and to have people being inspired by it,” says Remy.