A primary school teacher revealed he even had his nipples removed and eyeballs tattooed
Sylvain Helaine is the most tattooed teacher(Image: ITV)
A primary school teacher has described the lengths he’s gone to in order to get more tattoos.
Sylvain Helaine has been working in classrooms in both the UK and his native France for nearly two decades. However, he has revealed that he began a new, unique journey in 2012, when he was 27.
Back then, he got his first tattoo. Now, aged 40, he is the most tattooed teacher. Sylvain made a special appearance on This Morning, in a tell-all chat with hosts Dermot O’Leary and Sian Welby.
The ITV presenters opened the segment by describing what comes to mind when they think of their own primary school teachers. Sylvain told them he was working in Britain when he saw someone with a full sleeve, which opened his eyes and led him to get an arm tattoo of his own.
He quickly became increasingly dedicated to getting more. Sylvain confessed that he always knew he wanted to be ‘fully covered’. Asked about how it has impacted his work, he told them: “During the first day [of school], because if I do something good, people will say, ‘Oh, obviously he’s the best, we were about to see that’. But if I do something a little bad, they will think that I’m awful because of my appearance.”
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As they asked about what kind of reactions Sylvain receives in his line of work, he revealed that he had previously said: “It always takes two minutes for children to accept me, two hours for the parents, and two days for grandparents. So it just takes a little bit of time.”
Sylvain went on to reveal that he doesn’t actually talk about his tattoos while at work. He revealed: “I don’t talk about my tattoos and my appearance at all when we are in the classroom. We just work, we take out our exercise book, write out the date, and it goes like that. I’m really serious. But if they have some questions to ask me, they can wait for the playground, for example.”
The teacher’s tattoo journey is far from over, however. He shared that he intends to go over some of his existing ink on most of his body again.
Sian pointed out that the whites of his eyes have also been completely covered with black ink. He also had his nipples and belly button removed.
His reason was to have a smoother skin surface. to make the tattooing process easier and get more. Other places he has been tattooed include his tongue, and underneath his nails on both his hands and feet.
However, when asked if he was ‘addicted’ to getting them, he shared that he actually can’t stand getting them and does not look forward to the next session. He explained: “I hate the pain. I hate getting tattooed.”
He continued: “I love evolving. I love seeing myself evolving. You suffer, and I really hate the pain and am counting the days to the next tattoo session. I’m really anxious. I don’t want to go, but at the end of the tattoo session, I’m really proud, and I feel invincible.”
This Morning continues tomorrow at 10.00am on ITV1 and ITVX.