In the past, tattoos were considered taboo and were linked with bikers and gang members. These days, however, they are perceived as decorative, symbolic, or simply aesthetic expressions. People opt for tattoos as a way to express their personality, to commemorate a loved one, or simply for the sake of the artistic aspect of them.

Richard Huff, a 51-year-old husband and father, used his skin as a canvas for over 240 tattoos. He somehow got addicted to them and couldn’t stop getting inked. His wife often shares photo of him with his family, and people don’t always have nice things to say about his appearance. Only because he’s heavily tattooed, Huff is dubbed a bad father by many.

He, however, says that his family is no different than any other American family out there. “It became an addiction, I started with my legs and worked my way up,” said Huff, who had his first ever tattoo at the age of 17. At this point, nearly 85% of his body is covered in tattoos.

“I want to be 100% covered in tattoos probably within the next four years,” he shared. “I don’t know if it’s the pain or the artwork that you put on you, but it just becomes fascinating when you’re able to do this.”

His tattoos, no matter how much he loves them, bring certain problems. He says his children’s friends find him scary. His daughter shared: “They say, ’ah it’s a bit scary’ and I say ’no, my dad is not scary, he is good with tattoos.’” Behind all those tattoos is a man with a heart of gold and an incredible father of seven children, three of which are from his wife’s previous relationship.

Speaking of her husband, Huff’s wife, Marita, says he’s the most gentle person she’s ever met and loves her more than anyone else. She adds that he’s more of a real father to the children than their biological dad would ever be, but confesses that she was initially scared of Huff’s appearance. Whenever Marita posts a photo of the family that includes Huff, comments come pouring in with some people judging his looks and others defending his choices.

“I’m not against tattoos, but I mean honestly, does he really need tattoos on his face like that?” one person commented. “Everyone keeps talking about his face tattoo. He likes it. He got it. He’s a good father. Let him be,” another added. Huff opened up about the negative comments, saying, “If somebody can make negative comments like that, there’s something wrong with them themselves that they would have to judge somebody else.” He added: “This is what we did and we’re happy. We’ve been together six years our kids are happy and to us, that’s all that matters.

“Having tattoos does not scare my children, it does not make me a bad father, it makes my kids get a different perspective on life,” he said. What are your views on having these many tattoos.