A resident of Melbourne, Australia, John Kenney, 62, covered his entire body with tattoos after he decided he was finished with crime and drugs.
John Kenney was only six years old when he first ran away from home. According to the man, he suffered cruelty from the family as a child and so he ran away and ended up living on the streets. Just 10 years old at the time, the Australian got hooked on drugs and started selling them. Soon he became a pimp, continuing to take banned drugs.
Unfortunately, it is not reported how he managed to recover from drug addiction. Most people with an addiction that bad end up in rehab (see https://enterhealth.com/residential-drug-alcohol-addiction-treatment/ for an example), but is unclear whether Kenny overcame this on his own or with the help of trained specialists.
He had his first tattoo at the age of 18. By the age of 60, Kenny had tattooed his whole body, including his tongue, eyelids, and nose. “I regret my crimes. The psychologist said that through tattoos I punish myself for what I did, but I even like it, ” said the resident of Melbourne.
The former gangster says that his life of deviance began with him emptying milk bottles on doorsteps to get recycling money.
“I didn’t have a very good family life, there was no love there, just hidings from both [parents] and even my brothers because they wanted my girlfriend,” he said.
“I got raped when I first got inside [correctional centre], sometimes they (would) bring in the older guys to play basketball with the younger kids, some turned out to be child molesters.”
As vt.co clams, in the 1970’s John landed himself a part-time job however he was struggling with serious drug addiction. Such was the severity of his addiction. He hacked off his own finger with a meat cleaver in order to claim compensation money, which he would spend on narcotics.
This is a heartbreaking situation, but this is the harsh reality of drugs. It has the ability to affect someone’s life to the point where they can’t control what they do, like John cutting off his own finger. Some people who are addicted to drugs don’t realize that it is an actual problem until they use something like an El Paso drug testing service and see the results for themselves. That is the first step to recovery, but if they aren’t willing to do anything to help their situation, then no one can change their mind unless they want to themselves.
“I have trouble making friends or keeping friends, but I’ve made friends and got an identity now that I tattooed my face, everyone is curious,” he added.
“I eat just once a week, I don’t feel hungry, but I have given up drinking and smoking, I have no emotions at all, haven’t got the right tools for life.”
Despite his life full of crime, it’s hard not to feel some sort of sympathy for John, who seems like a bit of a sad man.