Sylvain Helaine, a primary school teacher regarded as the most tattooed in his profession, has said he intends to have more work done even though he cannot bear the pain of the process. He appeared on ITV's This Morning on October 28 to discuss his appearance and career.
A teacher's journey into tattoos
Helaine has spent nearly two decades teaching in classrooms, including in both the UK and his native France. He got his first tattoo in 2012 at the age of 27. While working in Britain, he spotted someone with a full sleeve, which inspired him to get his own arm tattoo. From there, his dedication to the craft grew rapidly.
He admitted that he always knew he wanted to be 'fully covered'. When asked about the impact on his professional life, he said: "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."
Reactions in the classroom
When asked about the reactions he receives in his profession, he revealed he had previously remarked: "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."
Helaine disclosed that he refrains from discussing his tattoos while in the classroom, explaining: "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."
Plans for further tattoos
The teacher's tattooing journey is far from complete, as he revealed his intention to revisit much of his existing inkwork across his body. Sian Welby highlighted that the whites of his eyes have also been entirely covered in black ink, and that he had his nipples and belly button removed. His reasoning was to achieve a smoother skin surface, making the tattooing process more straightforward and allowing for further work. Other areas that have been tattooed include his tongue and beneath the nails on both his hands and feet.
Yet when questioned about whether he was 'addicted' to the process, he admitted that he actually cannot bear having them done and dreads each upcoming session, stating: "I hate the pain. I hate getting tattooed." He went on to say, "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.
