Like every tattoo maniac, Aimee Smith has a time when she looked completely different from how she is now. The 23-year-old alternative model from Oakham, East Mids now has collected over 40 tattoos on her body, not including her facial piercings.
Now a mom-of-two, she is recognized in her hometown as “the girl with the tattoos.”
Recently, she’s decided to share an old picture of herself before she goes through her full transformation. Reminiscing back on those days, she shared, “The picture of me with blonde hair is one I’ve never posted on social media and when I found it I was like, ‘Wow, did I really look like that?’
Aimee before her face tattoos has always had a lot of piercings on her face.
Aimee got her first tattoo at the age of 13 after she was inspired by the movie ‘Miami Ink’. She’s since been addicted to adding more and more to her body before she finally began building a following thanks to her unique appearance.
“I remember taking it to send to my boss and I’ve never looked at it since. It has really taken me back, my god,” she recalls why the selfie even existed.
“That was a time in my life where I was very lost as a person. I wasn’t comfortable and I didn’t feel myself.”
“Looking at it was a big reminder of how lost I was and that just wasn’t me. If you look at my recent pictures I can really notice the difference, I can really see I wasn’t comfortable in old ones.”
The reactions towards her heavily-tattooed appearance were mixed. There was more negativity back in the days.
“I do get a lot of mixed responses but I do find that over time the responses have got better. It’s more accepted now than what it was when I was 19 even though that was only four years ago. Most people here don’t even bat an eyelid at me.
She also shared how this particular tattoo from the 1991 movie ‘Drop Dead Fred’ has a deep meaning for her.
“That was my whole childhood and I was absolutely fixated with that film. It’s something that is still a big part of me and a big part of my family. Some people look at it as just a film but that tattoo is so meaningful to me.”
“It is happy memories and there are so many lines in the film that my family still say to this day just in general conversation.
