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World’s most tattooed people are unrecognisable in throwback snaps from before they inked up – can you guess who’s who?

THESE are the world's most tattooed people who are almost unrecognisable when compared to throwback snaps of themselves before they were inked up.

Forms of body art can be traced back to the Bronze Age but these barmy punters take tattooing to a whole new level.

King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite

Known as Britain's most tattooed man, the 42-year-old from Birmingham has sat in the tattoo chair for a staggering 1000 hours since he was 16.

King Body Art, formerly known as Matthew Whelan, has more than 90 per cent of his body covered in tattoos.

He became inspired after a family holiday to New Zealand where he was amazed by the Maori people and their tattoo art.

However, King Body Art said being a walking work of art came with its downfalls.

He claimed he has been treated differently to his colleagues while in employment, being the only person removed from the office when managers would come to visit.

The Brit has plans for further modifications but his current mission is to undergo blackout tattooing.

It's when a major portion of the tatted area is fully filled in with solid black ink. 

When it came to his favourite tattoos he said: "I would have to say my eyeballs inked on my arm, though I'm quite fond of my sclera stained ones which is more a dangerous surgical procedure.

"Also my skulls on my upper lower left arm because underneath we are all the same no matter what we look like."

Wolfgang Kirsch

Wolfgang Kirsch, 73, has covered 98 per cent of his body with tattoos and only the soles of his feet remained un-inked.

Also known as Magneto, the German is the country's most tattooed man.

The tattoo fanatic found his passion for ink following the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989.

The man said he had to wait for the reunification of Germany to get his first body ink.

He now has 86 tattoos completed in the past two decades and also has 17 implants under his skin.

In total, he has spent 720 hours in the chair.

He told Bild: "It wasn't until I was 46 years old that I got my first tattoo, a tear under my eye."

DeeDee Villegas

DeeDee Villegas first went to a tattoo parlour at the age of 18 and from there became addicted.

The 30-year-old from Cebu, Philippines, claimed she got her first tattoos because of peer pressure during her undergraduate degree at the University of San Carlos.

DeeDee told The Mirror: "I got my first tattoo during my emo goth college phase, mainly due to peer pressure."

More than 70 per cent of her body is inked, which has set her back £20,000.

In addition to her ink, which have taken over 200 hours to complete, DeeDee has 12 facial piercings. 

Lucky Diamond Rich

Lucky Diamond Rich holds the world record for the most tattooed person. 

Born Greg Paul McLaren, the New Zealander is believed to have every inch of his body covered in ink.

Afraid that his mother would disapprove, his first tattoo at 16 was a small juggling club hidden on his hip.

Two years later, he wanted to get tattooed as much as he possibly could and the rest is history.

He said: "Just one tattoo at a time I guess, that's how everyone does it."

Now 52, Lucky has spent more than 1,000 hours having his body modified by tattoo artists.

Becky Holt

At 34-years-old, Becky Holt claims she is the most tattooed woman in Britain.

With 95 per cent of her skin covered in tattoos, the Cheshire woman estimated she has spent £35,000 on body art.

Her first tattoo was her boyfriend's name on her crotch when she was 15.

All of her body art was hidden until she became more confident with her ink at 22.

More than a decade later the model turned interior designer now has hundreds of tattoos. 

Sylvain Helaine

Parisian Sylvain Helaine has covered his body, genitals and even his gums in tattoos.

He got his first ink when he was 27 living in London.

Six years on, Sylvain has embraced his new obsession and doesn't want to stop until he is tattooed black all over.

Sylvain said: "I will never stop getting tattoos because I am passionate about it.

"One day I will end up fully covered in black ink.

"When I started getting tattooed, I wanted a mix between old school rock and the other half of my body in Japanese drawings."

The 33-year-old works as a teacher and was also a martial arts coach.

Tobias Müller

Zookeeper Tobias Müller began his tattoo journey about 15 years ago and has more than 300 extreme tattoos.

Born in Dortmund, Germany, the 33-year-old also has many body modifications that include a split tongue, four subdermal silicone implants, one permanent branding and an implanted magnet and chip.

He told Mail Online: "I was fascinated of pics of extremely inked and modified people when I was a kid.

"If you really want to get a tattoo, get it, its your body, your choice and your life, don't let some others do this choice for you.

"I really love my tattooed eye and one of my favourites of my normal tattoos is my 'Destroy Everything' over my eye."

Matt Gone

Matt Gone freakishly holds the world record for the most squares tattooed on a body with a whopping 848 in total.

His fascination with squares began from a young age when he realised as a child they could be found everywhere.

Matt said: "It was an original idea and in tattooing, that's the hardest thing to do.

"I'm asymmetrical, I have birth defects on one side of my body, so I like the symmetry of the checker that camouflages the asymmetry on my body."

The squares feature all over the US man's body, with 201 squares on his head, 190 on his shoulders, 251 on his torso and arms, 180 on his legs, and 26 on his genitalia.

Anthony Loffredo

Anthony Leffredo became a social media sensation after he documented his dramatic physical alterations.

The 33-year-old from France has more than one million Instagram followers.

The Frenchman has covered his entire body, including his eyeballs, in ink.

He has also removed both his upper lip and his nose in a bid to look like a "black alien".  

Although he has gone through several surgical procedures, he revealed he is only 44 per cent complete of what he wants to achieve with his body.

Loffredo said that he wants to change his face further before he focuses on amputating his leg.

The man used to work as a security guard.