The Guiness Book of World Records has had a category for most tattoos for many years. How that figure it calculated has changed over time. Take a closer look at those folks driven to claim the title of "Most Tattooed."

Tattoo judging was one done by counting the number of tattoos. Then, as competitive subjects began doing tattoos like tiny dots to try and get ahead, the method was changed to calculating the percent of body coverage per individual. This put larger and smaller persons more on equal ground, with the person who had the most percentage of their body covered in ink being declared the record holder. My own very first tattoo was done by Tattoo Stiggy, who once held Guinness World Record for tattoos.

Currently there are two men who are nearly tied for the Most Tattoo Man record. One is a retired military man who lives in Scotland named Tom Leppard, who just happens to have 99.9% of his body covered in leopard spots. He has no other tattoo designs other than this all-covering pattern which is only absent from the insides of his ears and between his toes. The other tattoo fan vying for the record is an Australian named Lucky Rich who has covered nearly all his body in a tribal-style patterning.

For more information about world records or how to set one, please visit Guiness World Records


The record for the longest tattoo session endured goes to Britain. Tattooist Chris Goodwill tattooed Kevin Budden for 33 hours straight in April of 2003. Designs executed during this time included peacocks, a Union Jack and flames.

For women, Canadian stripper/dancer Krystyne Kolorful has been known as the Most Tattoo Woman for many years. Her full body suit took nearly a decade to complete and was started to give her a difference in her dance work. More recently, American Julie Gnuse has tied the title. Julie has a complex floral-influenced patterning all over her body, including her entire face. Her motivation for tattooing is that she suffers from porphyria, a rare disease whose symptoms include an extreme sun sensitivity. The tattooed designs give her some protection and cover the scarring that results from the heavy blistering and burning she had suffered before being inked.