Man 'Running Out Of Space' After Getting A Tattoo For Every Day Of Lockdown

For many people, being stuck at home during COVID-19 is a tedious cycle of boredom, but one man in the UK is putting his extra time to creative use, tattooing himself for every day he spends in isolation.

Chris Woodhead started tattooing new designs on his body about six weeks ago, as he and his wife waited out the isolation period inside their London apartment.

Since then he's got more than 40 new tattoos on his body, but admits he's starting to run out of space -- which could be an issue as the UK does not look to be lifting lockdown restrictions any time soon.

Before lockdown, Woodhead -- a tattoo artist-- already had about 1000 different designs on his body, but said he decided to tattoo himself to give himself some direction during the extended isolation period.

"I’ve been getting tattooed heavily for so long and am a tattooer by trade so it felt quite natural for me to start tattooing myself every day," Woodhead told 10 daily.

"It gave me some structure where I was a bit lost and bored. It’s been a blessing to be honest, I wouldn’t know what to do without it now!"

Woodhead now has a daily tattooing routine, telling the BBC he spends around two hours each afternoon sketching designs before making a cup of tea and beginning to tattoo using the low-tech 'hand poking' technique.

"I’ve always done tattoos handpoked. It’s so much less intrusive on the skin and a more pleasant process," he told 10 daily.

"I always have hated getting tattooed by machine so I wouldn’t feel nice inflicting that sort of pain on someone else."

He said being in isolation was also giving him an opportunity to tattoo designs that he had in the works for a while.

"It’s sometimes quite sad to see designs just get lost over time, so now they have a home."

Starting with a star tattoo five weeks ago, Woodhead has since designed a dog, fish, a palm tree, dice, a rose, a jaguar, a tiger, a coronavirus cell and even a question on his foot asking "when will it end?"  -- among many others.

While he admits he's almost out of space, Woodhead, who has been sharing each new tattoo on his Instagram page (@adverse.camber), said he was planning to leave a space for a tattoo to commemorate the birth of his child when she or he arrives later this year.

"I want them to be good tattoos, so to try to keep them exciting. Realistically, I've probably got a month's worth of tattoo space left," Woodhead told the BBC.

"If I'm truly honest, I look ridiculous.  I look like a piece of blue cheese."

Woodhead told 10 daily while he and his wife were coping with the coronavirus isolation, "it's boredom that is the curse for us".

"We are luckily in good health and good company," he said.

"I hope the UK government do the right thing and don’t ease it too soon."