How far can you go when getting body piercings?
Most of us, especially females, only have ear and nose piercings; the furthest most can go is a maximum of four to five piercings, including the navel piercing.
However, there are record-breaking individuals with hundreds of piercings on various parts of their bodies.
Why all the piercings, you may ask?
Many questions are raised regarding individuals with multiple piercings, mostly safety-based concerns.
Is the right equipment used and sterilized? Are those who carry out the piercings well-trained? Also, how do these people travel by air without experiencing security-related challenges in different airports?
Here is a comprehensive list of people with the most piercings in the world, including their justifications for having them:
1. Elaine Davidson
Eliane holds the Guinness World Record of the most pierced woman globally.
At the time she was considered for the record-breaking title in 2000, Elaine had a total of 462 piercings spread out in various parts of her body such as ears, eyebrows, chin, stomach, internal and external pubic area, tongue, nose, hands, and breasts.
Elaine, who lives in the UK but is originally from Brazil, dons over metallic jewelry amounting to almost three kilos.
In an interview earlier this year, she disclosed that she aims to acquire 20,000 piercings.
She also revealed having 3,500 piercings in her intimate area, admitting how she has to travel to the US to have them done because she can’t have them done in the UK.
Elaine Davidson has gotten used to having more piercings; to an extent, she doesn’t feel pain anymore and can also pierce herself.
She also takes excellent care of her piercings to avoid infections.
Elaine Davidson grew up wanting to get featured in the Guinness World Record book, a dream she has since achieved, and she isn’t going to allow anyone to come above her.
Elaine isn’t surprised by people’s reactions and is already used to good and bad comments.
2. Rolf Buchholz
Rolf Buchholz from Germany is second on the list of people with the most body piercings.
He had 453 body piercings when he made it to the Guinness World Record Book in 2010 as the most pierced man in the world.
His piercings, which have since reached 481 and counting, are spread on the ears, lips, tongue, nipples, eyebrows, nose, navel, and genitals.
His genital piercings alone are 268, making up for a considerable number of his total piercings.
Surprisingly, Rolf has also tattooed his eyeballs and has a split tongue.
Additionally, he has implants under his arm’s skin and two protruding horns on his forehead.
Too many body modifications for one person, right?
So, what inspired Rolf to modify his body through piercings, implants, and tattoos?
According to him, he never went for the numerous piercings to become famous or end up in the Guinness World Record Book.
He only got the piercings and tattoos because he felt good whenever he did it.
If anything, he got his first body modification at 40, a tattoo, marking the beginning of his experimentation with other body arts like piercings and implants.
So, any pain at all for Rolf when getting his extreme body mods?
According to him, the most painful body modification experience he went through was tattooing his palms.
Another challenge Rolf has had to deal with because of his appearance includes being denied entry into some countries, like back in 2014 when he was prevented from traveling to Dubai by airport officials.
The 62-year-old studied computer science and works for a telephone company in Germany.
3. Axel Rosales
Unlike other individuals in this list whose piercings are found in different parts of their bodies, Axel’s piercings can only be found on his face.
He holds the Guinness World Record for a person with the most facial piercings, a total of 280.
Axel, who is from Argentina, achieved his global record in 2012.
There is no updated information mentioning whether he has added his face piercings.
His face looks metallic because of the jewelry spread all over it, which has those encountering him for the first time wondering if he ever washes it.
However, not all are disgusted by his choice of facial modification, as some find it beautiful and daring.
It is unclear what motivated Axel to undergo facial piercings, but he was thrilled to become a global record holder.
4. John Lynch
John was the oldest man to hold the Guinness World Record for having 241 body piercings in 2008, mostly around his neck and head.
In addition to the piercings, the UK-born former bank employee also has tattoos on various parts of his body.
He quit his banking job because it was professional and didn’t allow him to have piercings or tattoos.
The motivation behind John’s piercings and tattoos was the need to feel noticed.
He felt his bank job could not give him the recognition he yearned for.
However, he never thought he would break a global record with his body modifications but was impressed by the Guinness World Record recognition.
So, what challenges has John experienced from his decision to pierce different body parts?
He admitted that he had to forget about flying because his jewelry and body art gave him difficulty in airports during security scanning.
John was optimistic about maintaining his world record but has since been surpassed by Rolf Buchholz.
5. Luis Antonio Aguero
Luis recorded 230 piercings on his face in 2009.
He is from Cuba and wears several loops all over his face.
His Cuban hometown has nicknamed him ‘piercing-king’.
Luis also has other piercings in different parts of his body.
He is famous on the streets of LA Habana, where he spends most time being photographed by locals and visiting foreigners.
