Self expression is a fundamental part of being yourself. Tattoos are a wonderful way for people to be able to express themselves through art. 51-year-old Richard Huff has chosen tattoos as the way of expressing himself as well and has over 240 tattoos.

The self-proclaimed ink addict has a family with five children and his wife. His wife often posts videos and pictures of him with their kids which are not always well received by viewers.

51-year-old Huff wants to make it clear that their family is “no different” from any other out there. But he has shared that strangers online mock him all the time because of his appearance.

He shared how it all started for him. “It became an addiction, I started with my legs and worked my way up,” Huff said. He shared that 85% of his body is now covered in tattoos. Among the tattoos are names of his children and his daughter’s lips.

“I want to be 100% covered in tattoos probably within the next four years,” shared Richard. “I don’t know if it’s the pain or the artwork that you put on you, but it just becomes fascinating when you’re able to do this.”

He shared that having so many tattoos brings with it its own set of problems. He shared how children at his kids’ school found him scary. His daughter shared, “They say, ’ah it’s a bit scary’ and I say ’no, my dad is not scary, he is good with tattoos.’”

As for his wife Marita, she revealed that she was scared of Richard as well. She said, “I did judge Richard based on his looks at first but as I got to know him a little bit, he is actually a big-hearted person.”

She often posts about her husband and how he loves her in a way no one before him has. She often talks about all the positives and how he is a wonderful husband and father. Marita had three children from previous relationships and has shared how Richard is the more than a real father to his kids as he has stepped for them tremendously.

Richard shared, “I participate in the PTA, I go to all my kids’ functions.”

But even with all this information about his gentle soul out there, people still criticize him. One comment read, “I’m not against tattoos, but I mean honestly, does he really need tattoos on his face like that?”

But there are others who also defend Richard. One said, “Everyone keeps talking about his face tattoo. He likes it. He got it. He’s a good father. Let him be.”

Richard himself has talked about the negative comments, he said, “If somebody can make negative comments like that, there’s something wrong with them themselves that they would have to judge somebody else.” Adding, “This is what we did and we’re happy. We’ve been together six years our kids are happy and to us, that’s all that matters.”

Richard adds that while at times negative comments can be a bit much, it does not change how much he loves his family or vice versa. “Having tattoos does not scare my children, it does not make me a bad father, it makes my kids get a different perspective on life,” he said.

If you liked this piece, you might like the story of Melanie Griffith’s tattoo for Antonio Banderas and the shocking appearance it has today, almost a decade after their divorce.