THIS mother-of-three who has spent £2,000 covering herself in tattoos has revealed her extraordinary transformation from a suburban mum working in a call centre.
Kerry Moon a body piercer shop manager from West Sussex, UK, has always considered herself a bit of an odd one out.
In her family, she was a tomboy and even referred to her younger self as very much a plain Jane.
But that could not be further from the truth.
In the 15- years since she started tattooing with a vengeance, she now stands out from the crowd with her nearly full bodysuit of tattoos – including on her shaved head.
Kerry, 43, had always liked tattoos and piercings and had a handful from various artists before she met her current artist, friend, and boss Ben, 44.
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As she approached 30 and her relationship with the father of her eldest son, Tyree, now 20, fell apart, she started to do more for herself, which included getting more tattoos.
Kerry insists she fell into getting heavily tattooed without thinking about it.
Her artist Ben had just completed a design on the inside of her left arm and she fell in love with her biggest piece – that is when she knew she wanted more.
Since that fateful day, Kerry has not looked back and she now has so many tattoos they cannot be counted.
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“I had always liked tattoos and piercings and had already had a handful from various artists before I met my current artist, friend, and boss 15 years ago,” said Kerry.
“As I was nearing 30 and with the breakdown of my relationship with my son Tyree’s dad, I started to do more for me which included getting more tattoos, I fell into getting heavily tattooed without really thinking about it.
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“My artist Ben had just completed a design on the inside of my left arm and I was in awe, it was the biggest piece I had done and I was in love.
“I knew then I wanted more and when Ben said ‘hey shall we do a full sleeve? I’ve never done one on a woman before,’
"That was the beginning of my modification journey.
“At this point, I was managing a call centre in Croydon and needed to ask permission from my employers if it was ok, at the time they agreed as long as I could cover my arm when working and in meetings.
“I could probably say at this point the rest is history, but that would be boring.
“By the time I had completed both sleeves I was obsessed, I knew this was me and how I was meant to look, I also knew I wanted to be completely covered.
“If I could get into the industry myself it would be even better, so I left the call centre to pursue a tattoo apprenticeship.
"Sadly this didn’t work out, but what I did do was enter into the body piercing side.
“This was also when I met my current husband in March 2010 on a blind date.
"[It] was a complete whirlwind, with us getting married and pregnant within six months.
“I had Eli in April 2011 and Amelia in April 2012, completing our family.
“I was still getting tattooed, although not as often as I was now a stay-at-home mum.
"But by 2016, my tattoo artist branched out on his own, forming Electric Rebel Tattoo Lounge in East Grinstead.
"At this point, I joined his team working part-time on reception.
“By October 2017 I was managing the shop full time, and by January 2019 I was piercing.
“Working within the industry brings many benefits including frequent tattoo sessions, so this has definitely helped with my goal of getting covered."
By now I can't put a number on the tattoos. I always say I only have one as they all join.
Although a difficult time in Kerry’s life she believes leaving her relationship of ten years allied her to find her real identity.
“Before my transformation, I didn’t really feel much, to be honest. Just a normal girl living a normal life,” she said.
“I had always loved the tattoo world, I think going through a life change of leaving a relationship of ten years from a young age, I kind of felt like I found myself.
“But I didn’t necessarily know this was my path until I was on it if that makes sense.
“I really don’t know how much the transformation has cost me, definitely a couple of thousand.
"It is difficult to calculate because I have not paid for any modifications since 2016.
“I have been modifying for 15 years and I am still going, so that is the proof it’s a real commitment.”
Kerry started her journey 28 years ago with a piercing, not a tattoo.
“I got my belly button pierced when I was 15 and my first tattoo was a sun on my right arm when I was 17, '' she said.
“By now I can't put a number on the tattoos. I always say when asked I only have one as they all join.
"Being a body piercer I also have a number of piercings.
“I started my stomach piece last week, which was an octopus and will form part of an underwater theme. This was done by Levi Fawn Tattoos at Electric Rebel Tattoo Lounge.
“There are a number of places that have really hurt – my ribs, hips, armpits, back of the knees, inside thighs, and thumbs.
"It seems to get more painful the older I get.”
Kerry receives mainly positive responses on her tattoos, but she can identify that her most polarising piece is her head tattoo.
“In real life, it’s mostly positive if someone does approach me to talk to me it is generally because they are interested and like the way I look,” said Kerry.
“I’ve only had a handful of people approach me to say they don’t like my look.
“A lot of people say they find me intimidating until they talk to me and realise I’m just a normal person
“My head tattoo is a bit like marmite, you either love it or hate it.
I hope I’m the weird old lady with all the tattoos.
“My mum didn’t like my tattoos much and always used to ask me to leave some skin, but she loved me, embraced me, and accepted me for who I am.
“She never made me feel like I couldn’t express myself and told me she was proud of who I had become.
“My mum passed away in 2017 of cancer. My sisters love me for me, most of the time they say they don’t see the ink anymore they only see me.
“A majority of my friends have only known me like this, they don’t care, if they did I can’t imagine they would bother with a friendship with me.
“However, I will add that I don't have a big friendship group at all. Maybe that is because of the way I look.”
For Kerry's children, that is just mum. They don't really think about her look as being different.
Sometimes other mums stare, but once they get to know her it's just a part of who she is.
“In any situation, if someone hasn’t seen me before they look and often stare, but once you’ve seen me a couple of times your kind of used to it,” said Kerry.
“None of my kids have been bullied or affected due to my tattoos or piercings.
“My youngest children don’t know any different, I’ve always looked this way and different from other parents.
“Eli isn’t particularly bothered, if I tell him I’m getting a new one or show him one he just shrugs and says he likes it.
"Although he didn’t want me to shave my hair off, and when I did wanted me to grow it back straight away.
“But if you ask him now he says he likes it and is totally used to me not having hair and isn’t bothered if I don’t grow it back.
“Amelia loves everything and gets really excited when I get home with a new piece.
“Tyree went through a stage where he didn’t like it, not because of me and the way I looked, but because he hated the way people would always stare at me when out in public.
“I mean none of them like the way people stare at me, but we all kind of just got used to it now.
“All three have said they want tattoos, obviously there is a long wait for the younger two and they may well change their minds as they get older.
“Tyree always said he didn’t want any and when I offered him a session for his 18th birthday he declined.
“However now he does talk about getting a sleeve and chest piece, but wants to wait and get the perfect design for him.
"He doesn’t want a standard or popular design so is waiting till he knows what he wants.”
Kerry has a wealth of experience in the modification world and she has some very sound advice to share.
“If you are interested in modification the most important thing is to plan,” she said.
“If I knew when I first got tattoos I would want a full body suit, I probably would have not got certain designs or areas as they don’t fit in with what I have now, which isn’t a major issue as I’ve gone over most of them.
“But to also do what’s right for you, if you love it, that is all that really matters.
“I am proud of the way I look, I love the way I look, I will never be ashamed, and to all the people who ask what I would look like when I’m in my 80s – well I just can’t bloody wait to find out.
“I hope I’m the weird old lady with all the tattoos.
"I’ve been dedicated to my bodysuit for 15 years now, I’m so close to being fully tattooed, I haven’t done this on a whim or for fashion.
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“I have done it because I love it, I love the industry, I love the artistry, I love the way the tattooing world is always evolving as am I.
"I have no regrets and I will never regret my modifications.”
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