Mark Cropp, a 19-year old teenager from New Zealand has bettered his life after serving a sentence in prison, but while he was in custody, he got an aggressive tattoo that says “Devast8” directly on the lower half of his face, from ear to ear.
The extremely apparent tattoo would quickly become a decision that Mark would regret. The man was convicted to three months in jail after a drug deal gone wrong in his home country, for pulling a knife. Mark served his time, but while intoxicated in prison he agreed to set the overly large tattoo along with his brother.
According to the teen, the tattoo, which resembles the word “devastate”, wasn’t placed in a negative meaning but purely because it was his nickname. The ink was made out of toothpaste and the pair used a couple of leftover plastic cutlery. Although the procedure was anything but normal, the markings on his face couldn’t be washed away and were permanent.
When Mark was sober again, he realized that this tattoo would most likely obstruct him from finding a job, but kept on trying anyway.
Two months after the young man was set free, he was desperately looking for a new place to work. With a girlfriend and a newborn child to care for, Mark wanted to do anything he could to help his family.
After sending heaps of resumes and letters to potential employers, no one wanted to hire Mark because of his tattoo.
Understandably, the man wanted to get his large “Devast8” tattoo removed by means of an expensive laser treatment so he could find a job. In the meantime, he posted a heartfelt message on Facebook which quickly spread across the world.
“I’m keen as to work but have one thing that is stopping me and that’s my tattoo on my face,” he posted.
“I don’t have a CV as of yet but have worked at NZ brick distributors before, also a scrap metal yard … Keen as on job or work place that will take me on.”
Rather quickly, Mark had received dozens of responses from people who were more than happy to hire Mark. He did have to turn down most of them though, as the majority of the jobs weren’t located in his home country of New Zealand.
His girlfriend Taneia Ruki has said in an interview with the Daily Mail of Australia that Mark had finally been given an opportunity for a job near his home to work as a scaffolder.
Moreover, it even gets better, because after hearing his story about changing his life a tattoo removal company called Sacred Laser offered to take care of the laser treatments for free.
Mark has had to deal with major consequences from one mistake, but it was the generosity and acceptance of complete strangers that helped turn his life around. Inspiring!
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Source: Caters Clips, Telegraph
