A devout Christian with a love of tattoos that cover over 70 per cent of his body has said he forgives social media trolls who have accused him of being a devil.
Fork-tongued Adriano Lemos, 33, lives with his wife in Rio Claro, in Sao Paulo, in Brazil, and says he got into body modification when he was 16.
A year later, he converted to Christianity and started going to church, but far from ending his love of tattoos, he said he began to see his bodymods as a sign from God.
He said: “I started to admire body modification as a teenager and decided to do it.
“Through this admiration, everything fell into place with the purposes that God had and has for my life.”
Video footage of Adriano today shows him with inkings all over his face with huge piercings in his ears and nose.
His nose holes are so large he can be seen sticking a garden hose through one to wash his face.
Adriano’s eyes also appear to have been dyed black and a coffin-shaped implant under the skin of his forehead highlights a crucifix tattoo.
A snake-like forked tongue sets off his extreme look.
But he says that he receives criticism over his appearance and, despite his deeply held Christian beliefs, is often branded a devil.
Some of his videos have over 50 million views on TikTok.
But one social media user said:” The devil [is] going to worship?”.
Adriano said: “I know how to deal with any criticism, including people with religious views, people who judge me without knowing me.
“After all, I know God’s purposes in my life and through my life, so the criticism and offensive words will not stop my calling to God.
“Generally, those who comment on something like this are people who didn’t even make a point of knowing a little about my story.
“But we have two audiences, those who call me a devil and the audience who call me a tattooed angel.”
He explained that at his church everyone accepts him.
He said: “It’s calm at the church I attend, after all, they’ve known me since I had no changes whatsoever.
“But, unfortunately, when I go to other places for an event, unfortunately, the reception is not the best, due to the doctrines being more rigid and they having a different vision.”
Adriano, who as well as being an influencer, helps stray and abandoned animals, said: “I’ve been helping abandoned animals on the streets and from needy families since I was 12 years old.
“I don’t have an NGO yet, but I created a little group in support of this dream, which is to have my own shelter and be able to have more space and conditions.”
