A young man from New Zealand named Mark Cropp, serving a two-year, three-month sentence for a failed drug sale, made a decision that night that would change his entire life.

He and his brother decided to tattoo Mark’s face while they were very drunk from making their own alcohol from fermented apples, bread, and sugar. They created the ink by melting toy knives and forks and toothpaste.

Sadly, Mark’s entire face—including his jaw and lower face—was covered in tattoos of the phrase “Devast8” by the time the night came to a close.

His life after being freed from prison was negatively impacted by this foolish choice. He was eager to start anew and committed to finding work so that he could support his wife and daughter. Along with wanting to move on from his previous way of life and become a respected member of society, he found that this was much harder than he had imagined.

Mark had a lot of work experience, but no one was interested in hiring him because of his large facial tattoo instead of his criminal history.

Credit: Getty/South_agency

This despondent man revealed the backstory of his tattoo in an interview with Daily Mail Australia.