Nobody said that life was easy but at times, it may be more difficult for some than for others. This includes a young father who is struggling to find work.
Mark Cropp, who was 19 at the time and lives in New Zealand went on social media to beg someone to give him a job. He was having trouble due to his criminal past and because he has a large face tattoo.
The plea for a job went viral and it wasn’t long before the offers started rolling in. At one point, he said that he had so many that he stopped counting once he received 45 offers.
He had the opportunity to go viral once again because once he revealed that he had turned down 45 job offers, the new story went viral as well.
He spoke to the Daily Mail Australia after expressing how frustrated he was about his face tattoo keeping him from finding work. He then said that he still hasn’t ‘done a day’s work’.
He said: “I am just waiting for the right one to come about.”
Some of the jobs that he was offered require that he have an automobile. He would have to get help getting to the worksite, and in his words, “Until I get my first paycheck and get a car I won’t be able to get myself around.”
He then also discussed his face tattoo, saying that he was in jail with his brother and they were drinking homebrew when it inspired them to do it. He is also interested in having it removed.
He said: “A week before I got out I taped a picture of my face to the inside of an envelope so my partner could see it – she was devastated – but now she likes it and can’t see me without it.
“I am just working out a date to get it taken off – which sucks because it is going to hurt. and because, you know, this tattoo means something to me and my brother did it for me so it is hard to make the decision to get rid of it.
“But I know it is the best thing for my future – and I want to be a person my family can look to for support.”
He has a past of violent behavior and wanted to ‘look tough’ when he was in prison. That is when he decided to have his face tattooed.
He said: “And because, you know, this tattoo means something to me and my brother did it for me so it is hard to make the decision to get rid of it.”
Mark and his girlfriend Taneia Ruki were together for about a year before he went to prison. He said that his tattoo was not meant to be that large but was only going to be a ‘little one along the jawline.’
After drinking some homemade brew from fermented apples, bread, and sugar, things got out of hand.
He said: “I went into jail with four tattoos and I came out with a full body suit.”
He also said that his family was shocked to see the tattoo. He said: “A week before I got out I taped a picture of my face to the inside of an envelope so my partner could see it – she was devastated – but now she likes it and can’t see me without it.”
He admitted that he was going through a ‘rough patch.’ He said: “I would end up devastating everyone I met or got close to.
“They would be disappointed with something I had done or said – I was always hearing “that’s devastating”.”
He also says that he has learned from his mistake and doesn’t think that people should be judged by having a face tattoo. He also says that he realizes it will keep happening until he does something about it.
Prior to asking on Facebook, he said that he got laughed in his face when he asked for work.
The tattoo was made from a mixture of black plastic powder made from plastic knives and forks along with toothpaste and water. It was injected using a needle made from the spring of a pen and powered by a cassette player.’
An offer for laser therapy to remove the tattoo has been given and he had his first session.
