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Teen dad starts gruelling process to have 'DEVAST8' tattoo lasered off his face

The ex-prisoner who was laughed out of job interviews as a result of a face tattoo he received in prison has gone under the gun again - this time to remove it.

Earlier this month Mark Cropp made a desperate plea for work after he and his partner lost custody of their two-year-old daughter.

After being inundated with job offers, the 19-year-old has now taken the next step in his return to normality, seeing a tattoo removalist who is removing the "DEVAST8" tattoo sprawled across his jawline.

With one laser session down and eleven more to go, the teenager's makeshift prison tat is proving rather tricky to remove.

After much deliberation, Mark Cropp has gone under the laser gun to remove his infamous 'DEVAST8' tattoo. Source: Caters
After much deliberation, Mark Cropp has gone under the laser gun to remove his infamous 'DEVAST8' tattoo. Source: Caters
It will take 12 long sessions to remove the teenager's prison inking. Source: Caters
It will take 12 long sessions to remove the teenager's prison inking. Source: Caters

"The main concern is that the ink he's used is not your regular ink. It's something they've made in prison by melting down plastic utensils," Sacred Laser co-owner Briar Neville told the NZ Herald.

"This would be the biggest [tattoo] on the face that I've come across."

Cropp's brother and other inmates fashioned the tattoo gun from a pen spring attached to a cassette player before getting "carried away".

Cropp said he had reservations about removing his infamous face tattoo. Source: Caters
Cropp said he had reservations about removing his infamous face tattoo. Source: Caters

Cropp said the tattoo, designed to make him look "tough", was only meant to be a small piece along the jawline.

"I went to jail with four tattoos and came out with a full body suit," Cropp added.

"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."

Cropp said he had previously been laughed out of job interviews as a result of his prison ink. Source: Facebook
Cropp said he had previously been laughed out of job interviews as a result of his prison ink. Source: Facebook
Now the 19-year-old has been inundated with job offers.
Now the 19-year-old has been inundated with job offers.

Despite the size and trouble it has caused, the teenage dad said removing the tattoo was no easy decision.

"This tattoo means something to me and my brother did it for me so it is hard," he said.

"I know it is the best thing for my future and I want to be a person my family can look to for support."

The tattoo parlour is performing the removal free of charged.