'Ya start tomorrow': Man with 'DEVAST8' tattooed on his face offered a job
The teenage father who was laughed out of job interviews after covering half his face with a tattoo in jail has been inundated with job offers.
Mark Cropp took to social media to share his employment struggles as a result of a tattoo reading ‘DEVAST8’ he received after a home brew drinking session in a Christchurch prison.
While some employers told the 19-year-old they’d “never give him a second look”, scaffolding boss Jediz Arena offered the ex-con a job… and some sound advice.
“F*** the haters… ya start tamoro (tomorrow) with us,” Mr Arena wrote.
“Meet at my yard 6.30am, you just need steel cap boots, hard hat, hi vis, big kai and water.”
While serving a two-year sentence for armed robbery, Cropp was convinced by his brother, whom he shared a cell with, to go under the needle
"Part of jail life, you get people with tattoos and you look at them, step back, 'Watch out for that guy' sort of thing,” the young dad told the NZ Herald.
“Before I knew it I had this on my face... It was swollen like a bloody pumpkin."
“I was over people judging for my facial tattoo... that's why I made the decision to put that photo on Facebook, to turn around and say 'I am just a normal human being, you do not have to judge me because of the way I look’.”
Now a free man, Cropp's plea for for an opportunity has been answered in spades.
"Check your messages there are 3 definite offers for work, scaffolding, concrete cutting and another 1, you got your foot in the door..GO HARD & GOOD LUCK [sic]," another woman commented on his Facebook post.
Another man said the young dad should put his tattoo to work and apply for his licence as a security guard.
It's not yet known which offer Cropp plans on taking up.
While he was locked up, Cropp's partner lost custody of their two-year-old daughter.
He is now desperately trying to get her back.
