I have several tattoos, and they all say something about the things I love. One pays tribute to my fascination with the Roman Empire , others reference video games, and I even have a fork with pasta and basil tattooed on me because… well, I’ve seen people with pizza tattoos, avocado tattoos. Why can’t I have permanent proof of my love for pasta?

But tattoos can tell very different stories . For a 19-year-old man in New Zealand, one drunken night in prison left him with the word “DEVAST8” covering much of his face. What started as a tattoo made between brothers soon became something that followed him far, far beyond prison.

The unusual tattoo eventually attracted worldwide attention and created an unexpected problem when he tried to rebuild his life. But what happened to the young man afterward took the story in a very different direction.

Mark Cropp gained international attention in 2017 when he spoke about how hard it was to find a job because of the large “DEVAST8” tattoo on his face. He had been sentenced to 27 months in prison for aggravated robbery after pulling a knife on a tourist during a failed substances deal.

While in jail, Cropp shared a cell with his brother. One night, after they drank homemade alcohol made from apples, sugar, and bread, his brother tattooed “DEVAST8” across the lower half of Cropp’s face. Cropp later said the tattoo was meant to be much smaller and that he regretted letting it get so big.

After his story spread online, Cropp got several job offers, including one for scaffolding. One company offered him NZ$22 an hour, and a clinic offered to remove his tattoo for free. Cropp went to one removal session but stopped after starting the scaffolding job, later saying he wanted to keep the tattoo.

Cropp later faced more legal trouble. In 2019, he was sentenced to 10 months for aggressive and intimidating behavior, breaking a protection order, and carrying a meat cleaver. In 2022, he was charged again with disorderly behavior, substance possession, and resisting arrest.

After leaving prison, he planned to live with his grandmother and had a pacemaker put in, apparently moving forward to a more quiet life.