- Tattoo artist Amber Luke said she grew up hating how she looked.
- The 25-year-old says she now has over 600 tattoos and has undergone multiple body-modification procedures to achieve her desired appearance.
- Luke says she has spent $70,000 on her procedures, which include eyeball tattoos, a tongue splitting, and “pixified” ears.
- “I feel it is so empowering to take ownership and control over your body,” Luke told Insider.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Amber Luke hasn’t always liked the way she looks.
The 25-year-old lives in Brisbane, Australia, where she works as a tattoo artist and content creator.
The now tattoo-covered Luke was born with blond hair and fair skin, which she said she hated.
“I found myself to be very plain and boring looking,” she said of her natural appearance.
“I fit into the crowd way too well for my liking,” Luke said.
She told Insider that her appearance really bothered her when she turned 16, and that she was diagnosed with clinical depression.
"I struggled to leave the house because of low confidence," she said.
"I couldn't look people in the eye; I couldn't have any attention brought onto me, otherwise I would go bright red in the face."
"I just couldn't even bring myself to look into a mirror half the time," Luke told Insider.
"It hit me like a ton of bricks, and man, it hit me hard," she added. "The reality I was living in was shameful and embarrassing to me."
Luke decided to take control of her appearance through tattoos. When she was 16, she gave herself an at-home tattoo - which she now says she doesn't recommend - beginning a nine-year-long transformation.
Today, Luke has over 600 tattoos.
The tattoos cover her body, totally transforming her appearance.
Luke also has thirteen piercings and has undergone multiple body modification procedures.
Luke has spent $70,000 on her tattoos and modifications.
Luke had her eyeballs tattooed and her tongue split twice, and she underwent two different procedures to "pixify" her ears.
She also had a breast augmentation and a Brazilian butt lift.
Luke said her eyeball tattoos are her favorite modification.
"I think the most drastic change I made to my appearance was most definitely my eyeballs," she said.
"They're striking."
The tattoos and modifications have given Luke a new sense of confidence.
"When I looked into a mirror before my transformation, I used to cry," she said. "I would whimper to myself, and it would make me physically feel sick to my stomach."
"Now, I thrive," she added. "I adore the way I've transformed my image and gained so much confidence through becoming who I truly am as a person."
But because Luke's appearance is nontraditional, she said she gets a lot of judgment from strangers, which can be difficult for her.
"The judgment is real," she said. "It's harsh and it's confrontational."
"At first, it really got to me when people were tearing me down so brutally," she said, with people criticizing her on her social media.
"It was then I realized that I can't take it to heart," she added. "These people are either miserable with themselves and their lives, or they're jealous they don't have what it takes to go against the 'norm' of society."
"I wasn't put on this earth to live to please anyone but myself," she said.
"I want to wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and smile back at myself," she said. "To this day, I get to do that. I'm not harming anyone in the process."
"It gives me a will to live," she said of her tattoos and modifications.
Despite the critics out there, Luke also has a lot of support.
Luke has 115,000 Instagram followers who support her journey of self-discovery.
"I think my followers and I share something special," Luke told Insider. "We mutually understand the hardship and constant emotional turmoil of not feeling comfortable in your own body."
Luke also told Insider that her partner offers her unconditional support.
"It feels so normal to have a partner now. When I hated myself, it was very hard to believe what other people said that was positive to me was true," she said. "Any sort of compliment was almost too hard to hear."
"My partner makes me feel so loved and like I'm the only girl in the world," she added. "He always has my back, no matter what."
Recently, Luke covered up her tattoos for a video with Truly, and both she and her partner disliked how she looked without the tattoos.
"I support her. It makes her happy," her partner said of Luke's tattoos in the video.
Luke is currently studying to become a counselor so she can help others who struggle with their mental health.
"I am starting my studies to become a qualified counselor in the following areas of expertise: drug and alcohol counseling, family domestic abuse, mental health, and aboriginal health," Luke said.
"I want to learn and adapt as much as I possibly can during this two-year course," she said. "I believe I am ready to take on this role."
"I feel it is so empowering to take ownership and control over your body," Luke told Insider.
"Your mind is such a powerful tool - if you don't have control over it, it will take control of you," Luke said.
She added that she would advise people who are starting to get tattoos or modify their appearances to "stop being so harsh on yourself. You're just at the beginning of your journey. I know you will grow and shape into the person you want to be as you age with time. Until then, stop trying to please others. Do you."
"If you want to color your hair, do it. If you want that piercing, do it. After all, they're both removable," she said.
"I'll never stop getting tattooed," Luke said.
"I have already started layering my tattoos with scratch work and black work tattooing," she said. "I know that the last thing I'll do when I'm on my deathbed is going to be getting tattooed."
You can follow Luke on Instagram here.
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