“What better way to express myself than by designing a tattoo of my son using some of his ashes.”
This is Mark Richmond, a father who still has not got over his son’s death. Ayden was two years and four months old when he died in 2005, suffering from a rare ailment, where his body could not absorb the fats.
Mark Richmond and his wife Lisa wanted to do something different as a lifelong tribute to their son.
The couple owned a tattoo parlor in Greater Manchester. Richmond had once tattooed the portrait of Sophie Lancaster, a 20 year old who was murdered in a park. Her father
who could not bear the pain of losing her, wanted to heal his scars by getting her portrait tattooed on him.
Richmond was inspired to do the same. As ashes contain carbon which is an important ingredient of tattooing ink, he decided to mix the ashes of his son in the ink and get his portrait tattooed on his chest, to keep him always close to his heart.
His wife, who is expecting a fourth child, will get a portrait of her son tattooed on her arm after the child is born.
David Beckham is one of the celebrities who has been to their tattoo parlor at Cheadle Hulme.
Richmond who plans to have him tattooed soon said, “Some people might think it’s a bit morbid, but until they have been through what we have, I don’t think they can really judge us.”