World / 72-yr-old becomes Germany's most tattooed person with 98% body covered, pics surface

Berlin: A German pensioner who calls himself Magneto has covered 98 per cent of his body with tattoos, with only the soles of his feet un-inked.

The 72-year-old, whose real name is Wolfgang Kirsch, has had 86 large tattoos completed in the past two decades and is officially Germany's most tattooed man.

The retired post office worker from Berlin said his passion only started after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Magneto says he was not able to get tattoos while working in the post office in the GDR and had to wait until the reunification of Germany to get his first body ink.

He even has 17 implants under his skin including in his throat and in his fingers.

Some of the metal implants are magnetic and can pick up paper clips, lending him his alter ego.

The pensioner has covered his face, arms, torso, back and legs and has sat under the needle for a total of 720 hours.

He told Bild: 'In the GDR, tattoos were frowned upon and unthinkable for employees at the post office. 

'It wasn't until I was 46 years old that I got my first tattoo, a tear under my eye.'

His addiction has set him back a total of 25,000 Euros and he has even had his eyeballs tattooed black.  

Only the soles of his feet have not yet been tattooed, Magneto said.

He added: 'Even on the street I am asked for autographs and want to take photos.'