King of Ink Land King Body Art the Extreme Ink-Ite, the Birmingham man widely recognized as Britain’s most tattooed person, has revealed he suddenly lost his vision for approximately 40 minutes in a medical scare that left him unable to use his phone and forced him to stop police officers on a main road for assistance.
The 46-year-old, who legally changed his name from Matthew Whelan, has covered more than 90 percent of his body in tattoos, including the whites of both eyes. Speaking about the episode, he said, “I went temporarily blind for around 40 minutes. It was so scary.” When his sight returned, it remained blurry and was accompanied by severe vertigo that made everything spin.
Doctors conducted several hours of tests and ruled out a stroke, determining that his eyes appeared otherwise healthy. The specialist noted it was the first time he had treated a patient with tattooed eyeballs. The cause of the temporary blindness has not been identified.
Two years ago, the body-modification figure was diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes. He maintains the condition is unrelated to the ink but has expressed concern that the existing eye tattoos could complicate or prevent standard treatment if the cataracts progress. He also deals with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, which causes intense dizziness, particularly when rising from bed. In response, he has reduced his phone use and begun wearing blue-light glasses.
Known for spending more than 1,600 hours under the needle and holding a Guinness World Record for the most tattoo artists working on one person simultaneously, he had paused new tattoo work for four years while paying off his mortgage. After clearing the debt earlier this year, he resumed with a hand tattoo of his English bulldog and has discussed plans to continue covering his back. Still, the recent incident prompted a moment of caution. “It’s given me a wake-up call to be careful about what I do next,” he said. “If I play silly games, I’ll win stupid prizes.”
The case adds to ongoing medical discussions around the long-term risks of scleral tattooing, a procedure ophthalmologists have long flagged for potential complications including inflammation, infection and interference with future eye care.
