This Alberta man holds a Guinness record for his Marvel-lous tattoos
'It’s definitely a cool conversation starter,' says Rick Scolamiero
After more than 50 tattoos that cover his body from the neck down — more than 30 of which include characters from Spider-Man to Wolverine — Rick Scolamiero of Edmonton has a new claim to fame.
Scolamiero has achieved the marvellous accomplishment of holding a title in the Guinness World Records for having the most Marvel character tattoos.
The characters come from a series of superhero films and comic books.
He's a big fan of Marvel, and his first sleeve — tattoos that cover most, if not all, of an arm — was a mashup of his top picks.
Scolamiero also has the Avengers: Hulk, Captain America and Guardians of the Galaxy. He once even had Stan Lee, renown comic book writer and Marvel Comics' primary creative leader, sign his wrist at a comic-con festival and had it turned into a tattoo by a friend.
As for other characters, he said some of his tattoos are "hidden away."
"I actually have my butt cheeks tattooed as well, which are two Marvel characters. I got one on each cheek," Scolamiero said with a laugh. He said one is Vision from the Avengers, and the other is Spider-Man 2099.
"Those are some of the ones that are the awkward conversation."
He first saw an Iron Man tattoo on a TV show about 11 years ago, he said. That's when he thought of getting some himself. And while it may be an unusual feat, he never planned it to make a record out of it at first.
"I just had this thought one night. I said, 'hey, I wonder if I could get a Guinness record, I wonder if anyone has one,'" Scolamiero said.
He inquired and was told there wasn't and that one would be created for him.
"It's definitely a cool conversation starter," said Scolamiero, who added he was featured in the Guinness World Record 2020 book.
This summer, the CBC's Calgary Eyeopener will be chatting with more Albertans who also hold world records.
With files from the Calgary Eyeopener.