A man who was diagnosed with cancer during childhood has opened up about how covering his body with tattoos helped him to overcome his insecurities.

While for some people ink can be a way of expressing their creative side, others find that ink can possess a deeper meaning.

For QuestG, the decision to decorate himself in tattoos came from an early age after he suffered from doubts about his image following a cancer diagnosis.

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Speaking on the JustINKD YouTube channel, the model and tattoo fanatic shared his story – and explained how his journey had helped inspire others facing a similar struggle.

“I had cancer when I was 12 and after I did chemotherapy I broke out in body acne all over, all over my back and my arms,” he explained.

“When I was in high school I just wore long sleeves to cover it up, and if it got really bad and it was too hot in Vegas, I didn’t want to wear long sleeves so I would get an iron and literally just brand myself.”

Quest emphasised that he regretted harming himself in this way, and described how he instead found tattoos as a way of overcoming his anxiety over his looks.

“Tattoos really did help my mental health a lot because I was able to cover up a lot of my insecurities from that,” he explained.

Now covered head-to-toe in a collection of tattoos, the American admitted that he is totally comfortable with his appearance.

“I love the way I look every time I get a new tattoo but the process of getting it is super painful so I’m always like, ‘why am I doing this?’ And then when I’m done I’m like, ‘yes, I’m so happy I did this’,” he said.

“I am the happiest I’ve ever been and now looking back, I’ve honestly been happy in a straight line through my entire life, and I’m just very very grateful to even be alive, especially having cancer at such a young age.”

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And, despite his mum’s initial anxieties at his extreme transformation – which includes tattooed eyeballs – Quest described how he had been inspired to share his story online in the hope of helping others.

He continued: “Especially being able to transfer my energy into influencing people in a positive way, and how many people that I’ve seen that I’ve changed the way that they look at people trying to be different or if they want to be different.

“That just makes me really happy that I can help people in that way.”

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