A tattoo artist has come up with an ingenious solution to save punters money on pricey trainers – by getting them permanently tattooed on. Dean Gunther, 34, originally from Bellville, South Africa, moved to the UK five years ago and opened his own studio called DG Tattoo art.
He first started inking people aged just 21 years old and has always looked for ways to help his patrons and the local community. The artist recently went viral after saving a customer a fortune on a gym membership by giving him a permanent six-pack tattoo, and it looks like he’s not stopping there – with his latest design even more bizarre.
Sharing his creation on TikTok and Instagram, where a video showing the art has racked up over two million views and counting, Dean reveals how he tattooed a pair of shoes on a customer’s feet. “I wanted to create the illusion that the person is wearing shoes, even though he’s bare feet,” Dean said.
“It will definitely make you look twice.”
Dean found the sneaker his customer liked best, viewed the image in 360 degrees and then drew it onto his foot, freehand. The piece took Dean around two hours to draw and another eight hours to tattoo onto both feet.
One social media user commented on the bizarre idea of a permanent shoe, saying: “They’ll last you forever”. “Save a fortune on trainers,” added another person.
“Mad as pumps love it,” commented someone else. Another couldn’t believe the genius idea saying “F*** me that’s clever.”
“Wow brave man both feet,” wrote another user, clearly stunned by the customer being able to handle the pain of tattooing this body part. Dean said: “Drawing the tattoo on my free hand was the most challenging part.
“I had to make sure everything flows with the contours of the body. A stencil would not work in this case, so it’s all freehand.
“Once that was on, the tattooing was straightforward. He’s tired of paying for shoes, so he decided he will get his favourite pair of Nikes tattooed on him and he can see the funny side to it!
“Definitely a great conversation starter. His wife loves it too.”
Dean has also given a hint to his next tattoo.
He says it will be one of the most emotional pieces he’s attempted, in hopes of bringing awareness to cancer.