By Freya Coombes
THIS DAD endured years of religious persecution including being told “the devil will boil him alive in a cauldron” after turning himself into a cyborg who is able to store computer files through his skin with the help of electronic implants.
Tattoo artist Caim Mortiss (45) from Colombia, insists he is the most modified person in Colombia and because of that reputation and fearsome appearance he has been called a “God” by some native people of Latin America, but also suffered severe religious persecution, despite him being a father and local businessman.
Caim has focused his modifications around his love of animals, gaining modifications that resemble different animal features. He has undergone scleral tattooing on his eyes to transform them into the eyes of a horse, nose surgery to look like a feline, tongue forking and surgery to turn his ears into dog ears. His arms also simulate the skin of a crocodile with tattoos and implants.
The father-of-one has received his electronic implant, which he received in Canada, for free so he can showcase the gadget on behalf of the manufacturer. Thanks to his electronic implant, he is able to store information such as videos, music, photos and files.
He sees himself as a cyborg, and hopes to one day adapt his implant to can open up his house, turn on his motorcycle and even unlock a safe.
Caim started altering his look at the age of 22, beginning with tattoos. From there, Caim has received hundreds of tattoos, as well as 39 silicone and Teflon implants, an electronic implant, 54 piercings, three scarifications and three dermal implants.
Scarification is a way of permanently marking the skin by cutting parts of the skin to form a pattern.
Now, Caim has created a name for himself, receiving many tattoos and implants for free as he has become a walking advert for tattoo artists and implant manufacturers worldwide.
Due to his appearance, Caim has received a lot of hate and verbal abuse, both in person and online.
A large number of these comments are founded in religion such as “What the hell have you done to god’s creation”, “You are poisoned, may God punish you” and “the devil will boil you in a cauldron”.
Despite everything, Caim has amassed a loyal following of 10.1k people on Instagram, with many people loving his look and even becoming inspired to create their own unique appearance through body modifications.
“I started to change my look 23 years-ago. I wanted to change my appearance because I was in search of my own body aesthetics,” said Caim.
“I have 80% of my body tattooed with 39 silicone and Teflon implants. An electronic implant and 54 piercings, three scarifications and three dermal implants.
“I’m a cyborg. In my electronic implant I can store information, videos, music, photos, books and files.
“My other body modifications are focused on animals, horse eyes, feline nose, snake tongue, dog ears. And my arms simulate the skin of a crocodile, I have horns like many animals.
“Recently I have placed silicone implants in my hand and two ribs above the eyebrows.
“My look has drastically changed with the tattooing of my eyes. The human eye is not designed to have any colour.
“I am catalogued worldwide as being among the greatest exponents of body modification.
“I am the most modified in my country and the third in Latin America.
“Modification is my passion, I live from my image.”
Caim talks about the cost of his appearance.
“At first, I had to pay a lot of money because, in my country, there were no encoders and I had to travel to other countries to carry out the procedures,” he said.
“Now I am a showcase for artists who want to work on my body for the honour of saying that Caim has an implant manufactured by them, which is good advertising.
Due to his appearance, Caim has a lot of unusual experiences.
“In the course of my life, I have had many strange experiences with people who tell me many crazy things,” said Caim.
“People write to me saying that they got tattooed or modified because of me. Or they ask me about some procedure asking for advice.
“A native in Brazil thought that I was his God.
“Most of the time beautiful people give you support, respect and admiration. Despite not being tattooed or modified, they love you and that is very gratifying for me as a person,” he said.
“My body aesthetic is out of the ordinary, but that does not mean that I am a bad person, on the contrary, body modification has taught me to be more humane and respect animals and nature.”
Caim receives a lot of abuse in person and online, particularly of a religious nature.
“I have been verbally abused by uneducated and intolerant people and, many times, I have been discriminated against because of my appearance,” he said.
“On social media, you find many aggressive and negative comments, most, if not all, from religious people.
“I always get religious comments, but you can’t be arguing with people of different religions and different cultures. No one wants to understand the other’s reason. It becomes a vicious circle of discussion.
“That can cause discomfort, but really it makes me laugh.”
Luckily Caim has an excellent support network in place.
“I think my support network is my current partner. Apart from being my wife, she is my friend, accomplice and lover, she is the one who gives meaning to my life, my motor and strength,” he said.
“She is the one who encourages me to be a better person every day and the person who knows who I really am and who values, appreciates and accepts how I am.
“The rest of my family and friends appreciate and respect me as a brother.”
Caim has no intention to ever stop modifying himself.
“I will continue my evolution in terms of tattooing and body mods are a passion and my way of life. I live by my image and worship my body. Because I am Art,” said Caim.
“Next, I will place some more implants in the head, face and chest, some transdermal implants I have had made especially for me.
“I would like to advise people who are thinking about modifying that they think about it very hard because it is not a game. They are going to have problems with their family and society.
“Thanks to many TV shows, tattoos and modifications are being seen as art. Let’s try to have a little tolerance and respect towards other cultures that are suddenly unknown to us.
“Try to know if the person has interacted with her before judging. And the same with animals and nature, show respect.”
ENDS
