A 24-year-old Chinese man who got a skull tattoo on his face six years ago has been trying to get a job ever since.

The unnamed man, referred to only as Mr. A by Chinese media, was recently featured by Morning Star News and shocked the entire country with his unusual look. The 24-year-old man claims to have been a rebellious youth who also struggled with depression and found refuge in his tattoos. He first started getting tattoos on his body, but six years ago, he made the radical decision to get a skull tattoo on his face. The design featured dark holes around his eyes and on his nose, teeth around his mouth, and a brain pattern on his shaved head. He was happy with it at the time, but quickly realized that the design was going to make it very hard for him to lead a normal life.

“The past six years have been very difficult for me and my family,” Mr. A said. “I couldn’t find a job, was often insulted by netizens when doing live broadcasts, and it was very difficult to use Face ID on my phone. It was really embarrassing.”

Having encountered difficulties updating his identification papers because of his face tattoos, Mr. A finally decided it was time to rectify his mistake. In October, he contacted a tattoo removal studio and started erasing the ink on one of his arms. The laser procedure was painful but bearable, but he recently started work on his face and this was a completely different experience.

“I have been removing tattoos for over 10 years, but this case is the most difficult,” the laser removal technician told Morning Star News. “Ordinary tattoos can be roughly removed in three or four sessions, but his tattoo is dark in color and covers a wide area, especially the area around the corner of the eye and the tear gland.”

Because of how sensitive the area around Mr. A’s eyes is, the technician has to use a low-intensity laser. Even so, the pain is reportedly excruciating, and the risk of accidentally causing irreparable damage is very high.

After his first session to remove the tattoos on his face, Mr. A said the pain was so intense it caused him heart problems so he is now taking a break to recuperate. He is confident that after another four or five sessions, he will finally be able to have a normal life.

Mr. A’s story went viral on Chinese social media, splitting users into two camps, one that praised his courage to make his plight public and do something to correct his poor decisions and another that used his case as a cautionary tale for young people thinking of going down the same path.