A former model has spent around $100,000 (£75,981) transforming himself with tattoos that cover his entire body – yep, including his penis.

Richard Grossman, 41, is inked head-to-toe in various designs, having decorated his body with tribal patterns, text and blackwork.

Grossman, a custom car painter and artist from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, got his first piece – a sun and moon yin and yang design – on his back when he was 20, and estimates he has since spent more than 1,000 hours under the needle.

He found spirituality in 2006 after struggling with drug and alcohol addiction since the age of 12, and is now clean and sober of all substances.

He said: “I have ‘never give up’ on my neck for the Dalai Lama’s poem, and my family members’ names in Hebrew on my stomach.

“I was addicted to drugs from age 12 to 20, then clean for seven years until I relapsed, but I heard a voice in February 2016 and now have over 14 years where I have been clean from all vices including cigarettes

“I have a lot of ‘X’s for straight edge – no drugs, no alcohol, no cigarettes – on me and numbers on my fingers, ‘251’, which is the area code for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.“

Grossman has tattoos covering most of his face and body, having even had his genitals and inner bottom lip inked – although he said the pain of these intimate areas is nothing compared to the ball of his ankle and his chest, the latter of which took the longest to complete.

Next up he wants to get the roof of his mouth, his back and his eyeballs blacked out.

He continued: “I have a tyrannosaurus rex in my left ear and a noose in my right, Recently I have made a very good friend in tattoo artist, @hoode215 and he has been blacking me out.

“My d*** is tattooed as well as my inner bottom lip.

“When people tattoo themselves like I do, I believe they are not individual tattoos anymore, they’re more like hemispheres but my d*** tattoo and pretty much anything @hoode215 has done on me like all the blackwork are probably my favourites.”

Grossman said he has never struggled getting work due to his appearance, and that the reaction to his unique look is largely positive.

He said: “I’m really good at what I do for a living so I have always had a good job/career and my paintings sell for no less than $1,000 [£759].

“I’ve been all over the world and people react to me in every way you could imagine.

“For the most part they want to touch me or ask questions and this was my path so I perceive it as the more you educate people the more they will accept it, it’s mind blowing when people realise I’m smart and educated as well as having tattoos.”

Grossman shares his artwork and photos of his tattoos on Instagram under the handle @keystonecrossbones.

Offering advice to anyone else thinking of getting permanent body art, he added: “I will always maintain that I can’t stop anyone from doing what they want to but I would say make sure you map it out and that you can because you might want to add to it.

“Appreciate the things you do and experience in this existence because we are only conscious of it now.

“Remember who you are before you place judgement on people you have never looked in the eye because they may be the person who saves you or changes your perception.”