A teenage father with ‘DEVAST8’ tattooed across his face is ‘waiting for the right job offer’ after his desperate plea for work went viral – and he has revealed he will be getting the jailhouse ink lasered off.
Mark Cropp, 19, from New Zealand, took to social media on Wednesday afternoon to beg someone to look past his criminal convictions and heavily-tattooed face and give him a chance at work.
Within hours he had been inundated with job offers and said he had ‘stopped counting when he reached 45’.
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Mark ‘Devast8’ Cropp (pictured) has revealed that he has turned down 45 job offers since his story went viral
The 19-year-old (pictured) had taken to social media in frustration that his face tattoos were preventing him from finding work
But he told Daily Mail Australia he still hadn’t ‘done a day’s work’.
‘I am just waiting for the right one to come about,’ he said.
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Some of the jobs required him to have his own car – he clarified – but he will need help getting to the work site.
‘Until I get my first paycheck and get a car I won’t be able to get myself around,’ he said.
The former criminal revealed he will be getting the artwork – designed by his brother after a night of drinking home brew in jail – removed as soon as possible.
‘A week before I got out I taped a picture of my face to the inside of an envelope so my partner could see it – she was devastated – but now she likes it and can’t see me without it,’ Cropp (pictured, right) said
Man with DEVAST8 tattoo speaks about trying to get a job
‘I am just working out a date to get it taken off – which sucks because it is going to hurt,’ he said.
‘And because, you know, this tattoo means something to me and my brother did it for me so it is hard to make the decision to get rid of it.
‘But I know it is the best thing for my future – and I want to be a person my family can look to for support.’
The artwork was designed to make him ‘look tough’ when he landed in jail following a long string of violent behaviour.
This image shows Cropp (pictured) before the face tattoo which made him go viral on social media
‘And because, you know, this tattoo means something to me and my brother did it for me so it is hard to make the decision to get rid of it,’ he said
Mark and girlfriend Taneia Ruki got together a year before he was sent to prison
It was meant to be a ‘little one along the jawline,’ but the pair got carried away after drinking home brew made from fermented apples, sugar and bread.
‘I went into jail with four tattoos and I came out with a full body suit,’ he said.
But the face tattoo was the biggest shock to his family.
‘A week before I got out I taped a picture of my face to the inside of an envelope so my partner could see it – she was devastated – but now she likes it and can’t see me without it.’
DEVAST8 happens to be the 19-year-old’s nickname.
Mark Cropp (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia he is still waiting for the right job to come along
Cropp (pictured) says the face tattoo was supposed to be small but he and his brother got carried away after drinking homebrew
‘I was going through a rough patch’: Teen with DEVAST8 jail tattoo
‘I would end up devastating everyone I met or got close to.
‘They would be disappointed with something I had done or said – I was always hearing “that’s devastating”,’ he said.
But he hopes the devastating chapters of his life are over – erased along with the ink on his face.
‘I have learnt from my mistake,’ he said.
‘I still don’t think people should be judged by the tattoos on their face – but I know it will keep happening unless I do something about it.’
Before his final desperate plea on Facebook the teenager said people had ‘laughed in (his) face’ when he had asked for work.
The tattoo was drawn with a homemade gun which used a needle made from the spring of a pen and powered by a cassette player.
Plastic knives and forks are burnt to a black plastic powder and mixed with toothpaste and water to create the ink.
The teenager has been out of jail for two weeks.
Mark has also been offered laser therapy to remove the tattoo and will have his first session on Tuesday (pictured right with partner)
The New Zealander (pictured) has been out of jail for two weeks and says he has learnt from his mistake
15 years after divorce, Tom Cruise, 61, has ‘made things official’ with new girlfriend – and you might recognize her
Reports indicate that Tom Cruise, who separated from Katie Holmes 15 years ago, may have discovered true love once more. Elsina Khayrova, 36, and Cruise are reportedly developing a serious relationship.
After they were spotted together at a party in Mayfair, London, late last year, we broke the story of reports that Cruise was smitten with his new Russian socialite lover. The two were reportedly “inseparable” at the time.
That came when Cruise’s name was mentioned alongside recent divorcee Shakira, a pop sensation from Columbia, and later alongside co-star Hayley Atwell of Mission: Impossible. But neither rumor appeared to be very credible.
It’s time to put this rumors to bed once and for all, if the latest allegations about Cruise and Khayrova are to be believed. Insiders claim that the two are now formally dating.
“Elsina’s circle is aware that she and Tom are dating,” a source told the Daily Mail.
According to the insider, Cruise has been staying at Khayrova’s $12 million apartment. “They’ve grown very close over the past few weeks but take a lot of care not to be photographed together because they want to maintain their privacy,” the person said.
The insider continued, “Tom has been spending the night in Elsina’s apartment, which is a very lovely location, as you might imagine. Despite their riches, they love spending time together and engage in many of the same activities as other couples.
Nevertheless, the pair hasn’t been seen posing for pictures together, likely because they wish to keep their relationship quiet for the time being.
Khayrova, a former model with British citizenship, separated from her ex-husband, business magnate Dmitry Tsvetkov, in the previous year.
When she appeared in court in 2022 and was told to pay a large cost of £117,000 ($149,50) to a company that had placed fountains in one of her and her ex-spouse’s homes, her name made news.
In contrast, Cruise has been married three times: first to Mimi Rogers from 1987 to 1990 and then to Nicole Kidman from 1990 to 2001 for a total of eleven years.
The Scientologist and actor last wed Katie Holmes in 2006; they parted ways in 2012, and the actor hasn’t been together since.
The Daily Mail claims that Khayrova’s ex-husband sent a warning to Tom Cruise and anyone else who would later date his ex-partner.
“Anyone who knows her, whether it’s Tom Cruise or someone else, should know that she enjoys finer things in life and has opulent, expensive taste.” Tsvetkov advised Tom to keep his eyes and pocketbook wide open to the Mail.
“I’m glad for her and send my best wishes her way.”
Do you know who Tom Cruise’s new girlfriend is? Please tell us in the comments section.
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