Charles “Chuck” Helmke, 81, and Charlotte Guttenberg, 74, both have more than 95 percent of their bodies covered in tattoos (Image: Guinness World Records)
Meet the ink-redible couple crowned the most tattooed senior citizens on the planet.
Charles “Chuck” Helmke, 81, and Charlotte Guttenberg, 74, each hold the Guinness World Record for being the most tattooed senior citizen in their respective genders.
It comes after a combined 2,000 hours in the tattooist’s chair.
Colourful Chuck has 97.5% of his body tattooed, but his beloved Charlotte trumps him, having covered 98.75% of her body in ink.
There is, however, still time for Chuck to outdo her, as she says she’s at “full saturation” and won’t be adding any more art.
The pair, from Melbourne, Florida, had both been married before when they met during one of Charlotte’s early sessions in the tattoo parlour. Chuck offered to hold her hand through the inking and love bloomed.
Charlote was 57 when she got her first tattoo, while Chuck waited 41 years between his first and second inking session (Image: Guinness World Records)
Surprisingly, Charlotte was something of a late starter as far as tattoos are concerned.
She waited until she was 57 to get her first inking after the death of her second husband, who forbade her from getting any.
It’s safe to say Charlotte hasn’t looked back since, with 98.75% of her skin now covered with colourful designs. Only her face and part of her hands are untouched by the needle.
Charlotte Guttenberg and Chuck Helmke met in a tattoo parlour (Image: Guinness World Records)
Chuck’s journey, though, started much earlier, when he was an 18-year-old, in 1959, and in basic training for the US Army.
He got two more tattoos that same day, but it was only 41 years later that he got another, opting to cover up third-degree burns scars on his arms.
Chuck, a former self-defence instructor, now has 97.5% of his towering 6ft 4ins frame covered in ink and also holds the world record for the most skulls tattooed on a person, with a staggering 376.
Chuck has the most skulls tattooed on one person, while Charlotte holds the record for most feathers tattooed on a person (Image: Guinness World Records)
Charlotte is also recognised as the world’s most tattooed living woman and holds an additional record for the most feather tattoos on a person, with 216.
She admits she’s reached her limits and her body suit is now at “full saturation”.
“I consider myself a walking art gallery. Some people buy art and hang it on the walls – I have it on my body,” she said.
Charlotte says she’s reached her limits and her body suit is now ‘full saturation’ (Image: Guinness World Records)
At times Charlotte has received negative and cruel comments, but she remains proud of her record-breaking accomplishments.
“Young people tell me I’m cool and how they wish their grandmothers were like that,” she said.
Despite being adorned from head to toe in beautiful art, the couple don’t notice the tattoos when they look at each other.
“It’s just part of us,” she said. “
But it’s a small part of our life and some people probably don’t understand that. It doesn’t define who we are at all.”
