Description
Meet the Three Lions fan who treats his body like a passport - by covering it in tattooed stamps from 32 countries he has visited.Ian Odgers, 54, has been around the world watching the England national team.He wanted something to remember each trip by - so decided to get inked on his arms and legs.Ian, from Dereham, Norfolk, then showed photocopies from his passport to the tattoo artist.And he currently has tattoos from 32 countries - but he's not done yet.The operations manager and dad-of-three said: "The experiences I've had across the years have been incredible."So I decided it would be cool to have a tattoo artist replicate the travel stamps on all my old passports on my arms and legs."Ian is a huge England football fan and has travelled all over the world supporting the Three Lions.In fact, he says he hasn't missed an England qualification or friendly game for over a decade.And he's attended five international tournaments - including the most recent World Cup in Qatar.Ian has also travelled to see bands and to take part in marathons.He got his first travel tattoo in 2017 but decided to fully invest in 2022.He booked in for one session a month to get multiple passports done.Ian said: "I got my first stamps six years ago. Then I had a break and picked it up again last year."I had four sessions in four months where [tattoo artist] Tori filled up my whole arms and down my right thigh."Each stamp holds a unique memory from the time I spent in that country, and each one is personal to me. "My first stamp was Malaysia and the last stamp I got done was Qatar."Sadly when I look at the latter all I can think of is Kane's penalty miss!"Wife Ria Odgers, 55, accompanies Ian when she can.Ian said: "The football is something I follow alone, but me and Ria love attending international gigs together. "I have also ran 38 marathons abroad, and she has travelled far and wide to support me."Travelling has been such a big part of my life, and I wanted to find a way of combining that with my love for tattoos."Ian had his tattoos done at Living Colour.And he hopes to return for some more work - after his next trip.He said: "We're planning a trip to South America soon and I'm already planning for the next World Cup."There's still a bit of space on my arms and underneath my neckline for more stamps from the adventures to come."Ian has stamps from visits to Malaysia, Spain, North America, Philippines, Argentina Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Jordan, Qatar, Russia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Egypt, Morocco, Finland, Germany, Montenegro, Canada, Mauritius, Kenya, Thailand, Tunisia, Costa Rica, Maldives, Slovakia, Ireland, Cyprus, Turkey, Lithuania and France.