Working on the show.

Working on the show

Being autistic has it's ups and downs when working on the show. I absolutely love being in front of the cameras, it's fun and I can be whoever I want to be! I get to meet all kinds of different people who have the most bizarre stories to tell! The production team are amazing to work with too. On top of that, I get to draw up the most hilarious designs, and the most disgusting ones and then get to tattoo them! It certainly keeps my career as a tattoo artist interesting! It really is the best job in the world. 

But something was affecting me.

I had no idea that I was autistic, it wasn't until things got progressively worse for me in my head that I sought help for the final time.

Why couldn't I just socialise and be 'normal' like everybody else? Why am I crying in my hotel room at night? 

 I enjoyed my job so why can't I express that? By the time I finished filming series 3 I finally got my diagnosis after well over a decade of trying to self-help and work out why I was so different.

The bright lights were overpowering, the noise was overpowering. Being away from home where I couldn' hide away was totally unbearable. The social aspect of the show is the hardest. But I’ve never let it stop me because not only am I obsessed nut I’m also pretty determined.

Despite finding simple tasks challenging like so many others on the spectrum, I still never give up. I power on through and I overcome any obstacles or people who try to stand in my way, and I just want everyone to know that it doesn’t matter if you’re wired differently because a label doesn’t define you. You can still be an achiever, you are still a somebody. 

I define autism, autism doesn’t define me, and without it I wouldn’t be the artist I am today.

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