The most altered man in the world with 516 body alterations shows what he was like before

He has at least 516 body modifications, including 278 genital piercings only.

And these jaw-dropping numbers explain why Rolf Buchholz, 62, is listed in Guinness World Records as the man with the most body piercings and modifications.

But there was a time when the German hardly deserved a second look if I passed him on the street.

Indeed, up until his 40th birthday, Dortmund’s IT guy looked like the epitome of the ordinary, as revealed in some photos showing him before he embarked on his body modification mission.

In an instant, Rolf is seen emerging from the sea without a single earring impaled on his flesh.

In another photo, he can be seen at a horse show, looking rather ordinary in a pair of large book glasses and a tucked-in blue shirt.

It is very different from his current appearance, along with Rolf as he has large subcutaneous horns implanted on his forehead, his eyes tattooed in black, his tongue split in half and 90% of his body inked.

He freely admits that he has scared many people with his appearance.

“A lot of people think I’m the devil, but I don’t think I am,” he said in an interview, before adding that he turned to morphing simply because “he liked mods.”

“So I started doing more and more”.

He also told the Guinness World Records YouTube channel that he is proud of the titles he holds.

“It’s something special and people have a slightly different look in my body modifications since they saw me in the book.”

The only downside, he added, was the hassle he has at airports, with his piercings always triggering metal detectors and getting him stopped by security.

Rolf even claimed that he was once refused entry to the UAE during a trip to Dubai due to his looks.

“Those who drove me to the plane said it was because I seemed to like black magic,” he said.