‘I’m 57 and covered in tattoos – people my age don’t understand but I inspire others’

dailystar.co.uk:

tattoo. After a messy separation from her then-husband, the American took the radical decision to embrace change and had an image of barbed wire inked around her ankle – a symbol of keeping bad relationships out and good ones in.

Around 27 years later, Lonni has gathered over one million followers on her TikTok account, where she hopes to inspire others to embrace their true selves by dressing stylishly and getting inked up to her armpits. READ MORE: Meet body modification fan who spent £7k covering 65% of body in tattoosKnown as GrayHairAndTattoos online, the 57-year-old recently left her administrative job to work on her social media platforms, posing daily in chic vintage outfits and flashing her colourfully tattooed arms and hands.Lonni was enthusiastic about her transition into a tattooed influencer – but exclusively told Daily Star that she's battled against nasty comments about her age at times.“There’s still a lot of old stereotypes that just don’t go away associated with tattooing and just associated with age in itself,” she confessed. “I still get comments that I’m too old for tattoos and I have yet to have anybody tell me what am I supposed to do about it? “I do videos all the time and i’m like, ‘okay you tell me i’m too old but what’s the alternative?

Do you want me to just go away? They don’t wash off at a certain age. “So there’s still a real stereotype, but I think it’s more just a really loud woman who’s living authentically has a tendency to make people uncomfortable, so I think it’s the tattoos that they hyper-focus on instead of me as a whole.” Despite this, Lonni stressed that each and every troll online is outmatched by the positive reception she receives from others desperate to chase their own.