Once celebrated for his striking looks and career as a nightclub bouncer, a French man has become nearly unrecognisable causing gasps, stares, and even fear on the streets. Yet, this transformation was not by accident.
Wherever he goes, people cross the street, avoid eye contact, or even refuse him service. Some restaurants have turned him away, Uber drivers decline his rides, and even basic identification documents became a battle, with the Mexican government taking over a year to issue him an ID card.
But it wasn’t crime, fame, or politics that led to this reality. It was Anthony Loffredo’s pursuit of something far more shocking his dream of becoming a ‘black alien’.
Loffredo, now 35, began his transformation at age 26 after a period of personal dissatisfaction with his physical appearance. Though many considered him handsome and physically appealing, Loffredo didn’t see his reflection the same way.
“Yes, I was happy, but not in the right body. It wasn’t my body, my real body,” he confessed during an interview with Channel 4.
Over the years, Loffredo has had his nose removed, ears amputated, tongue split, and eyeballs tattooed black. He’s also shaved and dyed his teeth, implanted horns under his skin, burned demonic symbols into his flesh, and cut off two of his fingers.
Many of these surgeries are considered illegal in his home country of France, forcing him to seek underground clinics abroad to fulfill his vision. Most of these procedures involved general anesthesia and were performed in non-medical environments—often tattoo shops operating in legal grey areas.
“I’m fascinated, it fascinates me—everything, the human body,” he shared during an appearance on Spain’s Club 113 podcast.
“[My look is inspired by] a bit of everything, because no one knows what is out there.”
Despite his unsettling appearance, Loffredo is not alone. He belongs to a growing subculture known as the extreme body modification community, where individuals voluntarily undergo irreversible, unconventional alterations. Notable members include Tiamat Legion Medusa, the so-called Dragon Lady, and Tom Leppard, who had over 99 percent of his body tattooed like a leopard before his passing.
Still, Loffredo’s transformation has come at a cost. His appearance has severely limited his daily interactions with society.
“It’s an everyday struggle… every day you find new people who don’t understand, who want to judge,” he said.
While many online have criticized him, accusing him of having a “mental illness” or suffering from “childhood trauma”, Loffredo continues to assert that this is his path—and one that he doesn’t regret. His mother, he shared, has supported him from the start.
“My mom always allowed me to do whatever I wanted,” he said. “I went to their house on Christmas Day, the first 15 minutes they looked at me in a weird way, but then, all good.”
However, the most unexpected twist in his story came last year, when Loffredo revealed his relationship with tattoo model Melina Shakur. The couple went public in December, posting intim*te content together, including videos of them kissing with their forked tongues and speaking about possibly removing some of his tattoos.
Soon after, Loffredo made headlines again—not for another surgery, but for stopping his transformation altogether.
He had previously stated that he was only “65 percent” complete and was preparing to amputate one of his legs to replace it with a biomechanical prosthetic. But the operation was put on hold.
“Right now, I am going to focus on something real,” he announced in January.
“Not more on how to live life.”
In a February Instagram post, he wrote:
“Sometimes, dreams can’t come true—so we start using photo editing.”
And in April, he reflected:
“I transformed myself into a rare and ugly creature, but I enjoyed it.”
Theories online suggest that his relationship with Melina Shakur may have influenced his decision to pause or abandon the black alien project. The couple’s last joint post appeared in May, discussing the potential removal of some body modifications.
Despite the backlash, Loffredo maintains a following of over 1.3 million on Instagram. He continues to share his journey, whether forward into further transformation—or back into something more “real,” as he now puts it.
Whether he resumes or retreats, one thing is certain—Anthony Loffredo has forced the world to confront its ideas about beauty, body autonomy, and what it means to be human.
And in a world that often rewards conformity, he chose to become the alien.
Feature Image Credit: (instragram/ @the_black_alien_project)
