Like Eak? You'll love the world's most tattooed granny

For the average law student, the thought of spending time sleeping on a bed of nails rather than revising for your bar exams might sound like lunacy. But Eduardo Arrocha – a first year student at the Thomas M Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan – is anything but average.

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Better known as Eak The Geek, for 15 years the 45-year-old tattooed wonder was a performer at the Coney Island Circus Sideshow in New York, under the monikers The Pain-Proof Man and The Man Who Tattooed His Face Like Outer Space. His act involved walking on broken glass or inviting audience members to stand on his chest while he was sandwiched between two beds of nails, and these incredible skits were punctuated by poetry readings and lectures on the importance of diversity.

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But Eak’s ditched his life on stage in favour of the classroom. And armed with a bachelor’s degree from New York’s Marymount College, he’s packed up his bed of nails and moved to the land of the Great Lakes to pursue a brand new career.

FAREWELL CONEY ISLAND

Despite the dramatic change of direction, the jump from Coney Island to Cooley Law wasn’t a sudden move. Eak considered the profession for more than 10 years, and actually grew up with the subject in his native Mexico. Although tattoos cover Eak’s face, law is in his blood; his father is a corporate lawyer and serves as the legal director for Coca-Cola Latin America. “In corporate law, he’s as big as you can get,” Eak says proudly.

But it was the repetitive nature of Eak’s job that finally convinced him to turn to the bar – he performed the same bed of nails act at the same freakshow every day, for over six months a year.

“I was getting bored with Coney Island towards the end,” he reveals. “There’s only so much I could do with the character of Eak The Geek. My creativity was limited, and I didn’t get an opportunity to develop my act.”

Instead, life in Coney Island revolved around visiting local haunts between shows to stock up on coffee and junk food. “The only big treat each day was going to Nathan’s Hot Dogs,” he says.

“I needed something different. Something more interesting. Something where I could use my mental skills a little more. And that’s how I ended up going back to college.”

CELEBRITY SKIN

The first term at law school is intense for any student – but in addition to the typical rigours of classes and studying, Eak has endured instant celebrity status and the stares of his fellow pupils.

“It was hard at first because I got way too much attention,” he says. It was inevitable that people in a blue-collar town would be interested in someone with tattoos of stars and planets covering his face. The local paper made sure everyone noticed Eak by running a front-page story the moment he hit town. Some students already knew Eak from Coney Island, but it still took time for the shock to wear off.

“Going to the mall was strange at first,” he says. “The people in Lansing had never seen anybody like me. They freaked out! They weren’t nasty – just really shocked.”

Walking around town with Eak during our interview, it’s strange to see the way that girls stare at him, before wandering over to say how much they love his tattoos.

Store security guards stare too, as if they expect this odd-looking outsider to be a shoplifter. But Eak isn’t shy about confronting them. “You can go back to your security office now,” he tells one watchman. “I didn’t find what I needed. But thanks a lot for staring. Have a great day!”

BRIGHT SPARK
Despite the hostile reception by the odd security drone, most reactions to Eak have been positive. “People are nice to me, and why shouldn’t they be?” he says. “It’s not like I’m a jerk. In some ways, seeing the sideshow guy brings people a ray of sunshine because I’m weird-looking, but I’m also really nice.”

Unsurprisingly, other tattooed and pierced students on campus are glad to be his peer, and professors have embraced this unlikely student: “They’re thrilled because they’ve never had to teach someone as unusual as me. And I always sit at the front.”

FREAK TO GEEK

After a few months at college, the initial surprise provoked by Eak’s appearance began to wane as students immersed themselves in books and classes. Like his fellow students, Eak studies for most of the day; he begins at six in the morning and carries on well past midnight. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever done – and that’s an understatement,” Eak says. “Nothing prepares you for it. They really let you have it during the first year and there’s just so much to learn.”

Despite his intense schedule, Eak has made time for a few performances and was the entertainment between rounds at a recent power lifting competition at his local YMCA. And as if the strongman’s exaggerated muscles weren’t freakish enough, Eak ate light bulbs, put his tongue in a mousetrap and pressed his face into a pile of nails while a girl stood on his head.

“Every show I’ve done since I’ve been out of Coney Island has been incredibly fun, because I’m not doing it for the money any more,” Eak says. “I still love the look on people’s faces. But it’s not my career – Coney Island was just work.”

HEARTS AND MINDS
Eak’s career is now firmly in the legal field. When he first considered law school, he assumed his tattoos would prevent him from making the leap to academia. However, he later realised his galaxy of ink gave him an opportunity to do something unique.

“If you’re as tattooed as I am, you’re not really a trailblazer in the sideshow,” Eak explains. “If you look the way I do, it’s no surprise you do that kind of work. That’s what people expect. But if you look like me and you’re in law school, then that’s a real surprise.”

In fact, changing that perception might be a bigger victory than any he’ll achieve in the courtroom. Once he qualifies and begins to practice as the world’s most tattooed lawyer,Eak would like to work with the alternative community and offer representation for business or housing needs. “In New York you meet so many weird-looking people who are incredibly successful, but aren’t part of the mainstream,” he says. “They get snubbed a lot.”

But first he’ll need to get through the rest of law school, which will be a daunting task unlike any other he’s faced: “It makes the sideshow look like a piece of cake. It’s the most bizarre thing I’ve ever done in my life. Now I tell people I went from one freakshow to another.”

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