Tattoo artist sets world record by tattooing himself during skydive—here's what he inked

A tattoo artist took "living on the edge" to a new level after setting a Guinness World Record by tattooing himself while skydiving thousands of meters above the ground.

Funky Matas, a 38-year-old tattoo artist from the United States, set the record for the highest-altitude skydive while performing a self-tattoo, according to the Guinness World Records.

“I love adrenaline, tattoos and rebellion, so it was a no-brainer for me,” Matas told the GWR. 

In August 2025, Matas set a Guinness World Record for the most signatures tattooed on the body, having 273 signatures on himself at the time. After securing it, Matas made it his goal to get himself inked mid-skydive for another title.

Matas jumped from an altitude of 4,572.91 meters (15,002.98 feet) over Lake Wales, Florida, on June 8. During the freefall, he tattooed the word "FLY" onto his hand before completing the jump.

To keep his tattoo machine from flying away during freefall, the equipment was duct-taped to his hand.

Matas said the cold conditions made it difficult to keep the ink from freezing. Since he could not refill the machine while in freefall, he had only a limited amount of ink to work with and had to complete the tattoo quickly.

“Considering we were going about 120 miles an hour, I think it came out pretty good! It’s definitely legible," he said.