Dad gets huge tattoo identical to son’s birthmark on his chest

A dad in Canada went above and beyond to help his son feel more confident. 

In fact, Derek Prue Sr., of Alberta, Canada, spent 30 hours getting a tattoo replica of his son’s birthmark, which covers a significant part of his chest.

Prue told CBC News that he decided to get the tattoo when he noticed that his son, Derek Prue Jr., 8, wouldn’t go swimming without a shirt on. 

"I knew he was self-conscious about it," Prue said. "I saw how he was reacting, and it made me want to do it so that he wouldn't be the only one."

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Prue got his tattoo done at Juicy Quill Tattoo in Stony Plain, Alberta. The owner, Tony Gibert, told CBC he was glad he got to help Prue encourage Derek. 

"I think it's amazing to be able to comfort your son like that," Gibert said. "It's more than just your kid seeing your name, or something, you get to actually, like, really change the way he feels about himself.”

However, the process wasn’t a walk in the park. 

In total, it took about 30 hours over the course of six to eight weeks to complete the tattoo.

"He's been through the wringer sitting for that," Gibert said. "It's pretty painful."

Prue told the news outlet that he wasn’t really expecting it to take so long.

“It felt good to do it,” Prue said. “It was a long process to do it. I thought it was going to be, like, a few hours.”

“I'm kind of glad I didn't know how long it was going to take,” he added.

Regardless, Prue told CBC that the long hours and pain were worth it. 

"Now we have the same marks for life,” he said.