Robbie “Coon” Koch, owner of Coon Tattoos in West Point, broke the Guinness World record Saturday afternoon for the most tattoos given by one person in 24 hours. Koch broke the previous record of 400 by inking hundreds of people and 577 tattoos. All proceeds from the event went to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The foundation will receive a check for $15,602 in the upcoming weeks. Koch already had donations totaling $3,000 before he began raising money from each of the $20 tattoos.
Derek Willis of Starkville’s Copy Cow said the atmosphere was great. Throughout the first hours, the crowd was mainly in the shop, but they quickly flooded the streets.
Willis stood by his promise to get three tattoos.
Karen Kirby, a customer from North Carolina, said she had been there since 10 a.m.
“The shop has been non-stop packed all day long,” Kirby said.
The atmosphere was alive with the supportive people. Families came out with their children to watch the bands play, eat good food and be a witness to the news breaking record happening before their eyes.
The bands began at 6 p.m., which provided entertainment to the hundreds of onlookers waiting to get tattoos or just hanging out. Stadium seats were set up so people could sit and eat food from 2 Brothers BBQ.
Most of the stores around the area of Coon Tattoos stayed open late to accommodate people staying in town until the wee hours.
The camera and television in the shop were set up not only so everyone could see each tattoo being done, but to have a live recording on the show.
Mike Sullivan, a member on Koch’s public relations team, said people came from Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and all over Mississippi.
Sullivan said the previous record holder, Kat Von D from popular television show from L.A. Ink, sent Koch an e-mail wishing him good luck.
“Records are meant to be broken,” Sullivan said.
The record was broken at approximately 3 a.m. Saturday and Koch continued inking for the benefit of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Three lawyers were present to verify the record and a representative from Guinness came Saturday morning to verify the final number.
Sullivan said Koch plans on making this an annual event. Next year, Koch wants to team up with some of the best tattoo artists in the South.
Sullivan said many don’t approve of tattoos and they should not judge a book by its cover.
“We have several tattooed people here that people normally look down on and here we are raising tons of money for the kids,” Sullivan said.