Former superyacht crew Anna Lewis and her husband Jon Grenney know only too well how having a tattoo can be a block to moving up the ladder in yachting circles.
Now the couple have left their job and because they wanted to put down roots ashore have set up Brooklands Clinic, a tattoo removal business in Plymouth.
“We might go back to sea in a few years but we wanted roots in Plymouth, we wanted to buy a house,” said Jon.
The couple, neither of whom have any tattoos, met while Jon was working as Captain, and Anna was a stewardess.
He had trained as an engineer and worked for Princess Yachts for a decade before setting off to work as a superyachts Captain.
He spent four years sailing to ports in Italy, Spain and France, before steering a course back to Plymouth.
Four years later the couple got the idea of setting up a clinic having pondered on the increased popularity of tattooing among fellow crew and the increase in “tattoo regret”.
“In that industry vanity is a big thing,” he said. “People with visible tattoos find they can’t get a job or even get sacked.”
So they began studying the beauty industry and decided to jump ship.
“I’ve been researching it for years,” said Anna. “I looked at the technology and the qualifications you need. We both did training courses.”
They invested about £40,000 into starting the business, which has started strongly, despite the early part of the year supposedly being a slow time for business.
“There have been a lot of new year resolutions and fresh starts,” Jon said.