If you had to lose the tattoos or the beard, which would you choose and why?
Haha! Aw man, that’s a super hard question to ask. Rascal. I think, erm, aw shit, probably the tattoos? I mean the beard is what shot me forward in my career so yeah, has to be the tattoos. There are days where I would love to have virginal skin and start all over again. I mean, I’m having my face tattoos removed as we speak, so in a few months they should be gone completely. I just find that I’ve outgrown them and they don’t go with my new look. 

Tell me about your first photo shoot experience and how you felt about it.
My first shoot was with Darren Black at a studio in Kensington around 5 years ago.  It was my first test shoot and I had a suitcase of clothes with me to try out different looks. I remember arriving and the room was full of models that I had seen in magazines and online shops so it was pretty daunting, but you kind of have to forget about it, put yourself in front of the camera and press play. I remember arriving and I had this massive moustache (I was modelling before the beard) and the industry was still very new to any kind of facial hair and I could feel all these guys looking at me when I walked in thinking ‘what the fuck is going on with this guy’ haha. 

If you were not a model, what would you be doing?
I think about this quite a lot. Before I was a model I was a mechanic at my father’s motorcycle shop in Wolverhampton. I’ve always wanted to be a landscape gardener. Grafting all day– cuts, bruises and generally working your arse off and seeing amazing results at the end. If anyone out there would like a hairy tattooed model to help out with their gardening every now and then, hit me up. Seriously!

Are there any private tattoos you haven’t exposed yet?

No, not really. I was going to get a heart on the end of my penis when I was drunk in Malia when I was 19, but I was too drunk and they wouldn’t let me. I have lips tattooed on my arse. I also have lips tattooed on my neck and I absolutely HATE them. I’m currently getting my close friend Arron Raw to do a cover up over them.

Name your beard.
I’ve never given my beard a name nor have I thought about giving it one. This is similar to people naming their partners genitals right? Ok. I’ll name it Karl. 

What do you plan to have inked next?
My father passed away recently and I’ve found a really lovely photo of him when he was about 10-years-old. I’m getting it tattooed on my calf, perfect space for it. Very handsome man he was, had a very Cuban drug lord look about him.

You’ve been a featured extra in the new Martin Scorsese film. What’s next for Ricki Hall?
Yeah there has been a lot of TV and film interest in me during the last 6 months which is great. There are some great things in the pipeline from next year which I’m super excited about.

Interview by Chia Chan Mo
Photography by Andrea Vecchiato.
Styling by Caroline Eklind @ Inexcess Fashion
Clothes: blue jacket by Mauro Grifoni  –  blue shirt by Mads Norgaard Copenhagen  –  white t-shirt by American Vintage  –  green jacket by Mauro Grifoni  –  cowboy shirt by Mauro Grifoni