A New Plymouth tattoo parlour inked more than 100 customers on Saturday - but gave them all the same tattoo.
Brothers Ink tattoo and barber shop threw an innovative fundraiser over the weekend to raise both money and awareness for mental illness.
Customers were charged $50 each for a small tattoo of a semicolon, a punctuation mark that has come to symbolise the journey of mental health.
Forty dollars from each tattoo went to supporting at-risk youth, and Brothers Ink raised about $5250 in total.
Owner Gene Martin told Wendyl Nissen on RadioLIVE that mental health is underfunded in New Zealand and the cause holds a lot of personal significance.
"I've dealt with depression in the past myself, so I figure if I can give back what people have given to me - why not?"
He and fellow tattooist Gary were overwhelmed by the number of people who turned up for their semicolon, and inked 107 people in total.
"We had to turn a few away because we were pretty knackered by the end of the day."
While each semicolon was only 1.5-2cm in size, the tattoos meant a lot to the customers, many of whom had struggled with mental illness.
"Everyone was thankful we were doing it because they love the cause. Most people had either dealt with it themselves or through family members, so they were quite aware of what we were doing and why we were doing it."
Wrists, ankles and behind the ears were the most popular places for the tattoos. While the number of people in line meant chats had to be kept short, Mr Martin says many of his customers feel comfortable opening up to him during the often-lengthy tattooing process.
"We get told their deepest darkest secrets and some of the things that had happened in people's lives just blows me away. It means that I can share myself as well, so that people understand that I'm not just listening, I actually understand where they're coming from."
He says Brothers Ink is considering similar fundraising events in future, and hopes to crack the $10,000 mark next time.
"I also wanted to raise awareness of just talking about it. If you've got issues, no matter what it is - depression, anxiety, any kind of mental health whatsoever - talk about it.
"If a big tattooed guy can talk about his mental health, anybody can."
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