Body Modification / Jenya Bolotov

'Externally, I am now a platypus. Inside though, I am more like a bird. They're my spirit animal and they come to me in my dreams.'

Jenya Bolotov, also known as 'The Human Platypus', is a 26 year old Russian designer. He has spent seven years stretching and modifying his appearance in eight different parts of the body.

I first stumbled across Jenya on Instagram. Since I am personally quite an open minded person when it comes to expressing yourself and doing whatever you want, I found him extremely compelling and couldn't help but find his appearance and online persona very interesting. I noticed that he has taken part in projects and fashion shows too.

I decided that Jenya would be a great individual to interview for my publication. I asked his permission over instagram and requested his email so I could contact him more professionally.

I emailed Jenya with the following questions:

What does body modification mean to you?

What made you choose to modify your body?

Have you gained any opportunities from your unique appearance?

Is there any negative sides to being heavily modified? e.g opinions of others, discrimination?

How would you describe your personality?


Unfortunately even though he said he would, Jenya didn't reply in time for publishing. He is still featured in the publication but it would have been great to get his insight.