There are a million different titles I could have given this story, but the real reason I want to tell it is to give you even more reasons to appreciate the DI girl in your life–and separate a true DI girl from a shameless poser. Dating a girl with daddy issues can be a roller-coaster, and sometimes it gets confusing trying to separate what she does that’s genuine and what she does to make a statement. It’s frustrating when the lines get blurred between outward artistic expression and simply trying to piss of their dad — especially when it comes to things like tattoos and piercings. But most times, if you think about it, you can appreciate that she’s reached a good balance (just browse our galleries for perfect examples of what I mean). And then you see the complete train-wreck, overkill, what the f*ck happened kinds of stories, and it makes a perfect balance of artistry, expression, and attitude seem even more perfect.
I want to tell you the story of Kristina Rei. Before I saw this, I thought you could never find a better example of a ‘WTF Happened’ story than Lindsay Lohan, just a complete disaster-piece. But Kristina’s story perfectly illustrates what happens when you just don’t know where to stop, when you can’t separate the drive to piss off society from your inner desire to outwardly express yourself. It all started in St. Petersburg, Russia, when 15 year old Kristina Rei was convinced that her thin lips looked ugly, and she adopted a timeless sex symbol that we can all appreciate (I sh*t you not) Jessica Rabbit as her cosmetic role model. Despite being a cartoon character, she struck Kristina as the “perfect woman”, and so began several thousand dollars worth of lip surgery sessions. Part way along this train ride is where she should have stopped — sure she looked fake, but who could deny she was pretty smokin’ at this point?
Oops. She couldn’t stop — she became addicted to the surgeries and convinced that she looked more and more beautiful with each passing metric f*ckton of collagen she pumped into her lips. So there you have it, Kristina Rei went from a fairly attractive girl, got a little work done (not my thing, but if you think it helps, then why not?) which did wonders — to a…just…comical train wreck… I mean–can you imagine making out with those two soggy punching bags hanging off her face? Well… this is where the writeups and editorial pieces left off, and just a little further down the track from where the story should have ended. I don’t think I need to write what happened — here’s a timeline of the next few years of terrible decisions…
“Holy Santa Clause sh*t“, you might be thinking to yourself, and you would be right. Kristina, I suppose, has found her own little brand of happiness. She is still convinced that this stuff makes her gorgeous. Whoever she was trying to piss off must be good and pissed, hell, I’m pissed. But when you’re feeling frustrated with the DI girl in your life, just think back to Kristina Rei. You see, your DI girl, despite her attitude and sometimes misguided reasons for making a statement, is something special. Her tats, her piercings, her wild side — whatever — all have their place, and were born of something complicated, that we’ll certainly never understand, and that goes much deeper than aspiring after sex symbols or trying to adhere to society’s ideas of beauty (and then just blowing that away and going down whatever the hell twisted rabbit-hole this was…). As an example, I’ll leave you with what is to this day my personal favorite DI gallery pic, a DI brand of class and elegance that perhaps Kristina Rei sailed for, tried to force, and missed.
Here’s a couple of links to articles about Kristina if you’re morbid curiosity hasn’t been satisfied…
Oddity Central
The Sun: Pout of Control (Ha! I get it. ‘Pout’ of control)
The wonders of OJ