Whether it was when we were little and playing pretend or a young adult contemplating life as another being, chances are we’ve all imagined ourselves as an animal.

What would it take to live life as a majestic lion, a tiny fish, or a green lizard?

Erik Sprague, also known as The Lizardman, knows, and it’s neither pretty nor cheap.

Sprague, 52, began modifying his body 30 years ago after developing an interest in reptiles.

“I became a fan of the way reptiles cross all cultures and history. No matter where you go, there is either a tale of a lizard man or a reptilian,” he said during an appearance on the British talk show This Morning. “You have the serpent in the garden of Eden. Reptiles occupy a very special place in human consciousness and as an artist, it was something that I felt like I could exploit.”

“I very often cause people to pause and do double takes,” Sprague shared.

The professional sideshow performer stands out in a crowd with his split tongue, tattoos, and extreme body modifications.

In order to achieve his current look, Sprague explained that he to suffer through a great deal of pain.

When he underwent tongue bifurcation in 1997, he described being able to smell and taste his own tongue burning as the laser went through it.

“The swelling was so severe that it took about a week for the swelling to go down to the point where I could speak or eat normally.”

Sprague also chose to modify his forehead by having “teflon subdermally grafted to his skull to create the implants over his eyes.”

The procedure was so intense – it was performed without any anaesthetic – Sprague “vomited and hallucinated as a result of pain.”

“You have got to suffer for your art.”

To complete his look, he also had his teeth filed to a point, which then required he work with a speech pathologist to relearn how to speak.

Even after covering himself in tattoos and suffering through hours of painful body modification, Sprague said he doesn’t regret his decision to turn into The Lizardman.

Turning himself into a reptile “changed his life” and it’s something he’s “very thankful” for.

Wow! What do you think of The Lizardman? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.