Australian fitness influencer Mark Carroll has revealed he was turned away from a Brisbane restaurant because of his face tattoos and choice of attire. Mark, who is married to fellow influencer and world bikini champion Lauren Simpson, took to Instagram this week to share his ordeal.
Dinner Plans Derailed
He said that he and Lauren had travelled from their $9.5 million mansion on the Gold Coast to Brisbane to have dinner with friends. However, Mark was forced to make alternative dinner arrangements after he was denied entry to the restaurant because of his facial ink and choice of attire.
'Last night we went up to Brisbane and to dinner at a restaurant and I couldn't go in because of my face tattoos,' he said in the clip. 'Drove like over an hour to go to Brisbane, and got there and there was a no face tattoo policy so Lauren went in and had dinner with her friends... and then I just found some crappy place down the street while she went into the fancy restaurant.'
Dress Code Violations
Continuing, Mark said that he felt as though he 'looked good', stepping out in a Nike T-shirt, a pair of Nike Jordan tracksuit pants and a Toronto Raptors cap. However, it seems Mark had violated all of the restaurant's dress code policies. 'I get there and it's like, "no hats, no sport brand T-shirts and no face tattoos." So, everything that's me,' he said.
Mark elaborated in the post's caption, admitting that he felt the 'no face tattoos' policy was a bit over the top. 'Honestly. I don't give a f*** and I'm happy for places to have their own rules,' he wrote. 'But, just find it funny you can drive a Lamborghini to dinner, have no criminal record, be somewhat doing ok in life. Yet I'm not allowed in 'cause of my face tats hah. That's Australia for ya.'
He also argued against the clothing policies, saying that his relaxed look was more expensive than what many of the diners were wearing. 'Clothes I wear are more expensive than most ppl in these places… just have different fashion choices,' he added.
Public Reaction
Mark's post elicited a flurry of comments from followers, with many criticising Mark's choice of restaurant attire. 'Fine dining is not trackies sneakers and a hat either,' one offered. 'You need some class to be in classy places.' Another added: 'Good to see some places have standards,' while a third commented similarly: 'You said you were going to a nice restaurant but you dressed as if you were going to the gym.'
One summed up the sentiment of many with: 'You have to wear your dinner costume. We wear things we normally don't all the time for different reasons, work, weddings, funerals, uniforms. Just dress like a man and make her happy to go to a fancy restaurant.' While some commenters agreed with the restaurant's clothing policy, they sided with Mark about the tattoos. 'I'm cool with tattoos, but the dress policy makes sense,' they wrote while another added: 'Dress code makes sense… the rule about tattoos does not. I wonder do they also apply this rule to Indigenous peoples and Islanders who have face tattoos as part of their culture? Seems like an odd and potentially discriminatory rule to me.'
Mark's Stance
Despite admitting that he searched for 90 minutes to find an alternative establishment, Mark said he had no regrets. 'But I never wear anything different and I would get my face tatted 100 times again (and want more),' he wrote. 'Just because some places / people don't like you and how you look, doesn't mean they are right or you should change who you are. If I have to miss out on the cool kids' popular restaurants and bars to be myself… I would take it anytime.'
