Alright, so I’ve been seeing Alex Pereira fight, you know, ‘Poatan’. And that face paint he wears, the indigenous-inspired stuff? Kinda hard not to notice. Looked pretty intense, pretty cool. Got me thinking, how hard could it actually be to do that myself? Figured I’d give it a shot, just for kicks.
Getting the Gear
First things first, needed some paint. Wasn’t gonna get fancy tribal pigments or anything. Just popped down to one of those party supply stores. Grabbed a basic face paint kit. You know the type, little pots of color.
- Needed black, obviously. That’s the main part of his look.
- Needed some white for the details, those dots and lines he sometimes has.
- Maybe a bit of red? Sometimes he incorporates that. I grabbed some just in case.
- A couple of small brushes and maybe a sponge thingy they included.
Pretty simple stuff. Didn’t cost much. Got home, ready to transform myself into a middleweight knockout artist. Well, visually at least.
The Actual Process – Trying It Out
Okay, so I pulled up some pictures of Pereira on my phone. Needed a reference, right? Couldn’t just wing it. Found a few good shots where you can see the pattern clearly.
Step one: Washed my face. Gotta start with a clean canvas, they say. Felt a bit silly already.
Step two: Opened the black paint. Dipped the brush in. Okay, here we go. I started trying to copy those bold lines he has. Around the eyes, down the nose, across the cheeks. Let me tell you, getting things symmetrical? Way harder than it looks. One side looked okay, the other… well, let’s just say it was its own interpretation.
My hand wasn’t exactly rock steady. Especially around the eyes, I was trying not to poke myself. The paint itself was a bit thick, sometimes clumpy. Had to smooth it out. It definitely wasn’t going on as cleanly as it looks on him.
Step three: Added the white details. Those little dots and finer lines. This needed an even smaller brush and more patience. Tried to place them like in the photos. Some dots looked like dots, others looked more like… blobs.
The whole thing probably took me a good 30 minutes. Standing in front of the mirror, dabbing paint on my face. Felt kinda ridiculous but also kinda fun, in a weird way.
The Result?
So, the moment of truth. Took a step back. Looked in the mirror.
Did I look like Alex Pereira? Absolutely not. Not even close. Looked more like a guy who lost a fight with a Sharpie marker and some Tipp-Ex.
The lines weren’t as sharp, the symmetry was off, and honestly, it just looked a bit messy. Like a low-budget version. It definitely gives you an appreciation for the real deal, how clean and striking it looks when done properly, probably with better materials and a steadier hand, maybe even someone else applying it.
Washing it off was another adventure. That black paint wanted to stick around.
Overall, it was a laugh. A fun little experiment for an afternoon. Don’t think I’ll be rocking the Pereira look to the grocery store anytime soon, but hey, I tried it. Gives you a tiny bit of insight into that whole ritual and look he creates. Pretty cool tradition he’s carrying on, even if my version was a complete amateur hour.
