RODRIGO ALVES: I really like to stand out. I don’t want to look like an average person.
I have had facelifts and silicone implants, lots of liposuction but I never had ribs removed.
RODRIGO ALVES: Being me, Rodrigo Alves, it is a full-time job. It involves a lot of plucking
and lasers and bleach and makeup. And just my decision making about what to wear today
took me like, three hours.
COMM: Rodrigo Alves is known for his love of plastic surgery and body modification,
with an immense amount of procedures under his belt.
RODRIGO ALVES: I have had sixty plastic surgeries.
RODRIGO ALVES: Three hair implants, facelift, two brow lifts, three eye lifts, ten nose
jobs, cheek implants, lip lift, chin implant, jawline reshaping. I have had my ears done
twice. I have had my entire body just sculpted with the help of plastic surgery. I have the
most perfect six pack. I don’t go to the gym or anything and the six-pack is always on.
COMM: But Roddy’s next procedure could be his riskiest to date as he plans to go under
the knife again, this time to remove four of his ribs.
RODRIGO ALVES: Hello.
WOMAN: Hi! How are you?
RODRIGO ALVES: I am very well. Lovely to see you again.
WOMAN: Good morning. Likewise.
RODRIGO ALVEZ: Good morning.
RODRIGO ALVES: Well, I am here to see Shannon. So, I am...
WOMAN: She is ready for you.
RODRIGO ALVES: Fantastic! I am really looking forward to see her. I have my pre-surgery consultation.
WOMAN: Yes.
RODRIGO ALVES: Well, I am going to take this off for you.
WOMAN: Okay!
RODRIGO ALVES: But don’t tell anyone that I am fat.
RODRIGO ALVES: Here can't be touched. Because if it does, then my six packs are going to go down the drain.
RODRIGO ALVES: I have always wanted to have my ribs removed. I am 34 years old now and
since the age of 30, my body starts to change. I wasn’t born this way. I made myself this
way. I fight against my natural genes. The doctors out there, they were scared to do
it. Because it’s a very delicate procedure, involves a lot of patience and time.
RODRIGO ALVES: Also, if it is performed by a doctor who is not highly skilled in the
matter, it can be dangerous and fatal.
RODRIGO ALVES: Dr Michael Obeng, he is going to be removing my four floating ribs. And,
also, he is going to be going a liposuction throughout my entire back and waist. After
that my waist is going to look really small and I can’t wait to see the results.
COMM: It’s the day of Roddy’s big surgery and he is feeling a little apprehensive about
his upcoming procedure.
DR. MICHAEL OBENG: Good morning, Rodrigo. How are you?
RODRIGO ALVES: Hi, good morning. I am..
DR. MICHAEL OBENG: Good to see you.
RODRIGO ALVES: Very nervous but very happy to be here.
DR. MICHAEL OBENG: I am glad you are nervous. Because if you were not nervous, you are not human.
RODRIGO ALVES: It’s not having my ribs removed. It’s not important. What’s important to
me, it is to look in a certain way. I like to look different. I like the fact that I
don’t look like any other man, that I don’t look like anyone else and I do like that.
I am my own person. I am my own brand.
DR. MICHAEL OBENG: Okay, this is one rib.
RODRIGO ALVES: It’s just a weird feeling someone touching my rib.
DR. MICHAEL OBENG: Look, 34 inches.
RODRIGO ALVES: So, how many inches do you think that I am going to be? Oh, 33?
DR. MICHAEL OBENG: You can go as low as, as little as about 28 or even smaller. It depends
on how you train your waist.
RODRIGO ALVES: Right!
DR. MICHAEL OBENG: You're going to look amazing, okay!
COMM: After five hours of surgery, costing $28,000, Roddy’s four ribs have been removed.
RODRIGO ALVES: Just look here, a piece of me right now.
DR. MICHAEL OBENG: Let me clean.
DR. MICHAEL OBENG: So, your surgery went very well. It was much difficult than I anticipated.
RODRIGO ALVES: Why was it much difficult?
DR. MICHAEL OBENG: Because your skin is very thick. You are built like a gymnast.
RODRIGO ALVES: I don’t go the gym.
DR. MICHAEL OBENG: No, like a gymnast. Like, you know, if somebody who is a gymnast.
The skin of your back, there is an inch. I measured, you see.
RODRIGO ALVES: That’s why I looked fat.
DR. MICHAEL OBENG: It was very thick, yeah.
RODRIGO ALVES: Keep that safe because I am taking them tomorrow.
DR. MICHAEL OBENG: Take pictures of them, you know. We have to get rid of them. Maybe bank it.
COMM: Back in London after his rib removal, Roddy is three weeks into his recovery.
RODRIGO ALVES: Right now, I am recovering and I feel very tender at touch and there
are few movements that I can’t make. When I sleep, I sleep, I lie on my back and I have
to wear a corset 24/7. I just take it off for showering.
RODRIGO ALVES: I am very pleased with the results after surgery and now I can wear
my blazers and fit beautifully. My waist does look smaller.
COMM: And Roddy also brought something home with him. So he will always be able to remember
this important surgery.
RODRIGO ALVES: Right, so for those that don’t believe that my ribs have been removed for
sure - yes, they have! And here is the proof.
RODRIGO ALVES: It does makes me feel very queasy, touching my own ribs. In fact, I don’t
like doing this very much.
RODRIGO ALVES: Once I was notified that my ribs, they were going to be incinerated..
I just wanted to take them back home with me. The doctor said, “No,” but once I was
done, I just popped the ribs in my bag.
RODRIGO ALVES: I should not say that because I don’t want to get the doctor in trouble,
but the ribs are mine; they belong to me, they are part of my body and it is my right to have them.
RODRIGO ALVES: So, I am off to do some shopping and also I am gonna be seeing my tailor
today. My tailor is designing a beautiful new suit for me.
RODRIGO ALVES: After my latest procedure, my measurements has changed. So my tailor needs
to measure me again. I have been going to this tailor for about 10 years and everytime
that I see him, he always says, ‘Your body’s been changing.’
WHID SARAJ: You know how much? 29.
RODRIGO ALVES: I want to be 20.
RODRIGO ALVES: Do you have any other customer that have had ribs removed?
WHID SARAJ: No. You are the one.
RODRIGO ALVES: I am the special one.
WHID SARAJ: He lost probably, around the waist, probably 5 inches you know.
RODRIGO ALVES: I used to watch Disney movies and then I want to look like a Disney prince.
Now a days I look like a cartoon character, I think. To some people I look beautiful,
to others I look freak.
RODRIGO ALVES: I see myself, I have always seen myself as an angel. I don’t follow
any standards set by society. I follow my fluidity. Why men can’t wear makeup? Why
men can’t wear pink? Why men can’t wear a corset? So I can do anything and I can
be anything. So if I can be anything and do anything, so can you.