His Body Was Badly Burned In An Accident, But Lizzo’s Songs Helped Him Heal

Last summer, Augustin “Tin” Rodriguez, 23, was badly burned in an accident. Over 60% of his body was covered in burns. Rodriguez also had several tattoos. One was a cat’s head; another was a pair of shadow puppets; he also had a scythe on his chest. Since the accident, though, those tattoos are either gone or have moved to other locations on his body after doctors performed skin grafts.

“They used skin grafts from my right bicep and my back,” Rodriguez says. “I have a tattoo of Squidward from ‘SpongeBob’ on my left hand now.”

He’s found ways to cope with the accident and how his body has changed. He makes jokes about it to ease the tension. But he also says there’s been an upside.

“I cry from joy,” Rodriguez says. “It never happened before the accident, but all of a sudden, it kind of happens all the time.”

One thing that brings him joy are songs by the singer Lizzo.

“‘Juice’ makes me cry every time,” he says. “That kind of body positivity is really, exactly what I need after this accident.”

Recovering from the accident is been a painful process, Rodriguez says. But his family and his Catholic upbringing help him look differently at all of his new challenges.

“In overcoming that suffering, there’s, like, a deep joy. There’s a redemption,” he says.

Written by Caroline Covington.