This article first appeared on RTL.de.

It all starts with the desire for a new smile. At that time, Bryan Ray was 17 years old and undergoing his first operation. He has his teeth straightened and bleached so his mouth looks just like his big idol, Britney Spears. Since then, Bryan has spent over $150,000 on cosmetic surgery and looks nothing like the teen he once was.

As reported by the British "Daily Star", Bryan has loved the pop singer since her song "Oops!...I Did It Again" from 2000. Since then he has been emulating his idol - at least as far as appearance is concerned. The dental surgery is followed by two nose corrections, facial implants in the cheek area, soft tissue and lip augmentation and an eyelid lift. Bryan Ray, who now runs a medical marijuana company in L.A., has Botox injections every six months and a hair removal every ten weeks. But he's far from finished: "I'm a continuous work of art!" The "DailyStar" quoted him as saying.

A huge Britney fan, Bryan has met and spoken to the singer a number of times. He first meets her by chance at a mini festival on Maui and is blown away. "She wasn't dressed up like in the music videos and wore minimal makeup," Bryan recalls, "but she was just so beautiful." He still remembers how great Britney liked his smile: "It was a huge compliment!" In the end, looking exactly like his idol will probably remain a dream, since Bryan is a realist. His facial features are just not made for that, he explains.

He is repeatedly subjected to severe criticism on the Internet – not everyone understands why he is doing this, says Bryan. But he is undeterred: "People call me weird or crazy, but I will continue to be open about it." Maybe then the stigma against plastic surgery will slowly diminish. "Am I perfect?" asks Bryan. "No, absolutely not." But when he looks in the mirror, he's happy with himself, he says.