He may have more than 100 piercings on his face, but it wasn’t the metal detectors keeping Rolf Buchholz out of Dubai this weekend.

The tattooed German man, whose 453 piercings — 278 of which were around his genitalia, as of 2010 — earned him a Guinness World Record, claims airport workers told him that Dubai officials were worried he practiced black magic, the Associated Press reports.

Buchholz, who works in IT, was planning to visit United Arab Emirates to appear at a circus-themed nightclub scheduled for Friday when he was stopped before entering customs, but after having his passport stamped and approved.

“I got never an official answer,” Buchholz told the AP, which was unable to reach immigration and airport authorities for comment. “They are friendly but nobody answers your questions.”

Buchholz, who also has horn implants in his head, says he was ordered to never return to Dubai, though he he’d gladly come back — if the country ever allowed him.

[AP]

Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com.