Personally, the craziest thing I’ve seen done was long ago while I was in college. At the University of Tampa around 1984/1985 I watched a guy named Spicoli (yes, like in Fast Times at Ridgemont High) do a spectacular stunt. He funneled a beer held by someone riding on his shouders while idling and juggling. Very Impressive!
As for videos, here are the 5 Bertis. They offer lots of Giraffe madness including a flip of a woman onto the shoulders of a giraffe rider (towards the end of the video):
You will see the same in most European circus, and in Cirque du Soleil. The point is to do the skills, not to risk death.
Oddly, sometimes local laws require extra safety stuff in circuses. In New York, Ringling has had to use a net under the tightwire (probably depending on height or audience proximity). Also I remember a case where a big cat act (in a tent circus, not Ringling) was unable to perform because they did not have a cage for it, but the law required it for that area!
I remember commenting on that same video in a fairly recent thread, probably with a similar subject. I still like what Reino or Mell Hall did, but I never saw film or video.
The craziest thing I’ve seen done live was a young chinese boy riding a giraffe unicycle, on a slack rope, while upside down, pedaling with his hands. From memory he was 11 years old. Unfortunately I’ve never been able to track down video footage of this trick.
Unicyclists are advised to turn off the sound before watching this clip. Is this the source of the connection of “Entry of the Gladiators” with unicycling?
I love Brian’s videos, it was crazy when I realized that throughout that NYC clip he was riding behind you on a 29er schlumpf with all his camera gear.
Now I want to try it. I’ve done the NYC taxi-dodging on a 24", but how much more fun it must be on a 36 where you can pass them!
One of (too) many. I never saw that movie before, but they sure went and hired some top acts to be “set dressing”.
Wow, Denis Frisoli! Never saw video of him, and barely any pictures! I don’t think there’s any dispute that he probably has the height record for an unsupported and un-saftey-protected unicycle ride. I wonder of there’s video of when he crashed it? Yes, he fell 35’ when trying to ride it on astro turf in a football stadium. This is why Guinness doesn’t list tall unicycles ridden without safety gear…