Firebreathing Ryan backflips his way into Guinness Book of World Records

Ryan Luney is featured in the 2021 Guinness Book of World Records after completing ‘most fire-breathing backflips in one minute’.

The Carrickfergus native blew a total of 17 flames while carrying out the daunting physical challenge in June last year.

With a background in parkour/free running, the 24-year-old is no stranger to world record attempts, having already featured in the global compendium in 2019 and 2020.

In 2016, he completed his attempt at the longest reverse vault (parkour) at Carrickfergus Amphitheatre, leaping a distance of 4.427 metres.

“The second record I attempted was actually completed for the 2017 end-of-year fair at Riverside Special School, where I worked for a year as a classroom assistant on placement. This was the most fire-breathing backflips in one minute, of which I achieved 14 on June 23, 2017,” said Ryan, who is now based in Belfast.

The addition of fire-breathing added another layer of difficulty to the already complex manoeuvre. “I had to make sure I didn’t land on my hand, but I needed to ensure I had enough paraffin in my mouth, spat it out correctly towards the flame (mid-backflip, in which the flame also had to be close enough to my mouth), all the while making sure I didn’t swallow the fuel by accident which would make me sick! And then doing 14 of those in one minute,” added Ryan.

“It was definitely a struggle and took it out of me but so worthwhile.

“This record got noticed by the Guinness World Records, and in October of the same year they came over to shoot a couple of photos of my two records (up to that point) for the World Records Book 2019.”

His acrobatic achievements led to a number of television and radio appearances, including a news spot on Channel 5, the Stephen Nolan show, and the third series of Ninja Warrior UK.

“For Riverside’s end of year fair on June 21, 2019, I had the idea that I would not only break one record, but three,” Ryan said.

They included ‘most firebreathing full corkscrew flips in one minute’, of which he completed 11, followed by ‘most firebreathing sideflips in one minute’ (12).

The occasion also saw Ryan beat his own record of the ‘most firebreathing backflips in one minute’, going from his original 14 to 17.

Despite the demands of his new job as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner, the Ulster University graduate is keeping record-breaking attempts on the agenda.

“My next big fire record is the ‘most fire torches extinguished during backflips in one minute’ - whereby I have to put the lit torch in my mouth mid-backflip and extinguish it before I land.

“No one has even really attempted this move before, never mind attempted to set a record with it, so I’m very excited!”

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