Nigerian contortionist moves to smash world record

Photo credit: DFlex
This was one story that was painful to watch; You know that feeling of taking your child to the hospital for injections, and you are flinching as the needle is about to prick your child. Yeah, same feeling.

I was taking a walk on Instagram street when I came across Oyindamola Emmanuel, AKA Dflex. My first thought was, how on earth can someone do this? Na juju? I contacted him and fortunately for me, he was also preparing to break a world record, so I knew I had to tell his story to the world.

Dlfex is a contortionist. He found out about his ability to stretch and twist his body in unimaginable ways when he was 13 years old. He shot into limelight in 2013 after he participated in the Nigeria's Got Talent show. Contortion is an art that requires an extreme kind of physical flexibility that is not rare, and exceeds that of the general population. Dflex spends an hour everyday perfecting his art. This is not really common in Nigeria and it is usually associated with supernatural powers or even witch craft.

Dflex recently attempted to break a Guinness World Record of "most skips with one leg behind the head." He did 142 skips in one minute . He broke the record of Bria Roberts who did 35 skips in one minute in September 2016. It took Dflex one year of training to beat this record.

This may be new or strange to us but it is a revered art for Mongolians that was developed in the palace of 13th century warlord and national hero Ghenghis Khan. It is usually performed by females. Mongolian contortionists are in high demand.

Dflex has a certificate in Mass Communication, and hopes to be vaulted into an international career after his recent feat, while also training others.


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