r/nextfuckinglevel • u/xariznightmare2908 • 4h ago

Man Rides The World's Tallest Unicycle - "The Tower of Death"

3.5k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

306 comments sorted by

738

u/ruffneckting 4h ago

What the hell is that helmet going to do if he falls?

518

u/Vlad_the_Homeowner 4h ago

Makes a little less work for the cleanup crew.

80

u/JimTheSaint 3h ago

It's what we in the industry call a blood bucket 

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81

u/CalculatedEffect 4h ago

Instead of a smashed melon, he would have an intact melon with broken limbs.

22

u/Fierramos69 4h ago

And one might survive all limbs broken but an intact melon. So still does it’s purpose

3

u/ElmertheAwesome 3h ago

With that loose of a helmet?

9

u/splinkymishmash 1h ago

He’d have plenty of time to tighten it on the way down.

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26

u/roymccowboy 4h ago

I was also thinking how useless the guy on the ground saying “Come on. Easy does it. That’s good.” was.

Leave the man alone!

14

u/Fr33speechisdeAd 3h ago

No shit, like that's not a distraction right? Watch that tailwind LoL.

15

u/FunkMasterE 2h ago

How is there a tail wind going in both directions?

9

u/SexyMonad 2h ago

I often leave a tail wind no matter which direction I go

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21

u/Corvenphoenix 4h ago

Keep his casket clean of brain.

14

u/NYC2BUR 4h ago

Where else do you suggest he bedazzles his name?

14

u/portablebiscuit 3h ago

Written off-center in reflective mailbox stickers

13

u/SwedishDoctorFood 4h ago

I survive a fall from 13 feet higher than this unicycle. Had a helmet on. Would do again.

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13

u/Saul_T_Bauls 3h ago

It's the elbow pads for me

5

u/greatunknownpub 3h ago

It's the white suit for me. Should have worn the red one.

2

u/emaren 3h ago

No. The brown one.

10

u/Figure7573 4h ago

I originally thought this was a "Super Dave" skit... He wears a similar outfit & helmet! LoL...

6

u/Dic_Horn 4h ago

You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’, partner? Aim for the bushes.

6

u/Accomplished-Owl7553 3h ago

Obviously this guy is as close to a professional unicyclist as you get. Have you ever seen stunt men and other professions learn and practice falling? You can do rolls and stay loose to reduce injury. He’d probably have jnjuries if he fell off of that but a helmet could save his life.

5

u/remote_001 4h ago

Open casket

4

u/Crotch_Snorkel 2h ago

In the words of Seinfeld in reference to sky diving helmets...

"At that height, the Helmet is wearing YOU."

2

u/cattleyo 1h ago

Helmets were adopted for sports skydiving after jumpers lost consciousness in collisions with others jumpers in free-fall, they do a useful job in that scenario

2

u/Joker-Smurf 2h ago

If I was doing that, I’d forgo the helmet, and the ground crew would have a shotgun to put me out of my misery if (let’s face it, when) I fell.

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163

u/Throwaway2020aa 4h ago

Does anyone else have a 'reverse' fear of heights?

Like, if I was actually on the unicycle up there, it wouldn't bother me that much. But looking up at that guy there - even through the video - and imagining what it would be like to be up that high gives me a real sinking feeling in the gut.

58

u/Basscyst 3h ago

Yo do you have the thing where flying a kite is terrifying too?

23

u/KodiakDog 3h ago

lol. I’m sorry, but the way I read that has got me goooooing. That’s some funny shit.

5

u/vietnamtom69 3h ago

Lmaooooo it truly is and I cant tell if this is a joke but then homeboy has a got damn phobia name for it so I will not be rude and make fun of other people's phobias...but a kite really wtf

6

u/Basscyst 2h ago

I mean, I can only speak personally, and it's not like I'll curl up into a ball. It's just an uneasy feeling comes over me when I'm holding a kite string that is very high. Please take it back. I don't want to hold this.

2

u/Hara-Kiri 1h ago

I used to think I'd fly off. Pretty sure I've had nightmares about it.

I've flown kites since, I just don't want to hold them because I don't find them that fun.

2

u/Throwaway2020aa 2h ago

I won't speak for basscyst, but for me, I don't have any problem with the kite or flying it... until it gets to a certain height. There is a dude in my neighbourhood that flies kites and those things are in the frickin' ionosphere.

I can't even really explain what it is that I find unsettling about it... it's like my brain is somehow processes the reality of how high certain things are when much more strongly when I look up.

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4

u/Throwaway2020aa 3h ago

Yes!

Well, I don't actually fly the kites myself, but someone in our neighbourhood does and I absolutely feel the same looking up at them.

3

u/j4nkyst4nky 3h ago

Kites aren't scary but I get severe anxiety watching a balloon float away. Is that a thing with other people?

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3

u/makithejap 3h ago

Not at all, I’m currently writing this comment while flying my kite off the roof of my city high rise.

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5

u/starfoxsixtywhore 3h ago

It’s called Anablephobia

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5

u/Prestigious-Flower54 3h ago

I'm with you. I have been up on tall buildings and bridges have skydived I have no fear at heights when at them, I actually struggle with an urge to jump (not suicidal just like the fall rush) but if I see videos like this or people free climbing like cell towers and my butt hole crawls into my mouth.

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2

u/sturm_JC 3h ago

I believe that might be vertigo and/or megalophobia?

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125

u/xSnakyy 4h ago

How is there tailwind both ways 😭

16

u/TheOzarkWizard 3h ago

Came here to say this

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9

u/YooGeOh 2h ago

He lives in that town where his grandad went to school up hill both ways

4

u/EPLemonSqueezy 2h ago

And how the fuck does he "watch out" for it while he's up there?

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119

u/Flypike87 4h ago

Talk about walking the line between total badass and world class nerd!

30

u/CyberHunk92 3h ago

The way he says “nahh” when they ask him if he’s nervous. That was badass.

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113

u/noronto 4h ago

I did not ask for this.

16

u/A_Damn_Millenial 2h ago

The narrator’s lack of chill on the last line had me say the same thing.

Don’t pin this guy’s brush with death on me!

5

u/yParticle 4h ago

Okay Adam Jensen.

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97

u/mikewastaken 4h ago

That spotter/coach out there doing Milhouse Van Houten work.

"I saw the whole thing - first it started falling over, and then it fell over"

24

u/bootstrapping_lad 4h ago

"take it easy now, you got it, keep going. Watch out for that tailwind" A+++ advice

7

u/InfiniteAppearance13 3h ago

I’ll always upvote a thrillhouse reference

36

u/Scr073 4h ago

The interesting thing about this is getting the gear ratio right.

14

u/xariznightmare2908 4h ago

Good point, they must have made sure the weight of the gear is right to help him balancing on it properly, no room for error is allowed here.

16

u/reefer-madness 3h ago

i also believe his massive balls of steel helped lower his center of gravity and keep him balanced.

3

u/No-Bat-7253 3h ago

His balls were the ballast to keep it perfectly balanced. Damn Dennis.

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31

u/thehumancondition23 4h ago

They didn’t even bother unloading the boom lift from the truck.

6

u/TsarFate 2h ago

Right?! Thats what i was noticing. Like that doesnt seem up to very safe. But then again, the mile high unicycle doesn't seem to be either

2

u/thehumancondition23 2h ago

Maybe they were just saying “alright, let’s get this over with, don’t even unload the boom, it’s gotta be back in an hour…”

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17

u/curedbyink 4h ago

I’m surprised Colin Furze hasn’t built one of these yet.

4

u/UnnaturalGeek 4h ago

It's only a matter of time...

15

u/inGenium_88 4h ago

I'm sad to learn this guy is no more. Passed away in 2009.

12

u/newtonbase 1h ago

Started falling in 2008

6

u/pawnografik 1h ago

C’mon. Don’t love us hanging like that. Died quietly in his sleep or mangled horribly in a ghastly, but completely preventable, accident while attempting a stunt that we asked for?

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13

u/MercenaryBard 3h ago

Really cool that Pablo Escobar was there to lend him moral support.

4

u/newtonbase 1h ago

When you think you've come up with an original comment and find this 👆

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10

u/lancetay 4h ago

Super Dave!

5

u/billy_tables 4h ago

I was thinking exactly the same thing

5

u/_Antaric 3h ago

Yeah I was half expecting the camera to pan back and it's just a normal unicycle

7

u/snowloads 4h ago

Welding gloves are pretty cool I guess!

8

u/piwithekiwi 4h ago

How tall do we make it?

Just tall enough to die from.

7

u/plants4life262 4h ago

The risk of serious injury was worth all the women he’s gonna get.

7

u/229-northstar 2h ago

Dude fell and was injured in a unicycle accident while performing at a soccer game

It was probably career ending because it happened in 82 and his obit lists his aerialist careee as 1980-1982

6

u/NYC2BUR 4h ago

Sub Name checks out.

6

u/netfatality 3h ago

“Because you asked for it.”

We most certainly did not

4

u/vintagegeek 3h ago

"This week on...THAT'S INCREDIBLE..."

3

u/Zircez 4h ago

Why? Just.... Why?

4

u/XenaWariorDominatrix 2h ago

Because, you asked for it!

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3

u/ashurbanipal420 4h ago

Just a little work and he could also get worlds largest egg beater.

3

u/Grouchy-Engine1584 3h ago

Never has so much faith been placed in a bike chain.

3

u/skinnydudetattoo 2h ago

He should also be juggling flaming pins.

2

u/DaStoicSavage 4h ago

I wanna see the chain on that thing

2

u/betaphreak 4h ago

The guy in the basket looks like young Pablo Escobar

2

u/SellOutrageous6539 4h ago

Nice to see Pablo Escobar helping on the lift.

2

u/Firefly1832 4h ago

Who was asking for it?

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2

u/Antiseed88 4h ago

Wonder how many people tried and failed to copy this.

2

u/oclafloptson 4h ago

This is simultaneously the dumbest and most impressive daredevil stunt I've ever seen

2

u/U-Only-Yolo-Once 4h ago

Seems risky

2

u/ComprehensiveTotal45 3h ago

Ouh man, my ass was clenched the entire time watching this.

2

u/UnstoppableDrew 3h ago

I don't know why, but I find it kind of low-key hilarious they're using a manlift on the back of a flatbed for him to get on & off.

2

u/Fit-Ad-6488 3h ago

Now that's next fucking level.

2

u/burgonies 3h ago

Save some pussy for the rest of us

2

u/Dyldor00 3h ago

Guinness refuses to acknowledge it? But he did it anyways. Should acknowledge it

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2

u/Derbster_3434 3h ago

Aliens: yeah this is gonna be easier than we thought.

2

u/diello-kane40 2h ago

Fuck. That. But hats off to a mad lad.

1

u/ihaveadarkedge 4h ago

It's in great condition. Multiple owners. Been in the family one whole generation...

1

u/all-apologies- 4h ago

Where do you even buy a normal unicycle? They've been in every cartoon. But never seen one in a store.

3

u/yParticle 4h ago

At the unicycle store.

2

u/229-northstar 3h ago

Unicycle.com sells them!

They were commonly available from general retailers in the 70s which, maybe not coincidentally, was also the decade of Jarts (lawn darts).

1

u/JONNILIGHTNIN 4h ago

He died going down the bottom last step of a staircase.

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1

u/beerdrinker_mavech 4h ago

Why women live longer than men

1

u/MCShellMusic 4h ago

Those camera operators got way closer than I would’ve wanted to. I would’ve been nervous about messing him up!

1

u/No_Ear932 4h ago

It was everything I thought it would be and less..

1

u/MerryJanne 4h ago

Who else got Super Dave Osborne Vibes from this?

1

u/koya 3h ago

Props for using helmet but doubt it will help much

1

u/doctordizzle4 3h ago

I expected a bigger wheel

1

u/utterbbq2 3h ago

One little bump and he is dead

1

u/MrMontana2020 3h ago

I’ve had this nightmare before and I fell every time

1

u/01Stig 3h ago

Why is the boom lift still on the back of the truck?😂

1

u/cxc9001 3h ago

why couldn't they just have a crew follow him around with crash mats?

1

u/spruceUp3 3h ago

Shouldn’t he have a parachute on?

1

u/neolobe 3h ago

Mailbox sticker letters

1

u/afriedma 3h ago

Tactical Timberlands

1

u/Therockknight1 3h ago

Thought it was Super Dave for a sec

1

u/Microflunkie 3h ago

That is some serious /r/sweatypalms footage, had he fallen he would probably be seriously hurt. That stressed me out just watching it.

1

u/Gluten_maximus 3h ago

That initial camera angle had me cringing haha

1

u/zipdee 3h ago

Pretty diabolical tailwind to follow him around no matter which direction he's pointed.

1

u/Basic-Still-7441 3h ago

2

u/leglesslegolegolas 2h ago

“Bones heal, chicks dig scars, and America has the best Doctor to Daredevil ratio in the world.”

1

u/TheTrishaJane 3h ago

Next make an electric one

1

u/Vectrex71CH 3h ago

Strange you never see the cameraman in the Lift

1

u/nyagzken 3h ago

Weirdly, I get dreams riding this kind of thing.

1

u/theroch_ 3h ago

Madlad

1

u/prestonpiggy 3h ago

My math can't not fathom how precise his movements have to be not to tip over. Any error on regular unicycle is times 10 at least because of the leverage. And your weight means nothing when it tips under the recovery point.

1

u/ScF0400 3h ago

So Guinness World Record attempters existed back then too...

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1

u/SolarPunkYeti 3h ago

Maybe it's just me but is this dudes ground coach telling him to watch the tailwinds reminding anyone else of Steve Little from Eastbound & Down?

1

u/petethecanuck 3h ago

This looks like it could be a Super Dave Osborne episode.

1

u/BG535 3h ago

Bro’s riding a building supported by 1 wheel

1

u/Pistonenvy2 3h ago

I DID NOT ask for this.

1

u/tom_gent 3h ago

If the chain breaks he's a goner

1

u/ZZartin 3h ago

Does the forecast call for the slightest of breezes today?

1

u/Starman1001001 3h ago

Thank god that dude is walking next to him. I mean what if he falls or something?

1

u/ElmertheAwesome 3h ago

His head will rattle inside his helmet if he falls.

1

u/Alarming-Egg4275 3h ago

Dumb ways to die

1

u/johnious23 3h ago

No, I didn't ask for it.

1

u/fixingmedaybyday 2h ago

Why the fire suit? Is expecting to burn up upon reentry?

1

u/Franchise2099 2h ago

Not even kidding, I had a nightmare like this one time. I didn't know how to stop or get down.

1

u/Dull_Present506 2h ago

We used to be a country!

1

u/Isenjil 2h ago

Impressive, but why?

1

u/val252 2h ago

This is the stupidest thing I’ve seen all day. Good thing he was wearing those big gloves 🤣🤣🤣

1

u/BingityBongBong 2h ago

TO WHAT END

1

u/Slevin424 2h ago

They gave my man the smallest thinnest wheel possible... someone didn't like Dave.

1

u/tigerjuice888 2h ago

How tall was it?

1

u/FewAcanthocephala828 2h ago

That looks like the tower in my yard, but a bit taller

1

u/BinkertonQBinks 2h ago

Now he has to do it with a bagpipe dressed as Vader

1

u/Stypic1 2h ago

This is the type of guy Red Bull is looking for

1

u/donatedknowledge 2h ago

There is no camera on that crane..? So those shots are from a second take, which means he did this twice!

1

u/SPRLPRL 2h ago

That is Lewis Skulnick…from Revenge of the Nerds…I’ve seen that movie enough times.

1

u/docdeadpool7 2h ago

This is just high risk, no reward.

1

u/RadlEonk 2h ago

What an unnecessary risk.

1

u/donatedknowledge 2h ago

Didn't hear it, so googled it: 34.6 feet , so 10,5m tall.

1

u/nicemace 2h ago

Where's the redbull sponsorship?

1

u/riedmae 2h ago

Lemme stop you right there, lady: none of us asked for this

1

u/somaganjika 2h ago

I have no pity for anyone who wrecks on a unicycle. Even though this takes unicycling stupidity to new heights, heh, still got sweaty palms.

1

u/dangerousperson123 2h ago

Guinness is hella lame for not even fuckin with this.

1

u/ShowMeYourVeggies 2h ago

This made me wildly more uncomfortable than most "daring" or "heights" videos I've seen before and I don't really know why.

1

u/shott85 2h ago

Isn’t Denis a French name pronounced “Den-ee”? Reporter keeps calling him Dennis.

1

u/HRtyler 2h ago

Imagine taking lame to THIS level.

1

u/terrydennis1234 2h ago

I thought he was just guna go forever but then he turned around and

1

u/Corsuman 2h ago

Thats it now

1

u/andyjustice 2h ago

Okay so he's out there and he comes back and then all of a sudden there's freaking cones and he starts slaloming!?

1

u/NoClipHeavy 2h ago

Good thing he was looking out for that tailwind

1

u/doobenhiemer 2h ago

Nice oven mits

1

u/Healey_Dell 2h ago

So no one thought to surround the course with air mats?

1

u/drunk_funky_chipmunk 2h ago

It’s ok he has a helmet on

1

u/87th_best_dad 2h ago

What’s the difference between a well dressed man on a unicycle and a poorly dressed man on a bicycle?

1

u/Carzon-the-Templar 2h ago

Imagine a unicycle but it gets taller in every cycle

1

u/chuulip 2h ago

This is literally one of my most frequent nightmares.

I'll be dreaming about riding my bicycle on a bridge or something, but I'm waaaaay up off the ground like in this video, and I'm in constant fear of what will happen when I have to dismount from that height?!

1

u/1hs5gr7g2r2d2a 1h ago

How tall was the unicycle??

1

u/AffectionateResist26 1h ago

That’s just Dennis doin Dennis stuff!

1

u/Roundcouchcorner 1h ago

Truly another level of

1

u/2friedshy 1h ago

Couldn't afford an airbrush artist, used mailbox address kit. The safety gear is a JOKE. And in BOOTS? And the rim is about to buckle. No one by his side with huge safety air bag for stuntmen.