Brazilian man twists foot 210 degrees to smash world record

By Sanj Atwal
Published
Largest foot rotation being measured

Brazilian man Renato Bayma Gaia has broken a world record with his flexible feet.

He officially achieved the largest foot rotation ever recorded by turning his right foot an incredible 210.66 degrees, exceeding the previous record by 28.63 degrees.

Renato discovered his trotter-twisting ability 30 years ago. “I didn’t practise at all,” he said. “It’s a natural skill.”

Three men (two Americans and an Englishman) have previously held this record; Renato is the first to achieve a rotation over 180 degrees.

The female record is 171.4 degrees by Kelsey Grubb of New Mexico, USA.

Renato with thumbs up

Renato attempted the record to pay homage to Curupira, a mythological creature from Brazilian folklore who possesses backward feet to create misleading footprints for hunters and travellers. “He can beat any superhero in the world,” Renato asserts.

He also did it to represent his favourite soccer team SE Palmeiras (fittingly known as the “team of the turn”) as well as his favourite US sports teams: Philadelphia Eagles, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Largest foot rotation

To successfully attempt this record, challengers must adhere to several rules.

They must start with both feet next to each other facing forwards, then rotate their foot in one of two ways: either the heel must remain stationary, or the toes must.

Largest foot rotation being measured by a woman

Without the use of hands or any devices, and without the upper body changing direction, the challenger must rotate their foot as much as possible.

They then must be able to remain standing in the spot for a minimum of 10 seconds.

Renato now holds four Guinness World Records titles and says he plans to defend them with the same tenacity that Curupira defends the Amazon rainforest.

He set two tongue-related records on the same day last year: most tongue to nose touches in one minute (334) and fastest time to remove five Jenga blocks with the tongue (7.38 seconds, obliterating the previous record of 55.5 seconds set by the man with the longest tongue, Nick Stoeberl).

And in December he achieved the fastest time to set up and topple 10 books with a time of 6.94 seconds, shaving 1.86 seconds off the previous record set by serial record breaker Lim Kai Yi.

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