This Slacker is Going Nowhere
Jaan Roose performs during The Messina Crossing in Villa San Giovanni, Italy, July 10, 2024.
Jaan Roose is a three-time world champion, and recently crossed 3,646 Meters of Water from Italy to Sicily in perhaps the most unorthodox border crossing of all time. No word yet on whether he was immediately deported. The slackline is just 1.9cm thick and the feat took him nearly three hours to pull off. He surpassed the current world record of 2710 metres, but unfortunately a fall in the last 80 metres nullified his chances of setting the new record. The lines were attached to the Pylons of Messina, decommissioned 265 metre towers that used to act as powerlines over the straight in the 90s.
The picture is incredible, showing just how much variance he has to deal with on a rope bending in the wind and sagging in a massive slope. He had to descend from the tower height down to 100 meters above the water, before spending half the trip ascending 130 meters.
He started the walk at 8:45am in the morning and concluded at 11:42am.
When Jaan’s slacklining ability isn’t sending him across massive expanses of water he’s been put to use by hollywood, appearing in both Wonder Woman 1984 and Assassin’s Creed.