BBCA builder who can balance items like sheds, ladders and bicycles on his chin is hoping to break a world record.
Tobey Newall, 25, from Salford, said he had discovered the talent after a trip to a DIY store with his brother six years ago when he tried to balance a plank of timber on his face.
“I don’t know what possessed me to put it on my chin but I just did it and ended up being quite good at it,” he told BBC Radio Manchester.
Newall, who goes by the nickname Chin-A-Rooney on social media, wants to break the Guinness World Record for the tallest object balanced on a chin, a title set by US-based juggler Cardon Firth in 2018 for balancing a 71ft (21m) object.
The objects Newall balances come in all shapes and sizes, including scaffolding boards and poles, sheeting material, and a 10ft (3m) worktop weighing 101lbs (46kg).
He has about 350,000 followers and has clocked up millions of views for the videos of his chin-balancing feats.
When he attempts to break the world record, Newall said he would have to go to more extreme lengths and use a specialist-made fibreglass pole measuring 100ft (30m).
“The heavier stuff hurts,” Newall said.
“So you’ve just got to be careful. Don’t try it at home.”
Newall’s friend Travis Mooney, from Wythenshawe, has stepped in to help him balance the objects, while also filming his feats for social media.
He said there could be nervy moments and recalled one incident when Newall was balancing a garden shed on his chin.
“We were in the middle of B&Q and I was just thinking if this shed goes, the whole shop will be in uproar,” Mooney said.
“But he absolutely smashed it and it was fine.”
He described the whole experience as “mental” and said he was “not surprised people think its AI”.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous but he does it,” he said. “It is unbelievable.”
Mooney, who normally works in IT, said the popularity of Newall’s videos had brought opportunities.
“There’s brands approaching us, there’s people we’ve sort of watched since we were younger, content creators approaching us,” he said. “It’s all a bit surreal to be honest.”
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Newall has attempted the Guinness World Record challenge three times previously, but said he was “getting nowhere with it” because of the material he was using.
But with the fibreglass pole in production for the challenge, he said he was now more confident in his ability to break the record.
“Hopefully we can smash it out the park,” he said. “If we don’t, we try again.”
Mooney added: “We have worked hard to get to this point, I’d be really proud of Tobey.”
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