Mohammed al-Sheikh is only 12 and feels trapped in Gaza but he dreams of a Guinness world record for a series of stunning backflips and his almost unbelievable body contortions.
Mohammed, just 1.37 metres (four foot, six inches) tall and weighing 29 kilograms (64 pounds), can bend his body in seemingly impossible ways, throwing his feet over his shoulders with reckless abandon or jumping into a spider-like pose.
His antics earned this young Palestinian from the Gaza Strip the nickname of “Spiderman,” a mantle which fills him with pride.
Mohammed found fame just after a devastating war in Gaza with Israel that left over 2,000 Palestinians dead in 2014.
Despite the 50-day conflict interrupting his training, he appeared on the TV show in Lebanon, where his body-bending act won 14 million votes.
Though he didn’t win, he now hopes to writhe his way into the Guinness Book of Records from his home in the Tel al-Hawa area of southern Gaza City.
Mohammed can perform four acrobatic moves better than anyone else on earth, his coach Mohammed Lubbad, 26, insists.
Guinness accepted his bid for a record entitled: “Most full body revolutions maintaining a chest stand in one minute.”