Austin Beasty hopes to raise a huge sum for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance as part of his astonishing world record attempt
Austin Beasty is looking to beat the world record for the most backflips in 24 hours.(Image: Austin Beasty)
A sporty teenager from East Yorkshire is hoping to break an unusual world record in a mind-boggling fundraiser – he wants to complete the most backflips in 24 hours.
Austin Beasty has got a huge target to beat – the current record stands at a whopping 1,234 backflips, set by Norwegian gymnast Mathias Stavdal in June 2025. But the 18-year-old from Market Weighton is no stranger to tough gymnastic targets and is more than ready for the challenge.
Austin, from Market Weighton, is carrying out the Guinness World Record attempt next month at Wolds Gymnastics Club, to raise funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance – a vital charity he has seen in action many times through his motocross activities. He will also be staging the gymnastic fundraiser in memory of his brother Jaygo, who died in a road traffic collision near Middleton-on-the-Wolds four years ago, when he was just 17.
It will mark the second time he has carried out a fundraiser for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance in his brother’s honour, having raised almost £2,000 from a backflip challenge when he was 14, completing a spectacular 76 backward somersaults in 7.6 minutes. After years of gymnastic training alongside his late brother, he actually gave up gymnastics three years ago, to focus on motocross and Arenacross racing.
But he has teamed up with his former coach Harry to prepare for the marathon backflip attempt. Training has been tough, but he’s got a plan in place to achieve his goal in less than 24 hours.
Austin, an engineering apprentice at Noxdown in Pocklington, said: “So there’s a bit there’s a bit of a story to it. I’ve always wanted a Guinness World Record, it’s just something I’ve always aspired to have.
“I had a injury on my motocross bike, I’d had surgery, and I was just quite bored, so I was looking at things to motivate me. I was looking through Guinness World Record and thought, ‘I could give that one a try’. So I could use it as motivation on my recovery too.
“I was a gymnast from about 2014 all the way until 2023 when I finished and I’ve still got a lot of my gymnastics ability. Because I work full time it’s been quite difficult training. But I’ve been doing 300, 400, 500 backflips, some nights after work.
“I’ve also been doing a lot in the gym, like muscle training, because it takes quite a toll on your body when you’re doing that many backflips.”
The Guinness World Records website says athletes can lose their vision after a while during such arduous record attempts, but their bodies react automatically and continue through muscle memory.
“I completely agree with that,” said Austin. “When you’ve done so many, your head does go, a bit swirly, but because you’re doing so many, your body’s so used to it – it’s almost like a natural reaction.
“I can definitely say I get a bit dizzy, and you get a bit of a headache because you’re constantly spinning. The main pain I’ve had while I was doing it is in my calves and in my legs as well, from heavy landings, and then using my legs to jump.”
The young engineer’s plan is to do three backflips every minute.
He said: “It doesn’t sound like a lot, but we’ll be doing that for hours at a time. I’m aiming to break the record in 12 hours. And then anything I can do after that is to add on to make the record harder to beat in the future.
“My personal target is over 1,500, but even if I could just break the record, that would be amazing.”
The world record attempt starts at 6am at Wolds Gymnastics Club and is open to the public. Austin’s parents Tracey and Dominic, gymnastics coach Harry and other friends and family will be there to keep him motivated. But his real motivation is his determination to boost the coffers of Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA). A Just Giving fundraising page has been launched and has already brought in more than £1,100 in donations.
As a charity YAA relies on the generosity of individuals and organisations to help save lives across Yorkshire. And it has recently launched a major fundraising campaign to raise the final £400,000 needed to complete and equip its new £9m Northern Airbase, at Skipton Bridge, near Thirsk, which will become its permanent operational home.
Through Austin’s motocross activities he has seen how air ambulances have proved to be a vital emergency service – including coming to his brother’s aid at an event in Devon.
He said: “At the races if there are any bad accidents it’s always the air ambulance that comes out, so I’d just like to give a bit back as such. My brother was airlifted himself after a bad motocross accident in Devon in 2017. It wasn’t the Yorkshire ambulance, but supporting the air ambulance as a whole is a big thing in our family.
“Jaygo and I grew up together and a lot of what he’s done has inspired me to keep going and to do things like this, I’m sure.”
To make a donation to Austin’s epic fundraiser visit his Just Giving page here.
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