How far would you go to help people in need? Russell Fox, a mentalist hailing from South Africa, is willing to walk at least 32 kilometers (or over 19 miles) over broken glass in order to raise money for charity—and attempt to break a Guinness world record in the process.
Fox was diagnosed with epilepsy, asthma, ADHD, and other mental disabilities at a young age, and channeled his energy into his magic in order to overcome them. After making a name for himself as a mentalist, he joined forces with South African non-profit Nosh for Josh, an organization dedicated to providing awareness and assistance to those affected by autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, muscular dystrophy, and other disorders.
The world record attempt—dubbed The Glass Walker Challenge—will require Fox to trek across 32 kilometers of glass shards in under 29 hours in order to break the record. Walking on glass is a part of Fox’s mentalism repertoire (as seen in the video above), but this will be his first attempt at the record. Speaking to South African outlet IOL, Fox says that this stunt “isn’t something I can practice for and both the mental and physical endurance is not an easy journey.”
Meanwhile, Nosh for Josh will be accepting crowdfunded donations on South African fundraising service BackABuddy in an attempt to raise R500,000 (a little over $35,000US) for the charity. The ultimate goal is to build a center to host workshops and clinics, as well as send children to the NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute in India for treatment.
The challenge will be held from Friday, November 3 through Saturday, November 4 at the V & A Amphitheatre in Cape Town, South Africa. For more information about the challenge, head over to the event’s Facebook page, and if you would like to donate to the fund, visit Nosh for Josh’s crowdfunding page on BackABuddy.