“Unicycle Strongman” rides back into record book by squatting over 130 lbs mid-peddle

Unicycling is a practised skill, learned through progression and a certain dedication to improving control over your body – in a way, it’s not unlike powerlifting. 

At least, this was the logic applied by record holder Jason Auld (UK), who has turned himself into the Unicycle Strongman through years of concurrent improvements in his strength and stability. 

Since 2016, Jason has found fame – and Guinness World Records acclaim – through his weightlifting talents on the unicycle. Taking multiple titles over the years, alone and with his team, he’s constantly working on ways to improve his skills, resulting in a new record attempt this August for the heaviest weight squat lifted whilst riding a unicycle (male).

By pulling himself into a standing position on the unicycle, he was able to hold aloft 60.5 kg (133.37 lbs) of weights on a barbell with both hands, before twisting into a record-breaking position. 

Relinquishing one hand from the barbell, he reached down and grabbed the seat of the unicycle for balance, before letting go and popping quickly into a squat. The unicycle rocked back-and-forth precariously for a moment, but Jason regained stability and successfully maneuvered back to the rack to rest the weights. In total, he managed to ride with the weight of 10 gallons of paint on his back!

His efforts were rewarded with a new record on 29 August, within a category of similar titles that he himself had invented.

“There’s always a strange moment after a record where something you’ve spent months dreaming about suddenly exists as a fact,” said Jason to GWR, after taking the title.

“For a long time, the unicycle barbell squat was just this ridiculous idea in my head. And now it’s a Guinness World Records title. I love that progression.”

He continued with: “The number matters, obviously. It’s a strength record… but the part that means the most to me is answering the original question: ‘Can this be done?’”

Now 38 years old, Jason has been unicycling professionally for the last 20 years, inspired by the old-school vaudeville strongmen who had – in a world yet to embrace professional sports – used their strength to entertain rather than compete.

“I started unicycling when I was 14 because I was a contrary attention seeker,” he explained. “I wasn’t particularly interested in being the best at something everyone else was doing. I was much more interested in finding out what I could do differently.”

Over the years, he says that he’s become increasingly interested in the relationship between strength and stability – even becoming a personal trainer in 2023 to learn more about how the human body adapts to change.

“Traditionally, we’re taught that stability and strength don’t really go together,” he said. “If your body is fighting to keep you balanced, you can’t effectively express the same amount of force you could from a stable position.

“And broadly speaking, that’s true. But after 20 years of professional unicycling, it doesn't seem to apply to me. I want to know how far I can push that contradiction.”

Read more stories about record-breaking strength in our dedicated Sports and Fitness section!

His visions began to manifest into public attention early into his career, particularly after claiming records for the heaviest single weight lifted by barbell overhead press while riding a unicycle (68 kg, 149.91 lb; since broken by Dan Galanto (USA) with 93.71 kg, 206 lbs 9.52 oz), and the highest box jump from a unicycle (1.15 m, 3 ft 9 in). 

He was a featured title holder in Guinness World Records 2023, and has performed at several notable live events, including: the London Olympic Games, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and for King Charles at a charity function.

So Jason says that he’s proud to see how the field has expanded since he began, especially as others attempt to break his titles.

“When I was at school, I was kind of embarrassed to admit that I wanted to be a professional unicyclist because quite frankly, I didn’t know what that even was,” he said. “But I gave it a go and made a path where there wasn't one… and I'm proud others have been able to follow that path behind me.”

Yet even as his success continues, Jason isn’t the type to define himself by his limitations – and he continues to seek new records in his area of expertise. 

He stumbled upon this record attempt by strength-training on his unicycle, and gradually started thinking of problem-solving techniques that would allow him to complete a weighted squat on the wheeled device.

For example, to properly complete a squatting motion, he’d have to pull his body away from the seat – so he borrowed a technique from trials unicycling to get his torso low enough to the ground.

However, that solved one problem and immediately created another. Traditionally, a barbell squat requires both hands on the bar to prevent undue pressure on the back. Nevertheless, Jason was determined to figure out the challenge, so he learned how to support and control the bar with one hand and his shoulders.

“So now I was trying to squat on a unicycle, with the seat pulled out in front of me, while holding a barbell across my back one-handed,” said Jason, clearly puzzled by the position.

“Was it even possible?” he continued. “I don’t mean, could I do it – I mean, do the laws of physics, and the limitations of our biomechanics, mean it’s never going to happen.

“There’s a strange psychological challenge that comes with being the first person to attempt something. If somebody else has already done it, you have proof. You know there’s an answer to the puzzle,” he said. “Gradually, 60 kilograms stopped feeling impossible, and started feeling like a puzzle I hadn’t finished solving.”

Yet as it turns out – he could!

“I think people sometimes assume record breakers possess some extraordinary ability that separates them from everyone else,” said Jason. “I’ve never really believed that.

“My advice to future record breakers would be to pay attention to the ideas you can’t quite stop thinking about, particularly the unreasonable ones. You don’t need to know exactly how you’re going to achieve something before you begin. Most of my records started with me having absolutely no idea how I was going to make them work.

“If you’ve ever answered ‘I can’t do that’ to something you’ve never even tried, I’d encourage you to think again and give it a go. You might surprise yourself.”

And though he says he doesn’t necessarily expect everyone to start doing their daily workouts on a unicycle, he does hope people look at his records and wonder: “If he can do that, I wonder what I could do?”

“I’ve been lucky to have some incredible opportunities, perform around the world, achieve success and experience things very few people ever will and it all came from the mindset of having a go and making it work,” Jason said.

“So if the only thing holding you back is overwhelming societal pressure – and potentially the laws of physics – I’d encourage you to have a go anyway. I did, and I can tell you, you'll be surprised at what you’re capable of achieving.”