This Man Wants Sitting In A Chair To Become An Extreme Sport

All people have some dream. Some are more personal, others more epic. Robert Silk dreams of a very particular one: extreme sitting.

We associate extreme sport with action, constant movement, speed. Robert Silk would not you agree. He is the founder of the International Desert Sitting Association, where it is the only member. He has also participated in several extreme sit-ins, and has won them all, being the only participant.

It may sound silly, but if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Sitting in a chair doesn’t feel like an extreme sport. but… What if you sit several people for hours in Antarctica, at 20 degrees below zero, or in the Atacama Desert, at 50 degrees Celsius, and see who can last the longest?

It’s still a crazy idea, but it’s starting to fall into the category of extreme sportbecause it requires a lot of physical and mental stamina.

Robert Silk, a journalist who likes to spend time outdoors, came up with the idea a long time ago, but took it as a personal challenge.

has carried out several extreme sit-ins in US deserts, and even already has some rules written.

of course there you go fully protected for the cold or the heat, with the clothes, protection creams, sunglasses, and everything that is necessary. You also have to bring food and plenty of water. Other drinks are not allowed.

During extreme sitting it is possible get up and stretch your legs, but only for short periods of time, and you don’t have to move away from the chair.

Cell phones and any other electronic device are prohibited. Yes it is allowed to read books.

The extreme sitting record Robert Silk himself has it (who else), sitting for 14 hours and 27 minutes in the Mojave desert, in the United States. The “feat” has been collected in this documentary, which has received several awards:

This pioneer of extreme sports also carried out an extreme sitting on Cuverville Island, in Antarctica, at more than 20 degrees below zero.

As Silk himself explains, the hardest thing is not the cold or the heat, but the spending 14 hours sitting without a mobile phone or television, alone with the landscape and your thoughts.

Your next target is organize an extreme sit-in in the Atacama desert, in Chile, one of the driest places on Earth. But this time, with at least one competitor.

This new sport has started slowly, but who knows, maybe it will end up becoming a worldwide success…