Matt Silver-Vallance, 37, achieved what lots of young men have been striving to do since the birth of the helium balloon: float attached to helium balloons. Admit it, we’ve all tried it more or less failingly. Heck, as a child, I’ve even tried using a large umbrella to… ergh, nevermind about that.
So then…
The man crossed the 12km of water separating Nelson Mandela’s old prison island, and Cape Town in South Africa by suspending himself in a harness attached to an estimated 160 helium balloons. He also carried some bags filled with water as ballast, a long spear as well as a BB gun, surely to explode the balloons if the need came. This covers the scholar and stuntman parts of the title.
Was it only a fun stunt? No, Mr.Silver-Vallance did it to gather funds and help build the Nelson Mandela’s children’s hospital in Johannesbourg, hence the philantropist.
In this video, courtesy of YouTube and The Telegraph TV, Mr.Silver-Vallance can be seen take off, and land on an inflatable raft, before releasing the balloons into the atmosphere.
“Go, fly, be free balloons.” -Me, amateur comedian.
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