Towering at a little under seven feet, Josh Lovelien attracts attention when walking, running and jumping across campus. He has the potential to run faster than any student or bounce as much as six feet off the ground. To do these feats requires balance, endurance and strength, but most importantly, Lovelien requires his stilts.
Lovelien uses an apparatus known as jumping stilts. At about three feet tall, they attach to his feet and straps wrap around his calf. The “legs” of the stilts are curved, and two small green pads work as soles, allowing Lovelien to maneuver in various terrains, such as concrete and grass.
While watching Cirque du Soleil, Lovelien noticed performers doing acrobatics on these jumping stilts. Researching more on it, he found out that the stilts were a part of exercise subculture known as extreme stilting. He researched YouTube videos and slowly became more engrossed in the activity.
Extreme stilting is not common in Ohio, which may contribute to the perplexed looks on students’ faces. Lovelien said it’s most common on the west coast of California. However, his interest in stilting grew over the past three years.
First, he asked his parents to buy him the stilts. After describing extreme stilting, they were not amused mostly because of how dangerous the activity was. Realizing that his parents wouldn’t buy the stilts for him, Lovelien saved and bought the stilts at $350. Because the activity is not indigenous to Ohio sports shops, he resorted to online purchasing.
Currently, Lovelien has been extreme stilting since about early September of this year. His first attempt at wearing the stilts happened on Otterbein’s campus. On his first attempt, it took him half an hour just to walk and stand up by himself. It took about an hour to walk in place, two hours to run and another two hours to jump. His next project is learning how to flip.
Lovelien disclosed he had four minor accidents.
“There was one time I fell face first,” Lovelien said. “It’s not too bad, but when you’re one-and-a-half feet up in the air…”
When he uses the stilts across campus, typically during breaks from class or at night, Lovelien said professors and adults are fascinated. However, students will often give him strange looks. Regardless, he said he enjoys the attention that he receives.
“I love the looks I get,” he said. “My favorite is when I don’t get looks. Like really, a guy on jumping stilts?”
Without the strong community of extreme stilting in Ohio, Lovelien has been teaching himself how to walk, run and perform tricks. His latest goal is to run and complete flips.
“I’m for exercise,” he said. “But I think it’s more or less a fun hobby that I have that nobody else has.”
