Paralympic athlete and wheelchair user Paul Nunnari may not have competed professionally since the mid-noughties, but when he appeared on the current season of Britain’s Got Talent, he proved that he hasn’t left behind his dreams of inspiring a nation.
Paul, 52, switched his usual track and field athletics for a jaw-dropping aerial silks routine that could have put him at death’s door. With his shocking audition racking up more than 586,000 views in a mere ten days, Music Man readers can watch Paul’s one-of-a-kind performance unfold in the viral video below…
No other contestant has dared a routine like Paul’s before. The Australian silver medalist and Guinness World Record breaker sets out to stun from the get-go as he takes to center stage; two lengths of red silks soon dropping from the rafters to the stage floor.
Strapped into his wheelchair, Paul executes a mystifying feat of upper body strength as he pulls himself up the silks as if rope-climbing, wheelchair and all, as a female assistant stabilizes the lower end of the silks.
Paul manages some pull-ups using the silks, which makes judge KSI’s jaw drop wide open, before Paul’s assistant begins spinning the silks in wide circles, sending Paul flying through the ether.
But that’s hardly the most shocking moment. Paul lets go of the silks, hanging on and spinning with only one hand whilst keeping perfect form throughout.
Back on ground level again, Paul’s assistant puts a blindfold on the Paralympian, the star soon climbing the silks again. Once he reaches the heights of the stage, he dares an absolutely death-defying move, slipping a safety strap around his neck, spinning in dramatic circles as before, but then letting go of the silks completely to spin using nothing but his neck.
With KSI hiding behind his chair, the crowd completely erupts as show hosts Ant and Dec tell the camera, “I’ve never, ever seen anything like it!”
At long last, Paul returns his wheels to the stage, receiving a standing ovation and shouts of “Press the gold!” from the audience. The judges call him an inspiration, commenting, “No excuses, right?” in reference to his ‘disability,’ with Simon Cowell calling Paul’s audition “one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen.”
In a shock move, Simon slams the Golden Buzzer, sending the confetti glittering over Paul as he raises both fists in triumph. Simon even hits the stage himself to congratulate Paul personally, following him backstage where Paul delivers his final inspirational message, “If you dream something, you can make it happen. This is a dream come true for me.”