PRETORIA: A Pretoria man nicknamed "Tooth King" pulled a 20 360kg fire engine yesterday with a rope clenched between his teeth.
Organisers said the feat was a new world record for the heaviest vehicle pulled with teeth.
Grunting and gasping, Antonios Neonakis’s neck muscles strained and his face contorted as he hauled the heavy fire truck over 2m at Faerie Glen shopping centre in Pretoria.
The feat is expected to be confirmed by the Guinness World Records in a few weeks after verification of the data, said Neonakis’s partner, Louise Oosthuizen.
The audience looked on with astonishment and the sceptics who thought he must be crazy were silenced.
Onlookers clapped and chanted “Tony” and “Superman” as Neonakis pulled the truck, pushing his booted feet against the tar to propel himself backward.
Neonakis, 42, who weighs a mere 72kg and has previous achievements for pulling a 70.5-ton double-decker bus and a 125-ton train under his belt, said: “I prepared for four weeks, pulling the fire truck once a week.”
Neonakis is not a professional muscleman. The power behind his skinny body puzzled observers.
“No one understands the secret behind his extraordinary strength, even if they understand the physics of momentum,” said Oosthuizen.
This skinny local hero has garnered a growing reputation and videos of his stunts are very popular in Pretoria West, even if he is not widely known yet.
When not pulling heavy vehicles with his teeth, Neonakis sells gym equipment.
At the age of 19, Neonakis knew he had unusual skills when he pulled a 70.5-ton bus.
Asked how it felt to kiss a man with strong teeth, his partner quipped: “It’s a tough job.”
Next on his list is pulling an aeroplane.