A Japanese man is making history by breaking world records in an age when the majority of people are unable to walk normally.
Guinness World Records recognised a Japanese surfer who is 89 years old and has been surfing for less than ten years as the oldest surfer in the world.
The record-keeping organisation stated that Seiichi Sano, 89, was 88 years and 288 days old when Guinness World Records verified he rode the waves on July 8 of last year.
Mr Seiichi was born in Hokkaido on September 23, 1933, meaning he'll celebrate his 90th birthday this year. After graduating from secondary school, he moved to Tokyo and attended a wireless telegraph school. It was a post-war environment back then, and Seiichi would take a wide variety of jobs, including as cabaret staff and a doorman at a foreigners' club.
"I work with a bank manager who has really tanned skin. I thought he may be a golfer, but when I asked him, he whispered to me, 'I surf,'" he told GWR.
Three days later, according to Sano, he went surfing for the very first time. He became addicted right away and now surfs all year.
"People tell me surfing is dangerous, but I've had far more scary moments in a car than on a surfboard," he said.
He claimed to have a mechanism in place to prevent learning-related frustration.
"You do it for three days, then you take a break, and you do it again for three days, and so on. If you go into new things with the mindset that you don't have to continue trying forever, I think most people actually continue for a very long time," he said.
Mr Seiichi is not a professional surfer and is not interested in mastering common surfing skills. His favourite trick is a 180-degree jump on the surfboard. And oftentimes, he enjoys simply sitting on his board and taking in the view.
