Roslyn Walker facts for kids

Roslyn Walker (born Russel Erwood on March 19, 1981, in Brislington, Bristol, England) is a super talented entertainer! He lives in Conwy with his partner, Foxee Stole, who is a dancer.

Roslyn Walker is famous for being an amazing escape artist and stuntman. He's even the official jester of Conwy! Using his real name, Russel Erwood, he also worked as a magic expert for TV shows like Breaking Magic on Discovery Channel and Tricked! on ITV2. Over the years, Walker has done some of Harry Houdini's toughest escape stunts. These include the suspended straitjacket escape and the famous Mirror Handcuff Challenge.

Walker has broken two world records in escapology, which is the art of escaping from restraints. He was also voted 6th among the Ten Greatest Escape Artists in History!

Amazing Escapes and Stunts

Setting World Records

On April 29, 2011, Roslyn Walker set two new world records. He did this at The Albert Pub in Llandudno. Both records were for escaping from real police handcuffs.

Handcuff Escape Records

• The Most Handcuff Escapes in One Minute: The old record was six escapes. Walker broke this by escaping from nine pairs of handcuffs in just one minute!
• The Most Handcuff Escapes in One Hour: Walker, also known as the Gentleman Escape Artist, escaped from 677 pairs of handcuffs in one hour. He did this without using keys and in front of everyone. This beat the old record set by Zdenek Bradac in 2010 by 50 escapes!

The Mirror Handcuff Challenge

The original Mirror Handcuff Challenge was given to Harry Houdini in 1904. A newspaper called The London Daily Mirror challenged him.

In 2008, Walker performed at the Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza. At the end of the event, the organizers challenged him. They wanted him to do the same stunt that Houdini faced over 100 years ago.

Just like Houdini, Walker did not see how the handcuffs locked or unlocked. He also did not see or touch the key used to lock them. The handcuffs were not removed once they were on him. Taking them off would have meant he failed.

Houdini had two things that made his attempt easier than Walker's. First, Houdini could hide inside a cabinet. This meant the public couldn't see him. Walker had to perform his stunt in front of 10,000 people! Second, Houdini had as much time as he needed. Walker had a very strict time limit.

Walker was successful! The special handcuffs from this challenge are now part of his collection. You can see them at his shows.

Hanging Upside Down: Straitjacket Escape

Walker also recreated a famous stunt where he escaped from a straitjacket while hanging upside down. He did this for the music video The Walls are Coming Down by the band Fanfarlo.

Walker hung by his feet above the band. He managed to free himself seven times during only three hours of filming. This stunt was so difficult that Walker was bleeding from his armpits after the shoot.