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Steve Truglia
Born (1962-10-03)3 October 1962
London, England
Died 17 November 2016(2016-11-17) (aged 54)
Wulong, Chongqing, China
Occupation Stunt coordinator, stunt performer, television presenter, magician

Steve Truglia (born October 3, 1962 – died November 17, 2016) was a very skilled stunt performer and stunt coordinator from the United Kingdom. He was known for planning and performing exciting stunts in movies and TV shows. He also gave a special talk at a TED event in 2009, sharing his experiences.

Steve Truglia: A Life of Adventure

Steve Truglia lived a life full of daring challenges and amazing achievements. He was not just a stuntman; he was also a record-breaker and an adventurer.

Early Training and Skills

Before becoming a professional stuntman, Steve Truglia spent twenty years as a reservist in a highly specialized military group in the UK. This training helped him develop incredible discipline, physical strength, and problem-solving skills. These abilities were very useful in his later career as a stunt performer.

Becoming a Stunt Professional

In 1996, Steve Truglia officially became a professional stuntman. He worked on many big movies, making sure dangerous scenes looked real and exciting. His work included famous films like Saving Private Ryan and two movies from the popular James Bond series. As a stunt coordinator, he would plan out complex action sequences and make sure they were performed safely.

Setting Amazing World Records

Steve Truglia was not afraid to push limits. He set several impressive records during his career, showing his incredible courage and skill.

The Full Body Burn Challenge

One of his most famous stunts was the "Full Body Burn." This involves a person wearing special protective gear and being set on fire safely for a period of time. Steve Truglia held the unofficial UK record for the longest Full Body Burn. He was ablaze for 2 minutes and 5 seconds! This stunt requires careful planning and a lot of bravery.

Deep Underwater Diving

Steve also excelled in freediving, which is diving deep underwater while holding your breath. In 2002, he set a British record for "no limits freediving." He dove an incredible 76 meters (about 249 feet) deep on a single breath. This shows his amazing lung capacity and mental control.

The Fastest Abseil

In 2004, Steve Truglia earned a Guinness World Record. He achieved the fastest abseil (also known as rappelling) over 100 meters. Abseiling is when you use a rope to descend a steep surface, like a cliff or a tall building. Steve completed this challenging descent in just 8.9 seconds, which was a world record!

Dreaming of Space Jumps

Steve Truglia had an ambitious dream: to perform a world-record high-altitude parachute jump. He planned to jump from an astonishing 120,000 feet (about 36,576 meters), which is almost at the edge of space. His goal was to break the record set by Joseph Kittinger in 1960. Sadly, Steve did not get to attempt this incredible jump. He passed away during a challenging abseiling stunt from a helicopter in China on November 17, 2016.

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