He smoked the previous record holder.
A French “human torch” set two Guinness World Records on fire Thursday after he ran across the finish line while engulfed in flames.
Firefighter Jonathan Vero, 39, was licked by intense flames and deprived of oxygen for the entirety of this 272.25-meter (893 ft) dash around a track in his hometown Haubourdin, a commune 138 miles northwest of Paris.
The lightning-fast run was 68.02 meters longer than the previous record for the longest distance full body burn run without oxygen, according to Guinness World Records.
Vero also smashed the record for the fastest full body burn 100 m sprint without oxygen, clocking in at 17 seconds, beating the previous record by 7.58 seconds.
“This performance has a lot of meaning for me, for my job as a firefighter and for the people who trained me and watched me grow,” Vero said.
Friends ignited Vero — who was clad in a protective suit — before he took off on his record-breaking sprint and closely followed alongside him carrying fire extinguishers in case of emergency, the video shows.
Vero ultimately decimated the previous records and was able to stop the race on his own accord, signaling to helpers that he was ready to be hosed down and reintroduced to precious air.
According to Guinness World Records, the longest distance full body burn run without oxygen record is highly competitive and has changed hands seven times since 2009.
The firefighter — who, unsurprisingly, moonlights as a professional stuntman — said he “strived every day” to achieve the two titles, which he had dreamed of claiming since childhood.
He said he has “always had a passion for fire,” and “never stopped playing with it” ever since he was a child, leading him to spend his free time practicing fire juggling, fire eating and being the “human torch,” as in setting his whole body ablaze.
The pyromaniac has no intention of stopping at just two records, however — especially when there are so many other categories that involve fire.
“I’ve still got a lot to try and a lot of records to go for,” he said.
“Here, I’m considered a ‘paradox’, even a ‘cheater of death’, and I think that in the months to come, these descriptors will take on their full meaning.”
