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Gary Stretch & People With Very Stretchy Skin

Canadian M&M type things. They have them in the UK too? I love em, my stepdad brings back hoards every time he goes to Montreal.
 
Hmmmm

I don't think I've seen them in florida--I'll keep an eye open,..of course at my age I don't goggle at candy like I did when I was a kid..you stop that I guess when you get $$$ and looking out for health... :rolleyes:
 
I know I say it periodically, but I do feel justified in saying it here: THE SILLY SOD!

Mind you, he'd be a handy person to have round when you're pegging your washing out . . .

Carole
 
That pic is revolting. I'm sure I remember seeing someone do this on Record Breakers when I was small. lol
BTW Smarties are gorgeous. I buy them for my class at the end of term and then eat the left overs. :D
 
Last Saturday we went to see Circus of Horrors and they had a performer that we hadn't seen before called Gary Stretch. Basically he has ridiculously stretchy skin that he does frotesque things with by pulling it in all directions, and by far the worst is when he pulls the skin on his neck up over his mouth!

Can anyone remember what the name for this condition is?

The Circus of Horrors's website doesn't have any pictures of him, and dogpile-ing's proving a pain because there appears to be a popular actor with the same name.
 
Yeah, Ehlers-Danlos, though that's a huge and underresearched spectrum disease. I doubt our circus performer had EDS, since the abnormal skin findings are more exclusively seen in EDS Type IV, which is usually incapacitating or fatal before age thirty without extensive medical intervention, and almost always so after fourty. He would also be expected to have had bizarre hypermobility of his major joints, often painful.
 
I just saw the UK version of Guiness World Records and Gary Turner (stage name stretch) was on with a skin expert who said he had Ehlers-Danlos (I made a note so I could have a stab at this, as I remembered a thread on something like this, and managed Earlers Downloss Syndrome which isn't a bad go) where he stretched his stomach skin out to 14.2 cm (the medical expert measured it with a special medical ruler). The expert said it was due to disorderly collagen fibres which make healing slower and tend to make bleeding and bruising more likely. I found a mention here:

Gary Turner of the United Kingdom has skin that stretches farther than that of any other known human being. His favorite trick is to stretch his neck skin over his mouth to create a human turtleneck, although this does not beat his stomach trick - on Oct. 29, 1999, he stretched the skin of his stomach 6.25 inches.
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http://wildcat.arizona.edu/papers/97/56/01_6.html

Also turns up on Ripley's:

http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/ripleys/database/ep_112a.html

He also (obviously when you think about it) (still?) has the record for highest number of pegs on face record:

Peg-man overstretched

A man who attempted to beat his own record for clipping clothes pegs to his face has failed.

Champion pegger Gary Turner managed to squeeze an impressive 150 clothes pegs onto his face at the launch of the 2004 edition of the Guinness Book of Records at the Arndale Centre in Manchester.

However Gary, nicknamed Stretch because of his elastic skin, was just three pegs short of his record.

Following his record attempt he said: 'I really thought I was somewhere close. I'm disappointed because there were a lot of people here to watch the new record.'

The Lincolnshire man said it would be a few days before he attempted to break the record again, but it was worth the pain.

Gary told the Manchester Evening News: 'I was sunbathing in the garden one day and saw the pegs on the line and just thought I'd have a go.'

Gary, 34, holds the Guinness Record for stretchiest skin, but he has a rare condition that gives him his elastic face and kids are advised not to try his peg trick at home!

The latest Guinness Book of Records features 1,000 new world records and is printed in 23 languages.


31 October 2003
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http://www.yabedo.com/news/id/11476

and an interview:

Nell and Richard talk to the Stretchy Skin Man, Gary Turner about party tricks and world records. OK, so he may not be a celebrity, but we thought it warranted a bit more space to put in all the gros pictures!

Gary holds the world's strangest record and has the world's stretchiest skin. Gary you actually have a skin condition. Can you tell us about it?

I actually have a condition called EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome). Basically it's a disorder that affects the skin and internally as well. I'm very unusual with EDS as it just affects my skin.

Well you've managed to turn it to your advantage haven't you? Gary can you now show us a little something..

Gary shows the audience how to pull out the skin on his stomach!

Is that painful?

No, it's a natural ability.

Can you show us something else?

I can this 'the instant shave'! (Image, right: Gary demonstrates!)

What does your wife think?

I think she's about used to it now. At first it was a bit strange.

Our first website is the Guinness World Records record breakers club for people that have broken unusual records. Can you tell us about your record?

Yes, I'm attempting a record in London next month which is for the most clothes pegs pegged on the face and neck. Its held by Kevin Thetwell in Stoke at the moment, but I'm hoping to smash that record next month.

Can we have a real party piece now then?

Shall we do all the bulldogs (clips)?


(Gary pegs clips on his face. Eeuuw!)


LINKS:

http://www.s-t-r-e-t-c-h.co.uk - Gary Turner's homepage. Book him for a cabaret if you like!

http://www.recordholders.org - Record breakers' club

http://www.cafamily.org.uk/Direct/e21.html - Information about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

http://www.ehlers-danlos.org - Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome UK support group
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http://www.meridiantv.com/whats_on/programmes/cyber2001/archive/celeb_interviews/01nov01.htm

Emps
 
How old is Gary Turner? If he has EDS that bad, he's likely to die early from an aortic rupture.
 
Vitrius: The medical expert said he wasn't at much danger beyond the problems I mentioned above - it only affects his skin.

Emps
 
Emperor said:
Vitrius: The medical expert said he wasn't at much danger beyond the problems I mentioned above - it only affects his skin.

Emps
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Oh, the specialized skin type. Good for him then. I actually have a mild variant with numerous possible symptoms.

So far nothing but rubbery joints though(having on occasion woken up with my leg over my shoulder).
 
Vitrius: Blimey - it does seem an interestingly variable affliction or is it a collection of different things with a similar theme?

It seems like Gary has Classical type EDS - would that be a fair assumption?

Emps
 
Vitrius said:
So far nothing but rubbery joints though(having on occasion woken up with my leg over my shoulder).
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So does your joint actually dislocate? If it does, do you need to slot it back in? (Ouch!)
I'm guessing you don't have to do this.

(KInd of glad there were no pics in the link a few posts above.)
 
Emperor said:
Vitrius: Blimey - it does seem an interestingly variable affliction or is it a collection of different things with a similar theme?

It seems like Gary has Classical type EDS - would that be a fair assumption?

Emps
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All caused by some, typical genetic, defect in collagen metabolism.
 
Spooky angel said:
So does your joint actually dislocate? If it does, do you need to slot it back in? (Ouch!)
I'm guessing you don't have to do this.

(KInd of glad there were no pics in the link a few posts above.)
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No, and that's the weird thing. It doesn't dislocate because it's not "coming out" of anything. If you can imagine this, it stretches just like the guy's skin. Now, my skin is normal, but the joints are extremely elastic. When I was a kid I could put my feet together and touch the tips of my elbows to the floor. Now I can take my thumb and turn it nearly 180 degrees in the socket. My back-bent fingers go more than 90 degrees as well. It's alot like Gumby if you're familiar with that ancient, somewhat Fortean-esque series.
 
So you'd be less prone to joint related injuries I would imagine?
BTW Glad you don't dislocate, it's a nasty thought.
 
Spooky angel said:
So you'd be less prone to joint related injuries I would imagine?
BTW Glad you don't dislocate, it's a nasty thought.
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Oh if only you were right! Only reason it's considered a "syndrome" is because it leads to early arthritis and constant minor traumas to joints(hands for me mostly, since they're very hyperflexible).

It's not a terrible thing though. I have gotten out of some jams because of it(Can compress myself to escape tight spaces).

Wish I could make money off it like ole Garry here. Maybe I'll play the pity card :p
 
Vitrius said:
Maybe I'll play the pity card :p
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I'm afraid you can't do that now after establishing yourself on this board as the resident etymologist. You have too much talent to try to elicit major amounts of sympathy! :p
 
I meant that you wouldn't suffer from broken bones as much because of bendy sockets, but arthritis is a horrible thing to have to put up with. Poor you. :(
 
That's actually true. I can never jam my fingers in the door because they just conform to whatever force hits them and then mould back into shape.

I don't have problems yet. It's just a possible future concern.
 
I'm going to a five-day research conference on this this week. Lots of people who can pick their noses with their feet in one town. I've already met a few people from the foundation that organizes this and a couple could easily equal Gary Stretch in the skin area if they wanted to.

Maybe to prepare I should start turning around, bending over backwards and typing that way.
 
Vitrius: Excellent - sounds very interesting. take lots of notes and photos - we'll want to hear your report on this. ;)

Emps
 
I just got back today and am tired from flying and dragging luggage with less-than-compliant(overcompliant?) joint tissue.

I will say that I now have an idea where some clasical notions of elven folk might have come from. A few severely afflicted people had elf ears and extreme short stature. They were often very pale and, get this, Scandinavian. Many travelled from Denmark and Norway for this. In fact, beside three Asians and one Hispanic, all the people there were of northern European descent, though social factors are probably important in their being at a med conference(education, access to diagnosis, etc).

Way more common are strikingly tall, elongated "scare crow" body types with spider-like, long fingers. Any legendary creature come to mind? It seems odd that such a notable thing would go unnoticed in ancient times. If there never was a mythic creature based on the Marfan's/Ehlers-Danlos III phenotype, there should have been. One woman was 6'5'' and around 130lbs with an arm span that exceeded her height by nearly three inches. Think about it.

No pics, but I can always scan my own picture in. Not a severe case, but my fingers are skinny and long and bend into freakish positions that make many people whince. Or I could do the thing where I pull my torso between my legs like a pretzel.

Here's some Google:

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...es?q=Marfan&start=120&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...prev=/images?q=Marfan&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=G

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...mages?q=Ehlers-Danlos&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N

I can't find clinical pics of the elf face or even the worst of the Marfanoid type unfortunately.
 
Thanks for that report - it sounds fascinating.

Vitrius said:
No pics, but I can always scan my own picture in. Not a severe case, but my fingers are skinny and long and bend into freakish positions that make many people whince. Or I could do the thing where I pull my torso between my legs like a pretzel.
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Yes please.
 
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