Messina Straits, Italy - Jaan Roose had already made a name for himself as a champion slackline walker, but he didn't want to stop there. Instead, he now has a world record under his belt.

Most people wouldn't even consider suspending a cable between Sicily and Italy and trying to walk across it, but for Jaan Roose, this was par for the course.

Now a world record holder, this insane athlete managed to walk the more than two-mile distance between the continent and the island, suspending more than 600 feet in the air.

It's a remarkable story, so let's take a look.

Jaan Roose is no stranger to records, nor record attempts, but now he has achieved something that is unlikely to ever be repeated – he became the first and only person to walk across the entire Messina Strait, which spans the water between Sicily and mainland Italy, on a slackline.

Born in 1992, this Estonian national didn't begin his slackline walking career until 2010, at the age of 18. He has since managed to bring home three world championships, an achievement highlighted by being the first and only person to ever manage a double backflip on a slackline.

Apart from his crazy athletic achievements, Roose has even found himself in the spotlight of Hollywood, taking his crazy talent to the silver screen as a stuntman for films like 2016's Assassin's Creed. Now, he's back on our screens again having paired up with Red Bull to walk more than two miles on a slackline across the Messina Strait.

Guinness World Records has refused to award Jaan Roose's remarkable effort with a world record, though, because he fell off just nine yards from the finish line, invalidating the attempt.

What makes it particularly rough is that he had already beaten the currently-standing record at that point. The previous record was a walk of about 1.7 miles conducted by a team of eight people in 2022.

It seems that he'll need to repeat the endeavor to claim a position in the Guinness World Records, but what Jaan Roose has managed to do is still remarkable. But how did he do it?

Over the course of three hours, Jaan Roose walked, step-by-step, across the entirety of the strait, starting in Santa Trada, Calabria, and ending in Torre Faro, Sicily. To make matters even more difficulty, Roose faced unpredictable and difficult weather and a number of frustrating environmental hurdles.

The slackline itself was historic, the largest to have ever been put up, and required some very careful and coordinated planning. Slung between two power pylons on either side of the straight, it required an eight-person team and a helicopter carrying a pilot rope to get it in place.

Roose then had to climb to the top of a nearly 900-foot high tower before even beginning the attempt. To complete the incredibly long journey, he had to manage his attention and not allow himself to get distracted by things like nearby birds and a drone that turned up at one point. It required hyper-focus as well as skill and tons of practice.

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"I feel 'jaantastic,' I am super happy, a bit tired and worn out," Jaan is cited by Red Bull as having said after finishing the record attempt. "I made history."

"I walked 3.6 km across the Strait of Messina! It was a long walk, full of surprises from start to finish. I had some difficulties, but the weather was good! I expected more wind."

By walking multiple miles on a slackline suspended over the ocean, Jaan Roose has managed to bring home a world record that had previously been pretty disappointing. It's a crazy achievement with a crazy story.