Life's a rollercoaster

Life's a rollercoaster NEWS

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For one Norfolk man, life really is a rollercoaster, having been on 867 rollercoasters worldwide and causing quite a buzz on the internet.

David Ellis, 45, from Lowestoft in Norfolk has turned theme park rides into a passion of his, travelling the globe to ride the most hair-raising tracks worldwide.

Since discovering his passion at the age of 10, Ellis has been on 867 different rollercoasters in America, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Europe. Reaching speeds of 128mph on the Kingda Ka roller coaster in New Jersey, to accelerating from 0-107mph in under two seconds on Dodonpa in Japan, Ellis is hooked on the highs, lows and thrills of rollercoasters.

As a member of the 1,000-member-strong European Coaster Club, Ellis often organises trips abroad to theme parks to experience new coasters. He has even bared all three times by participating in the world record attempts for the most people on a rollercoaster without any clothes on.

Ellis became an internet sensation in November when a video of him on a roller coaster went viral on Youtube, with 4 million video hits. Ellis filmed himself zooming down a mountain on the Sommerrodelbahn Alpine roller coaster in Mieders, Austria, where the little cart reaches speeds of nearly 30mph without brakes. The video can be seen below:

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On becoming an internet sensation, Mr Ellis said: 'It took me by total surprise, it has all been a bit surreal to be honest. I am a bit gobsmacked about the whole thing.'

By 2013, Ellis hopes to have ridden his 1,000th different roller coaster. In order to attempt this, he is arranging a provisional trip to visit the coasters in China.

If you love rollercoasters, be sure to check out BritEvents' Britain's top 10 best rollercoasters guide.