Bryan Berg has a surprising gravity-defying hobby. The 33-year-old American builds huge structures out of playing cards and his latest 25ft skyscraper has broken all records.
The professional 'cardstacker' has created a variety of breathtaking sculptures over the years including models of cathedrals, skyscrapers and stadiums, without using anything to stick them together.
Berg said the combined weight of the cards and his special grid structures helped hold his constructions in place.
His latest creation, which took five weeks to build, stands at 25ft 9inches tall and was made from 1,800 decks of playing cards. It was limited only by the height of the building he was working in.
While Berg's remarkable feats may take unyielding concentration and patience he insists his work is highly rewarding.
"I like what I do. This is no kind of torture or boredom for me," he said.
"In my lifetime, cardstacking has gone from a hobby to an obsession to a livelihood."
Berg first started building card houses at the age of eight. He broke the Guinness World Record for the World's Tallest House of Cards in 1992 at the age of seventeen, with a tower fourteen feet, six inches tall.
When asked recently if he could build a taller structure, perhaps even 100ft high, he was undaunted. "You bet!" he said.
The professional 'cardstacker' has created a variety of breathtaking sculptures over the years including models of cathedrals, skyscrapers and stadiums, without using anything to stick them together.
Berg said the combined weight of the cards and his special grid structures helped hold his constructions in place.
Bryan stands amongst his card creations
His latest creation, which took five weeks to build, stands at 25ft 9inches tall and was made from 1,800 decks of playing cards. It was limited only by the height of the building he was working in.
While Berg's remarkable feats may take unyielding concentration and patience he insists his work is highly rewarding.
"I like what I do. This is no kind of torture or boredom for me," he said.
"In my lifetime, cardstacking has gone from a hobby to an obsession to a livelihood."
Berg first started building card houses at the age of eight. He broke the Guinness World Record for the World's Tallest House of Cards in 1992 at the age of seventeen, with a tower fourteen feet, six inches tall.
When asked recently if he could build a taller structure, perhaps even 100ft high, he was undaunted. "You bet!" he said.
Bryan concentrates for hours on end