Jason Thomas: Guelph physics instructor, motorbike daredevil

By day, they toil in the ivory tower’s rarefied air. After hours, they break out surfboards, silks and a bed of nails. These are the stories of Canada’s most adventurous university faculty and staff. Click here for the rest of our Hidden Talents series.

The Great Orbax (Jason Thomas): Even to students, the University of Guelph physics instructor goes only by his stage name. As a Ph.D. student, Orbax became a daredevil performer, though his act is as much comedy as it is crazy stunts. But there’s no shortage of those—Orbax has smashed 24 world records, with another on the way: “Most animal traps released on a body in a minute,” says the 39-year-old. He’s also got the record for “most motorcycles driven over a human body while lying on a bed of nails in two minutes” and “heaviest truck pulled from flesh hooks in the back.” The show is also a family business—his brother holds the record for “most mousetraps released on a tongue in a minute.” (If you must know, it’s 58.)