Josef "Joska" Šálek holds three Guinness World Records: the longest plank hold (9 hours, 38 minutes, 47 seconds, 2023), a barefoot half marathon run on snow and ice (1:50:42, 2024), and a weighted plank with an 18 kg load on his back (1:25:02, 2024) – all set in the Czech Republic.

According to his own account, at age 48 he underwent a radical life transformation after struggling with being overweight, alcohol, and life stagnation. Seven years later, he holds three world records, regularly practices cold-water immersion, and works as a motivational coach. He also survived a period of imprisonment in an Arab prison, which he says left him not broken, but stronger.

He now works in mental coaching for athletes and companies, runs workshops and bootcamps focused on building mental resilience and pushing past comfort zones, and shares his story through film and books as well.

Joska Šálek