One of Belarus's most famous stuntmen almost died at an auto show in Lida — his videos garnered almost half a billion views. What's with him now?
Trickster-blogger Artemiy Prokopenko said he risked his life 25 times – that's how many potentially deadly stunts he performed in his 24 years. But this time in Lida, something went wrong.
During the "Cars. Picnic" car show, which took place near the walls of Lida Castle last weekend, an accident occurred. 24-year-old stuntman Artemiy Prokopenko was standing on a large barrel. He jumped, and while in the air, he was hit at speed by one of the drifting cars.
In one of the incident videos, other men are seen running towards the guy lying on the asphalt. They quickly grab Artemiy by his arms and legs and carry him off the platform. The show then continued.
This angered many eyewitnesses. In such cases, it is strictly not recommended to move a person before doctors arrive – there could be injuries to the neck, spine, pelvis, or internal organ damage. Excessive bending and twisting of the body can significantly worsen a person's condition. When transporting a victim, it is important that the head, neck, and torso are in one line.
In a comment to "Onliner", the show organizers emphasized that two ambulances were on duty at the event – and medics promptly provided first aid, after which Artemiy was hospitalized in Lida.
The audience on site tried to be reassured: it was announced that the guy only broke his leg and received a blow to the head.
However, as "Nashaniva" found out, the situation is more serious. Artemiy's acquaintances say that he was transported to a hospital in Minsk – and his condition was of moderate severity. The guy himself is not currently reachable.
Artemiy Prokopenko is one of Belarus's most famous stuntmen. At 24, he has over 80 thousand followers on Instagram, tens of millions of views on social media, and has signed a contract with Red Bull, becoming a brand ambassador.
Friends describe Artemiy as an adrenaline junkie. And his success story is impressive.
A few years ago, the guy from the village of Kavali near Babruysk decided to film his "hooligan fun". His third video already garnered one and a half million views, then advertisers appeared… Artemiy began to complicate his stunts.
The guy joked: "Probably, there are almost no life-threatening locations left in the village where I haven't filmed something. In my Instagram profile bio, there's a counter of how many times I've genuinely risked my life. Currently, the number is 25 – corresponding to the number of potentially deadly stunts."
Artemiy implemented the riskiest ideas. For example, he grilled shashlik in a moving "Zhiguli" car. Brazier, coals – all real. The guy himself sat behind the wheel and at the same time not only steered the car but also flipped the meat.
Or he drove a dilapidated car and jumped from it onto the roof of another. Another option was to race on a motorcycle and jump over an oncoming car using a makeshift ramp. That time, Artemiy fell face-first into the ground from a height of two meters.
Artemiy's most popular video on Instagram accumulated 228 million views. In it, a "Moskvich" car drives towards the guy – when the distance to the car can be measured literally in centimeters, the stuntman steps forward and falls into a pit disguised by grass.
In total, his videos have more than 450 million views.
In an interview that came out a few weeks before the show, Artemiy was called the craziest stuntman at "Cars", always ready to perform even wild tricks: "If you need to jump over an obstacle at full speed or hang upside down from a car while drifting – he's your man."
The guy himself noted that he was scared to perform the stunt on the barrel because it was extremely unstable. This particular stunt could cost the stuntman his health.
At the same time, Artemiy admitted that he wasn't planning to train many times before the performance – a maximum of once or twice. And this is how he explained his decision: "The more times I repeat a trick, the scarier it becomes to perform it the next time. First, I test the trick – 'yes, this is easy' – and the second time I do it with maximum confidence. If I repeat it 10 times, there's a risk of getting too relaxed and messing things up on the 11th."
Artemiy assured those who were going to the auto show: "We will do something wild!"
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One of Belarus's most famous stuntmen almost died at an auto show in Lida — his videos garnered almost half a billion views. What's with him now? 4
Comments
Герою роліка жадаю ачуняць без наступстваў і пераглядзець свае падыходы да ўласнай бяспекі, каб наступным ролікам не стаць персанажам падборкі "Самыя бязглуздыя смерці на відэа"
Каго з арганізатараў забаўляльных мерапрыемстваў у Беларусі хвалюе здароўе нейкага іх удзельніка? Нельга спыняць "сьвята", бо потым жа будуць непрыемнасці з уладамі!