You’ve seen them on talent shows. Those people who fold their bodies into tiny boxes or touch their heels to their foreheads while looking you dead in the eye. It’s unsettling. It’s also fascinating. But if you’re looking for the most flexible person in the world, you’re going to find that the answer isn't just one name on a trophy. It’s a mix of genetic outliers, circus legends, and people who have spent decades basically rewriting how their own ligaments function.
Human movement is usually pretty predictable. Most of us struggle to touch our toes after a long flight. Then you have the statistical anomalies.
The rubber man who dominated the record books
For a long time, if you searched for the most flexible person in the world, one name popped up more than anyone else: Daniel Browning Smith. They called him "The Rubberboy." He didn't just get a little bit of notoriety; he holds multiple Guinness World Records, including the fastest time to squeeze through an unstrung tennis racket. Think about the physics of that for a second. Your ribcage is meant to protect your lungs. His ribcage seems to treat "protection" as a loose suggestion.
Smith’s ability isn't just "stretching a lot." He has a medical condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). It's a genetic connective tissue disorder. Basically, the collagen that acts as the "glue" in his body is built differently. While EDS can cause serious health complications for many, Smith turned his hypermobility into a career that spanned late-night talk shows and Cirque du Soleil stages. He can dislocate his arms to crawl through tiny spaces. He can rotate his torso 180 degrees. It’s hypermobility pushed to the absolute edge of what a vertebrate can do.
Is it just genetics or can you train this?
Most of us aren't born with EDS. So, can a "normal" person become the most flexible person in the world through sheer grit?
Not really.
There is a hard ceiling. You’ve got the bone structure to deal with. The shape of your acetabulum—the hip socket—dictates how far your leg can swing before bone hits bone. No amount of yoga changes the shape of your pelvis. However, contortionists like Zlata (Julia Günthel) show that starting extremely young allows the body to adapt in ways that seem like magic. Zlata is famous for her backbends. She can literally fold backward until her head touches her calves, looking like a human pretzel. Doctors who have X-rayed her noted that her ligaments are as flexible as those of an infant, despite her being an adult.
💡 You might also like: The Recipe Marble Pound Cake Secrets Professional Bakers Don't Usually Share
Why your brain stops you from being flexible
Your nervous system is actually the biggest gatekeeper. It’s called the stretch reflex. When your muscle stretches too fast or too far, your brain panics. It sends a signal to the muscle to contract to prevent a tear. Contortionists spend years teaching their brains to shut up. They convince their nervous system that "folding in half" is a safe state of being.
It’s a slow, often painful process of desensitization. You aren't just stretching muscles; you're rewiring the "danger" signals in your spine.
The contenders you haven't heard of
While Daniel Browning Smith has the most mainstream fame, the world of contortion is deep. You have performers from Mongolia and China who represent a centuries-old tradition. In Mongolia, contortion is a high-art form. Performers like Oyungerel Luvsandorj have reached levels of flexibility that make Western "stretch goals" look like a joke. They focus on "back bending," which requires a terrifying amount of spinal mobility.
Then there’s the "Front Benders." These are people who can fold forward until their chest is flat against their legs and their head is tucked between their knees. It sounds less impressive than the "Box Act" until you realize they are doing it with their legs locked straight.
- Vijay Sharma: An Indian contortionist known for squeezing through tiny rings and folding his body into positions that look like a glitch in a video game.
- Jaspreet Singh Kalra: Often called the "Rubber Man of India," he can rotate his head 180 degrees to face backward.
- Alexey Goloborodko: Widely considered by experts to be the most talented contortionist on the planet right now. He combines classical dance with extreme flexibility. He doesn't just "do a move"; he transitions between impossible shapes with the fluidity of water.
The dark side of being the most flexible person in the world
It isn't all standing ovations. Being the most flexible person in the world—or even in the top 1%—comes with a physical tax. Many hypermobile performers suffer from early-onset osteoarthritis. When your joints move too much, they wear out the cartilage.
If you have EDS like Daniel Browning Smith, the risks are even higher. Joint dislocations can happen during sleep. Skin can become fragile. The very thing that makes these individuals "superhuman" is often a double-edged sword that requires constant strength training just to keep their skeletons from falling apart. You need "active flexibility." That means having the muscle strength to control the joint at its furthest range of motion. Without that muscle, you're just a ticking time bomb of injuries.
📖 Related: Why the Man Black Hair Blue Eyes Combo is So Rare (and the Genetics Behind It)
How to measure "Most Flexible"
Is it the person who can fit in the smallest box? The person who can do the deepest backbend? Or the person with the highest number of Guinness World Records?
There isn't a single "Flexibility Olympics" that crowns one winner. It’s subjective. But if we go by pure technical execution and the ability to maintain the "impossible" for long periods, Alexey Goloborodko is the name that pros whisper. His performances aren't just stunts; they are a display of extreme range combined with total muscular control. He isn't just "loose." He is strong in positions where most people’s tendons would simply snap.
Myths about flexibility
People think being flexible means you have "long muscles." Muscles don't really get longer. You’re mostly just changing the tolerance of the connective tissue and the brain’s reaction to tension. Another myth? That you have to be skinny. While a lower body mass makes it easier to tuck into small spaces, flexibility is about the joints and the nervous system, not just your BMI.
You also don't "lose it" overnight if you skip a day of stretching, but the most extreme performers have to maintain their range daily. If a world-class contortionist stops for a month, their "superpowers" begin to fade as the body’s natural protective stiffness creeps back in.
Moving toward your own limits
You probably won't become the most flexible person in the world starting today. If you're over 25 and haven't spent your life in a circus school in Ulaanbaatar, your hip sockets and spinal discs have already decided on a certain range of motion.
But most people are operating at about 40% of their potential flexibility. We sit in chairs. We walk on flat pavement. We never move our joints through their full rotational capacity.
👉 See also: Chuck E. Cheese in Boca Raton: Why This Location Still Wins Over Parents
Actionable steps for the "inflexible"
If you want to improve your own mobility—without ending up in a suitcase—here is the reality of how to do it:
1. Stop static stretching before your workout. Research shows that holding a cold stretch can actually weaken the muscle temporarily. Save the long, boring holds for the evening when you're relaxed. Use dynamic movements (like leg swings or arm circles) to warm up instead.
2. Focus on "End Range Strength." Don't just pull your leg toward your face with a strap. Try to lift your leg as high as it can go using only your own muscle power. This builds "active" range, which is much safer for your joints than "passive" range.
3. Address your nervous system. If you're stressed, your muscles stay tight. It's a physiological fact. Deep, diaphragmatic breathing while stretching tells your brain that it's okay to let the muscle go. If you're holding your breath, you're fighting yourself.
4. Consistency beats intensity. Stretching until you're in agony for an hour once a week does nothing but cause inflammation. Ten minutes of light, consistent mobility work every single day will change your body's "baseline" within six months.
5. Check your hip internal rotation. Most people focus on the hamstrings, but tight hips are the real culprit for back pain and limited movement. Sit on the floor and try the "90/90" stretch. If you can't sit upright, that's where your journey starts.
Flexibility is a slow game. Whether you're Daniel Browning Smith or just someone trying to tie their shoes without groaning, the mechanics are the same: respect the joint, train the brain, and don't force what your anatomy won't allow. The "most flexible" people are outliers, but their dedication shows just how much the human frame can adapt when pushed.