Sarasota Unicycler Is Featured in 'Ripley’s Believe It or Not'
Image: Courtesy Photo
Ivan Arestov is one of the few people in the world who has mastered performing on a specific kind of unicycle called the “ultimate wheel”—one wheel with just pedals, but no seat, frame or handle.
And Arestov, who was just featured in the 2026 edition of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Wired Into Weird, wasn’t just recognized for riding one “ulta” wheel. it singled him out for riding four, jumping from one to the other.
Arestov, 28, grew up in the circus. Both of his parents performed with the world-famous Moscow Circus as acrobats before defecting to Canada from the Soviet Union in 1992. Arestov started performing at around 5 years old, and learned unicycling when he was about 7 years old when he was performing as an acrobat and a gymnast. He learned unicycling from his older brother, Simon, who is married to seventh-generation circus performer Lyric Wallenda, of Sarasota’s legendary Flying Wallendas family. Simon had performed the ultimate wheels act at shows, inspiring Arestov to do the same.
“The very first trick was learning to do the jump rope on the unicycle,” Arestov says. “When I was able to do it properly for the first time, that was a big moment for me.”
He and his family traveled to every state in the U.S., performing overseas and in every province and territory of his home country of Canada. About a decade ago, Arestov, his parents and brother made Sarasota their home, attracted to Sarasota’s rich circus history. Simon and Lyric have started their own circus-style entertainment business called Cirque Vertigo, and Arestov performed in Europe and on cruise ships before creating his own show, the Arestov Acrobatic Extravaganza with his partner, contortionist Maeve Beck, in 2021.
Image: Courtesy Photo
As he began perfecting his performance on the ulta wheel, Arestov found that one of the most difficult tricks to learn on the seatless unicycle is the same trick that got him into this year’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not book.
“The most difficult trick is to be able to do four wheels simultaneously in a circle, jumping from wheel to wheel, keeping the momentum and making sure that they stay aligned,” Arestov says. To do the trick, Arestov has had to train for several hours a day since he was a child, doing calisthenics and flexibility exercises so his body would have the endurance to perform on the ultra wheel flawlessly and consistently.
The researchers at Ripley scour social media to find “fantastic and unusual” people to feature in the annual edition of the book. Arestov has been familiar with it for years.
“I grew up reading all their world record books. I was always a huge fan of people who did unconventional things that made a mark in the world,” Arestov says. When he found out he was included in the 2026 edition, he says, “It was a huge moment."
Keep up with Arestov on Instagram here. The 2026 edition of Ripley's Believe It or Not! Wired into Weird will be available Sept. 8 online and at bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Books A Million, as well as at any Ripley’s Believe It Or Not locations.
