Rare talents come in all shapes and sizes, this one comes in the form of a unicycle. Riding the one wheeled invention requires a lot of balance and patience. The act of even being able to mount it is just a fraction of the difficulty of actually steering the contraption.

Senior Matthew McGrath has been riding his unicycle for nearly two years, relying on videos to guide him through the learning process. He noted that, “You can watch videos and stuff, but what I think is the best way is to just practice it over and over.”

Unicycles have been around for decades, but were never considered a popular mode of transportation, only seen as sources of entertainment. What could inspire someone to learn how to ride what could be considered one of the most difficult contraptions to master? For McGrath, the idea of learning came to him in a sandwich shop.

“My family and I, we were on vacation and we were just like, in this sandwich shop. This guy rides out on a unicycle and so we stopped and we talked to him and he was like ‘Oh yeah, you know I started riding when I was younger.’ So, I don’t know, it made me interested,” he said.

The act of unicycling itself requires a lot of balance that takes a long time to master. On a bike all you need to worry about is not tipping over to your right or left, but on a unicycle you need to focus on not falling in any direction. It took McGrath “48 consecutive hours” to even be able to maintain his stance on it.

There is a variety of health benefits that comes with the one-wheeled vehicle. It gives you strength in your legs and core, along with improving coordination and balance. McGrath partakes in cross country, working under coach Jeff Gurecki. “His attitude is always fun, so for somebody to want to ride a unicycle they have to possibly be like, you know, a happy-go-lucky type of person and that’s what kind of person he is,” Gurecki states.

Like any other hobby, there are cool tricks that could be learned on the unicycle. McGrath is just starting to learn them. “Yeah, there’s lots of tricks you can do, but I’ll like hop around a little bit, just some basic stuff.”

Unicycling is a rare hobby that does not always gain the admiration it deserves. Considering the amount of time and effort that goes into success on this vehicle, makes the practice of riding it astonishing. McGrath continues to work to improve his skill and keep the art alive, even if it is just by riding it to school.