Seventeen-year-old Luke Davies from Tayport is at his happiest when he has plenty of balls in the air.
The sixth-year pupil at Madras College in St Andrews is busy planning for life after school in the summer and pursuing his passion for juggling.
Luke is one of the youngest people in the world to master juggling 11 balls and has won sponsorship from two companies, who pay him to create juggling videos and use their equipment.
He is now heading down to Barnsley for the British Juggling Convention where he will compete for the title of British Young Juggler of the Year on Tuesday and run his own workshops.
As well as balls, he can also juggle knives and flaming torches.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=bsgGHIEfiOI%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D0
He began juggling at the age of 10 when he and friends visited a gala in Balmullo.
“My friends went away to play football and I couldn’t be bothered so went to this stall where there was circus equipment,” he said.
“I saw the juggling balls and thought ‘challenge accepted’.”
Although he was unaware of it at the time, Luke had a natural aptitude for juggling and quickly mastered the basics.
“Looking back now, if I was teaching someone juggling and they picked things up as quickly as I did, I would be surprised,” said Luke.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=_k_-ZAQWjaA%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D0
But Luke’s skills aren’t just down to natural talent. He practises at least three hours a day and hopes to make a living from his juggling once he finishes school.
“My friends can get a bit bored as I talk about it all the time,” he said. “It’s like it’s my job.
“If I stopped juggling a lot of balls then within a week or two I wouldn’t be able to do it.
“The best advice I can give people who want to juggle is to slow down. Even when I am juggling 11 balls I have to tell myself to slow my hands down.”
And not only is Luke a phenomenal juggler, his skills also come in handy in the kitchen – although this is definitely not something you should try at home.