Social media influencers first in line for XDubai Slingshot

Kite Beach attraction opens to the public

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The first brave souls to step up to try Dubai’s latest daredevil attraction have lived to tell the tale – and given the XDubai Slingshot at Kite Beach a glowing recommendation.

Catapulting social media influencers towards the horizon could well develop into a popular spectator sport, and it was Dubai influencer, Gbemi Giwa, who was first to step into a Slingshot harness.

Ms Giwa usually spends Thursday mornings blogging or posting photos of food and selfies to her 23,500 Instagram followers about the restaurant and fitness industry in Dubai.

This week, her schedule was slightly different.

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“I was worried about getting injured but they told me it was 100 per cent safe,” said Ms Giwa, 25, a Nigerian who has appeared on the front cover of Women’s Health Middle East magazine and Emirates Woman.

“I thought what’s the worst thing that could happen?

“You only live once. I’ve been watching a lot of Will Smith’s videos where he talks about fear and how to overcome it.

“It is only a construct of the mind, and doing things like this helps deal with the fear of the unknown.

“Learning to do things you wouldn’t normally do is a good way to stop fears from overcoming you.”

Adventure sports company XDubai is famous for dealing in adrenalin. Their new ride opens to the public on Friday, October 26, and propels those strapped in at speeds approaching 100kph, in just half a second.

“It was huge fun and got me ready for the weekend,” said Ms Giwa.

“I was scared at the beginning when they strapped me in so closed my eyes. The countdown came and went and it was super-fun."

The attraction is stationed for a limited time at Kite Beach in the city, although no details have been released on when it will be moved.

Those brave enough to give the Kite Beach Slingshot a go can film their experience with an included GoPro head camera.

It is the latest public event hosted by XDubai, whose team of daredevils have been filmed flying through the city skyline wearing wingsuits, performing acrobatic stunts in a parkour video set in Madinat Jumeirah and flying down various ziplines at Dubai Mall and Dubai Marina.

Steven Herron, 37, a Scottish teacher living in Damac Hills in Dubai, was one of the first in line to take on the Slingshot challenge.

“I saw it on Facebook so thought I would pop down and see what it was all about,” he said.

“It was over very quickly, but worth doing.”

The XDubai Slingshot will be open on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays only, 9am-12 noon and 1-7pm.

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