Extreme Ironing – risking your life but looking sharp

Kayak? Check. Mountain climbing equipment? Check. Ironing board? Ch-whaaaat? There's no way I could make this up. Frankly, this takes multi-tasking way too far, but the level of danger endured for a well-pressed outfit with light starch is too hilarious to ignore.

In an ever-expanding world of weird and wild behaviour, adventure-seeking laundry enthusiasts have combined the exhilarating chore of ironing with mundane tasks such as mountain climbing, bungee jumping, wakeboarding and skydiving.

The basic premise of Extreme Ironing [EI] is to iron clothing in conspicuous, remote and/or dangerous places, and I don't mean the in-seam. This combination of sport and spectacle was created in 1997 by Phil "Steam" Shaw of Leicester, England. Though you would think that such a sport would be instigated via alcohol-induced antics, a dare, irrepressible boredom, or combination thereof, Shaw claims otherwise.

According to an article Shaw wrote for thescreamonline.com, the sport was born after returning home after a long day at work. There was a pile of laundry to be ironed, but Shaw was tempted by the sunny late afternoon to further pursue his hobby of rock climbing. In a Eureka moment, Shaw came up with the idea of killing two birds with one stone and combined the two activities. The result: Extreme Ironing.

Shaw describes EI as, "an outdoor activity that combines the danger and excitement of an extreme sport with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt".

Searching through the Internet, you can find photos and videos of ironists at landmarks (both natural and man-made) all over the World honing their craft while skydiving, wake-boarding, bungee jumping, hang-gliding, scuba-diving and rock climbing. It is truly a sport bound only by one's imagination (and maybe an extension cord).

In 1999, Shaw set off of an international voyage to promote the new domestic sport (now done fairly regularly and called the Rowenta Tour). The tour proved quite successful in spreading awareness, as evidenced by 12 teams from six nations competing in the first Extreme Ironing World Championships in Valley, Germany in 2002.

The World Championships included five different settings: urban, water, forest, rocky and freestyle. Over 70 ironists were judged not only on their creativity ironing, but also on the crispness of their creases. British teams took the gold and bronze, while the individual championship went to Inga "Hot Pants" Kozak from Germany.

EI has been carried out at the ends, depths and heights of the world, including at the North and South Poles, Mount Everest and the Red Sea.

The main sanctioning body overseeing the sport is Shaw's Extreme Ironing Bureau (it would be funnier if it were a board). Shaw oversees World record attempts, such as the coveted titles for the largest number of people simultaneously ironing underwater or while skydiving.

EI will be one of the events in Wales' 2012 Alternative Olympics, but for Shaw the goal is to someday have EI in the real Olympics. He has penned a book Extreme Ironing, and the sport has also been the subject of a Wag TV (UK) documentary Extreme Ironing: Pressing for Victory which was picked up on Britain's Channel 4 and the Natural Geographic Channel. Extreme Ironing is believed to have helped spawn Urban Housework and Extreme Cello Playing, based on the same premise.

No deaths have been attributed to EI (though no one would ever likely admit it). If there have been any, at least they went out looking sharp.