AN OXFORD University student has set his sights on breaking two skateboarding world records currently held by his hero.

Astrophysics PhD student Rupert Dodkins, who has been skateboarding since he was 11 years old, is gearing up to break the Guinness World Record for the number of “heelflips” and “fakie heelflips” in one minute.

The 23-year-old, who is on a postgraduate course at New College, will attempt the feat at the Castle Mill student flats, where he lives, on Sunday.

A “heelflip” is performed when a skater flips a skateboard towards themselves along its axis while jumping in the air, and Mr Dodkins is aiming to break records in both the regular and reversed “fakie” stance.

Currently the world record holder is professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek, who completed 15 “heelflips” and 11 “fakie heelflips”.

Staffordshire-born Mr Dodkins is being sponsored in his record attempt to raise money for The Alzheimer’s Society, because both his grandmothers suffered from the illness.

He said: “I have always been massively passionate about skateboarding from a young age and I would practise for hours and hours.

“Then I stopped doing it but I thought I had wasted all that time so I thought I would do something with my talent and I thought I would be the best in the world at something.

“The heel flip is one of the more advanced tricks that I learned and I made it my thing. I have always looked up to Rob Dyrdek and I thought that I really wanted to break one of his records.”

To meet Guinness World Record requirements skateboarding instructor James Needham, from the SS20 skateboarding shop in Cowley Road, will be there as the “qualified skateboarder” along with a camera man.

Further requirements mean OxfordTab’s Shakeel Hashim will also attend as someone with a “standing” in the local community, along with PE teacher Neil Busby from The Cherwell School and Oxford Athletics team member David Williams as qualified “timers”.

Managing director of SS20, Mon Barbour, said it was a brave attempt to beat the record, and he would consider offering Mr Dodkins a sponsorship deal if he succeeded.

The dad-of-two, who has managed the shop for 26 years, said: “If he does manage to do it he will be walking in the footsteps of a few other great skateboarders from this area like Tom Penny and Alex Mole. For someone who is not a professional skateboarder to attempt the World Record is a very brave thing to do.

“If he can break it, he will be getting offered sponsorship deals, I would have thought.”

Mr Dodkins said he has already broken the record in his spare time hundreds of times, recording a personal best of 22 “heelflips” in one minute. He said he had been doing cardio-vascular execise to get fit for Sunday’s record attempt.

When Mr Dodkins moved to Oxford last year, he used to wake up early to use the PC World car park in Botley Road before employees turned up.

He added: “I always left before it opened and the staff turned up, but I did get some funny looks.

To donate, visit justgiving.com/Rupert-Dodkins