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00:00The perfect game.
00:0212 strikes in a row without missing a pin.
00:08It's something that is argued to be the hardest achievement in sport.
00:11And it's the pinnacle for bowlers everywhere.
00:16But can I do it?
00:17Well, I guess your immediate answer would be...
00:19Absolutely no way.
00:20And you might be right.
00:21I'm not great at bowling.
00:23I play twice a year at friends' birthdays.
00:25And so surely I can't possibly hope to get a perfect game.
00:28No, no!
00:29But what if I live in a bowling alley?
00:32Like, properly live in one.
00:34And I'm not allowed to leave until I get 12 strikes in a row.
00:38Just past the 30-hour mark.
00:40How many balls?
00:41How many nachos?
00:42How many nights will it take until I either bowl a perfect game...
00:46Yes!
00:47Or completely lose my mind?
00:49No!
00:52This video has been sponsored by Salee.
00:55I'm here.
00:56At Stroud Bowl.
00:58Day one.
00:59Hour zero.
01:00Here we go.
01:01This is perfect.
01:03As I arrived, I took stock of my surroundings.
01:06Bowling alley.
01:07Bar.
01:08And there was one thing in particular that caught my eye.
01:10So this must be all the people that have got the Magic 300.
01:14How many have there been?
01:16These were the giants of bowling who had come before me.
01:19And my cockiness was showing.
01:21I'll be the first one.
01:22And my cockiness was showing.
01:23I'll be the 60th.
01:24Right there.
01:26Shay, the manager, would be looking after me.
01:28I've got you on lane one and I just need your shoe size.
01:31Nine.
01:32And he'd deck me out in his finest drips.
01:34It's Chris and these puppies.
01:35Wearing what can only be described as babe magnets,
01:38I headed over to the lane where I'd be living until I scored a perfect game.
01:42So, this is home.
01:44Your lane is on for you.
01:45Thank you very much.
01:46Wish you the best of luck.
01:47Cheers.
01:48Good job.
01:49It's ten to four.
01:51Let's get bowling.
01:52The first thing to do was a control.
01:54A perfect game is 12 strikes in 12 bowls.
01:57So I needed to see what level I was at.
02:00Like every good bowler, I had a shirt.
02:02No time to spare.
02:04And I got started.
02:05Fosh.
02:06Enter.
02:07I carefully selected my dance partner.
02:08Shouldn't have done that to public order.
02:10The challenge begins.
02:11First ball.
02:12Let's bowl.
02:14Not a bad start.
02:15A seven to begin with.
02:16I was pleasantly surprised.
02:18Not only did my balls avoid the gutter,
02:20but I was actually off to a decent start.
02:22That's good.
02:24Ooh.
02:2521 after three.
02:27And with every swing of the arm, I'm gaining valuable data.
02:30Trying to improve with each throw.
02:32And not long after.
02:33That looks good.
02:35Yeah.
02:36Strike.
02:37Strike.
02:38Strike.
02:39Strike.
02:40Strike.
02:41Strike.
02:42Strike.
02:43Despite the odd blunder.
02:45Oh, come on.
02:46I was starting to get the hang of it.
02:48Good start.
02:53But there is no time to spare.
02:56And I'm having a great time too.
02:57This is great.
02:58With two strikes and two spares.
03:00Bingo.
03:01Not a terrible start.
03:03I've got a long way to go.
03:04So let's lock in.
03:06No.
03:07No.
03:11I'm living here until I get a perfect game.
03:13Oh, that's crazy.
03:14Need to get 12 strikes in a row.
03:16Oh, wow.
03:17Oh.
03:18Please forgive my massive earring.
03:19Just checking.
03:20Bit of fun.
03:21I've definitely improved.
03:23I'm so good at bowling.
03:24Here we go.
03:26Two in a row.
03:27Ooh.
03:28Ooh.
03:29That's me celebrating.
03:30To spur me on after my first few hours of bowling,
03:33I'd invited friends of the channel Kieran Carlin
03:35to join for a game.
03:36Oh, that's good.
03:41Oh, that was good.
03:44Call me Arthur Scargill because I'm organising a strike.
03:47What?
03:48You wouldn't get it.
03:49You know what?
03:50This bowling malarkey ain't so bad.
03:53Hello.
03:54They'd even bought me a thoughtful gift to help me on my journey.
03:57Increasing your odds of throwing a strike.
03:58OK.
03:59If your ball is hooking too far to one side,
04:01you may need to adjust how you throw.
04:03So basically just be better.
04:04Yeah, exactly.
04:05After they left, it was time to get serious,
04:07and my next game gave me hope that this was possible.
04:12One.
04:18Two.
04:19Good start.
04:24Three.
04:25OK.
04:26Now we're kicking on gas.
04:27Here we go.
04:33Yes!
04:34Yes!
04:35OK.
04:36This is the most I've ever got.
04:37No stress.
04:38It's just four.
04:39Number five.
04:40Just nice and steady.
04:41Nice and smooth.
04:42Go on.
04:43Go on.
04:44Go on.
04:45Yes!
04:46I've never had this many,
04:47but my heart is starting to pound.
04:49This is for six.
04:57No, no.
04:59A low moment, for sure.
05:09OK.
05:10I finished off the game with a few more strikes,
05:12but I'd given my all in that one.
05:14That's my best score.
05:15213.
05:16I've got seven strikes in total.
05:18It's by far and away the most amount of strikes I've got in one go.
05:21I need some food, but it's progress.
05:23That's what I'm taking from this.
05:24It's progress.
05:25I'm optimistic.
05:26I'm also bloody tired.
05:28There was no rest for the wicked, however, as I had a job to do.
05:31So I carried on bowling into the night.
05:34But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't beat my five strikes in a row.
05:38Go on.
05:39Go on.
05:40Go on.
05:41I've got a strike.
05:42It's just annoying that there's a spare in between them.
05:44Before I knew it, I'd been bowling for over seven hours,
05:47and it was already time for Stroud Bowl to close.
05:50See you tomorrow.
05:51Then after the final staff member went home for the evening,
05:53I had free reign of Stroud Bowl.
05:55I have the place to myself.
05:59And after a long, hard day of bowling, I thought I deserved some me time.
06:02Time for some fun.
06:05And it's saying something that even the rigged arcade games
06:09felt easier to beat
06:11Take it!
06:12than the main challenge I was here for.
06:14I probably shouldn't be scared of it coming down.
06:16After a brief but welcome distraction, I was done for the day.
06:20I'll bust midnight.
06:21I should probably get ready for bed.
06:23And I was taking the no-leaving-the-bowling-alley part of this challenge
06:26very seriously.
06:28But that doesn't mean I couldn't enjoy a few home comforts.
06:31Nice and comfy.
06:33Things with ideas like this are always a funny idea
06:36until you're getting ready for bed in the disabled loo
06:39of a bowling alley in Gloucestershire.
06:41And after lights out, the whole place took on a completely different feel.
06:46This is so creepy.
06:48I absolutely hate this.
06:49But tomorrow was another day.
06:51And if day one was anything to go by, it would be another long one.
06:54So into my sleeping bag, I went to try and get some sleep.
06:58Good night.
07:05You'll never do it, Max.
07:07You'll never knock us down.
07:08No balls are troubling us today.
07:10I'm a pin.
07:11But if I do ever leave here, I'm going to need some help.
07:14But if I do ever leave here, I'm going to need a holiday.
07:16And for that, I'm going to need the perfect travel tool, Saili.
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07:41without needing to do any of these pesky SIM swaps.
07:44Very easy.
07:46No more fiddling about with a paperclip or these things in the hotel car park.
07:50If I ever escape this bowling alley, I think I'm headed straight to Aruba.
07:54And with Saili, I can check that Aruba is covered.
07:57So I can choose a seven-day plan and activate it instantly.
08:00That means more moolah for Margaritas.
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08:16Right, back to my snooze.
08:22It's three in the morning.
08:24I can't really sleep.
08:26I wasn't sure whether it was the cold hard floor or the enormity of the wager I'd locked myself into,
08:31but I couldn't sleep.
08:33So I decided to get back onto the grind.
08:40Day 2
08:50Day 2.
08:52I felt awful.
08:54Last night had shown some glimpses of promise.
08:57Five strikes, not bad.
08:59But I was staring down the barrel of another day on the boards.
09:02Day 2.
09:04Yesterday I got five strikes in a row.
09:06I'm pretty sore, but this morning I've got a lesson.
09:09Yes, judging from yesterday's performance, I was still a long way off the perfect game.
09:13So I needed some guidance.
09:15Morning, boys.
09:16And that guidance would come in the form of manager Shay and pro bowler Mark Patrick.
09:21He is a member of the GB bowling team and the proud owner of 10 Perfect Games.
09:27Morning, Mark.
09:28Hello.
09:29How are you doing today? Comfortable?
09:30I'm quite sore this morning.
09:31Was it comfortable?
09:33That is where I spent the night.
09:35That is a wooden floor, Mark.
09:37Is that the first time anyone's ever slept?
09:39Yeah, first time, yeah.
09:40I guess I'm honoured with that fact.
09:41I think I need a lesson.
09:43Before my training could begin, I think they just really wanted to show off.
09:47There we go. That went well.
09:49It was pretty clear why Mark did this for a living.
09:51That was remarkable.
09:53Do it again. Do it again.
10:02Do you want to show them your bowling muscle?
10:03That is the bowling muscle, yeah.
10:04It's the only muscle we've got that's rock hard.
10:07That was your best one.
10:08I'll teach you one day.
10:10So you guys know how to bowl?
10:12Mark and Shay had a particular technique that they wanted to teach me.
10:15When we see bowling on the telly, they are always able to spin the ball into the pins.
10:20And they believe that this would give me the best chance of the Perfect Game.
10:23Just come round it with your wrists and your fingers rather than your arm.
10:26There was one glaring issue.
10:28I couldn't lift their balls.
10:31No. No. Not like that.
10:35Their balls were heavy.
10:38That makes it worse.
10:40God, that's so heavy.
10:42Jeez.
10:43How big is this one?
10:44Oh no, I can't do any of that.
10:45After finding some smaller balls, I gave their technique a go.
10:50There you go.
10:51Something to work with there.
10:52It seemed like this may be my ticket out of here.
10:55Your athlete's going to pick up. Go on.
10:58Oh yeah.
10:59I can do the spinny thing.
11:02Until I spoke to Mark.
11:03So when did you start bowling?
11:05I was eight.
11:06When did you get your first 300?
11:07Eighteen. So it took me ten years.
11:09Do you think I'll be able to get 300?
11:10Really?
11:11No. Absolutely no way.
11:12That would be mega impressive day two.
11:14Thanks very much.
11:15I hit the boards armed with my new skill set.
11:17I'm definitely getting better.
11:18I can now do the spinny thing.
11:20But my consistency was still nowhere near where I needed it to be.
11:26Oh, come on.
11:27Too little spin, too much spin. Bloody hell.
11:29And finally, my two days of constant bowling were starting to take its toll.
11:34Oh, not a bad game.
11:36Best was three strikes in a row there.
11:38I got six strikes in the game.
11:40I've been doing this for three hours or so.
11:42I'm just absolutely knackered.
11:45I've been doing this for three hours or so.
11:47I'm just absolutely knackered.
11:50The fatigue from yesterday is already set in.
11:53I think I'm just going to have a bit of a break.
11:54This was getting less and less fun.
11:57I was sore. I was tired.
11:59And I just wanted it to end.
12:01And with Mark's prediction ringing in my ears.
12:03Do you think I'll be able to get 300?
12:04No.
12:05Really?
12:06No. Absolutely no way.
12:07My morale was at rock bottom.
12:08It hurts to pick it up. My forearm.
12:10And to add insult to injury, it seemed like I was getting worse.
12:15And I could barely stand, let alone bowl.
12:19This is useless.
12:20I haven't been able to beat five strikes in a row.
12:23And that was nearly 24 hours ago now.
12:25I just don't have the power and strength to keep going.
12:29Faced with the grim realisation that a perfect game may well be out of reach,
12:33I needed some time to think.
12:37There's people right outside my tent.
12:40I'm not in a good space.
12:42My fingers are basically permanently bent into that position.
12:48I can't really straighten them more than that.
12:52And I've been thinking a lot about Zach.
12:54Yesterday, he was pants back.
12:56As soon as he used the ramp, he got two nines and a strike.
13:03So my plan is, when everybody leaves bowling alley tonight,
13:07I'm going to see if there's any way I can use the ramps.
13:10At the moment, it's the only option I've got because I just can't bowl.
13:14As the final patrons of the day finished their games and headed home to their warm beds,
13:18for me, it was time for a change of tact.
13:21With 30 hours down and barely any closer to achieving my goal,
13:25I finally admitted that I might need some help.
13:29I'm just going to line it up.
13:35Okay, not bad. That was slightly left. I'm going to move that to the right.
13:39But as I quickly discovered...
13:41Too far right.
13:43Bowling with a ramp wasn't exactly the cheat code I was hoping for.
13:47How has that gone in the gutter? That makes no sense.
13:50And even bowling with a mechanical aid required a certain level of technique.
13:54Ah.
13:56So if I push this on the left-hand side of the ball, it will go in the left gutter.
14:00Just like that.
14:01If I push this on the right, it will spin into the right gutter.
14:06There we go.
14:07So if I just drop the ball and hold on to the ramp, it will then go absolutely gun barrel straight.
14:13Yes. Good. Good. Good. Good. Go on.
14:18Yes!
14:19I was on to something.
14:20Exactly the same ball, exactly the same ramp.
14:25Go on.
14:27Yes!
14:28Two strikes in a row. But how far can my new strategy take me?
14:31Okay.
14:33Centre pin.
14:37Yes!
14:38My accuracy was way up.
14:40Yes! Come on!
14:42I'm not spending another night. It is currently quarter to one in the morning.
14:46This is my way out.
14:47The ramp you could class as cheating.
14:50But in the length of time I've been here, I think it's okay for me to say this is the method that is going to work.
14:56After tediously resetting the ramp to the precise angle and positioning for lane one,
15:00I could near enough guarantee a clean strike.
15:03Voila.
15:05But I soon ran into a problem.
15:07Microscopic movements of the ramp caused by each roll would cause each subsequent attempt to become less and less accurate.
15:15And by the final rolls of the game, my lines were way out of whack.
15:19So all I had to do was duplicate the conditions of a perfect first roll.
15:24If I pushed that down that ramp, it would get me a strike.
15:26I just need to do this for twelve lanes.
15:29For every single lane.
15:31So I got to work.
15:34Oh, close. Adjustment. Left.
15:39Not only was every lane and ramp ever so slightly different, so was every ball.
15:44Oh god, that is not a straight ball.
15:47And I had to find the perfect ball-ramp-lane combo.
15:51It's going to curl in right at the end.
15:55Bingo.
15:56Twelve times in a row.
15:58Roll after roll, I was getting closer and closer.
16:02And to make sure each ramp was perfectly repeatable, I was meticulously recording every minute detail.
16:08On lane two, we've got a 14 weight, which is black. It is reference number 1063. It's FHL.
16:14And if I'm being honest, looking back, I think I may have slightly lost my marbles.
16:19Lane is slightly different, so therefore it needs to go left or right or right to left on certain patterns.
16:23I'm now eight up.
16:24But amidst all the madness, I had found my true calling.
16:27Bowling on the baby ramps.
16:30Finger holes to the left-hand side, line it up, let go.
16:33We'll slowly peel straight back into the pocket.
16:36A little bit like that.
16:38Got a strike.
16:39And after working through the night on my 12 perfectly aligned lanes, I was finally ready for a real attempt.
16:47First ball.
16:48It's on line, it's on line, it's on line.
16:51Bingo. Absolutely perfect.
16:53Number two.
16:55It's away.
16:56Here we go.
16:57On line, on line, on line.
16:59Come into that pocket.
17:00Into that pocket.
17:01Perfect.
17:02One by one, each ball hit exactly as I predicted, bringing me closer and closer to my escape.
17:09Go on.
17:11Here we go.
17:12Into the pocket.
17:13Yes!
17:14Six.
17:15Seven.
17:16Come back.
17:17Yes!
17:18Eight.
17:21Nine.
17:22Ten.
17:23Eleven.
17:24Here we go.
17:25Perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect.
17:28Yes!
17:29After 11 strikes in a row, for the first time ever.
17:34One final one.
17:36Ten.
17:52I'm going to cry.
17:54All of them were perfect.
17:56And it just went straight into the gutter.
17:58That's brutal.
17:59Turns out my perfect system wasn't so perfect.
18:02And after a thorough investigation, I think I'd found the weak link.
18:07I've gone through every single one.
18:08They're all lined up perfectly.
18:10But this ramp is slightly different to the rest of them.
18:13You can tell that, structurally, it's weaker.
18:16Let's look at the bottom here.
18:18See, look how much it just moved.
18:20It's just not as strong as the others.
18:24404.
18:25Dejected, I return to my boudoir for our pity breakdown.
18:30I can't do it.
18:31I cannot bear to spend another night in here.
18:33But I also cannot set all of those ramps up again for it to fail on the last lane.
18:40I think they open in about four hours.
18:42So I then won't have access to all of the lanes.
18:44Which means I won't be able to make another attempt until tomorrow night.
18:48Well, I guess it's tonight, actually.
18:51I don't think I want to do that just for a stupid YouTube video.
18:56After my self-pity session, I had no other choice but to reset and try and try again.
19:02Roll, reset, roll, reset.
19:05But despite all my effort, the dream of that perfect game felt further away than ever.
19:11But then, this happened.
19:14Balls away.
19:17Here we go, into the pocket.
19:19Looking beautiful.
19:21Of course she is.
19:22Absolutely perfect.
19:24On to two.
19:26And a strange, unfamiliar feeling crept over me.
19:28Feel good, feeling good.
19:30Oh, it's in the pocket perfectly.
19:33Yes, thank you, two.
19:35A feeling of triumph.
19:37This is the one, the big left to right in-swinger.
19:41Looking good.
19:44Absolutely perfect.
19:46Four.
19:49Four, four, four, four, four, four, four, four, four.
19:55Nice!
20:00Comes back, sticks it centre, sticks it centre.
20:04Yes, okay.
20:07Here's six, here's six.
20:08Come on, come on.
20:10That's perfect.
20:14Perfect!
20:17Seven, seven.
20:20Yeah, nice, nice, nice, nice.
20:30Stay there, stay there, stay there.
20:33Perfect!
20:46Yes!
20:50Please, come back, come back, come back, come back.
20:54Yes!
21:00Please.
21:02Yes!
21:04Eleven strikes in a row for the second time ever.
21:07The bowling alley was opening in a matter of hours
21:09and once I lose access to all of the lanes,
21:11I'm not sure that I'd ever get another chance.
21:14Deep down I knew this was my last opportunity.
21:16The last time I was here, the final ramp let me down.
21:19So this time, it was down to me.
21:39Day one.
21:41Ours, hero.
21:47Come on!
21:54Come on!
22:01I think I'll be able to get three in a row.
22:03Absolutely no way.
22:17I can go home.
22:19But before I do, I had one final thing to attend to.