Sergey Boytsov

Boytsov was born in Klin, Moscow Oblast, Russia.^[14]

He was raised principally by his mother, Evgeniya Yuryevna Rybakova, and his grandmother, Viktoria Vasilyevna Boytsova, the latter of whom played a particularly important role in his upbringing and maintained a special bond with him throughout his childhood. His father, Sergey Viktorovich Seryogin, was largely absent during his early years.

He has a son, Christian (Бойцов Кристиан Сергеевич).^[15]

In his youth, Boytsov began his career as a fitness model, before shifting his focus towards extreme disciplines such as parachuting, aerial performance and experimental balloon-based stunts.

On 1 October 2025, Sergei Boytsov organized and conducted the first documented football match^[16] on a full-size platform suspended beneath a hot-air balloon in free flight. The project demonstrated the feasibility of large external aerial platforms and became a verified record in aerial sports.

The project took one year to complete and involved a 16 × 10 m modular platform assembled and disassembled four times. Testing included one winch lift in a hangar, two tethered balloon flights, and one free-flight test with parachute deployment.

The full operational system: platform, players, technical equipment, balloon components and safety gear: weighed 2,517.6 kg. Aerodynamic drag during ascent reached 9.5 kN, temporarily increasing the load by about 950 kg.

More than 700 hours of assembly work were carried out, with 22 vehicles supporting the launch operations.

The final flight occurred in the Tula Region, Russia, piloted by Ivan Menyailo (Иван Меняйло). The platform carried Sergei Boytsov, athlete Mikhail Litvin and referee Viktor Chalov. The balloon reached 6,000 ft and remained airborne for 1.5 hours.

Twenty footballs were placed on the platform at takeoff; all were lost during the match.

The project became the first verified football match performed in free flight on a full-size aerial platform, involving 38 team members and multiple flight tests.

Sergei Boytsov performed a gymnastic horizontal bar element on a suspended platform^[17] beneath a hot-air balloon at an altitude of approximately 1,500 meters. The performance involved a full gymnastic rotation ("giant swing") executed in free flight conditions without the use of a parachute or personal safety harness and became one of the most discussed elements among Boytsov's aerial projects.

The horizontal bar performance attracted significant media attention and generated public debate. Supporters described the act as a technically complex achievement in extreme sports, emphasizing the level of physical control, engineering preparation, and coordination required to execute a classical gymnastic element in an aerial environment.

At the same time, a number of sports commentators and safety specialists expressed concerns regarding the public demonstration of high-risk athletic actions. Critics argued that showcasing such elements without visible safety systems could be perceived as dangerous and potentially misleading for non-professional athletes, particularly when presented in mass media formats.

In response to the discussion, project representatives stated that the performance was conducted under controlled technical conditions, with prior engineering assessments and professional supervision. It was emphasized that the horizontal bar element was not intended for replication outside of specialized training and safety frameworks.

In 2025, Sergey Boytsov collaborated with the Russian engineering company Top Systems, developers of the T-FLEX PLM software suite, to design and calculate a special platform for a horizontal bar to be suspended beneath a hot air balloon. The project aimed to enable Boytsov to perform a full gymnastic rotation – the "giant swing" or sun – at an altitude of 1,500 meters without any safety equipment or parachute.

The engineering challenge was to create a lightweight yet durable structure capable of withstanding dynamic loads generated by Boytsov's movements in flight. The T-FLEX CAD and T-FLEX VR systems were used to design and virtually simulate the platform before construction. Stress and stability analyses were carried out using T-FLEX Analysis, allowing the engineering team to model real-world aerodynamic and structural conditions in a virtual environment.

The platform, measuring approximately 6×6 meters and weighing 600 kilograms,^[27] was built from reinforced aluminium profiles to ensure both strength and minimal weight. The design required non-standard cross-sections and additional internal bracing to prevent oscillations during the maneuver.

According to Top Systems engineer Nikita Ryabov, the project required precise structural verification because "the cost of an error was a human life.”

The successful completion of the stunt marked the first-ever gymnastic rotation performed on a horizontal bar suspended under a balloon in free flight. The feat was officially recognized as a world record and highlighted the intersection of aerosport engineering and human endurance.

The world's first boxing match held on the upper surface of a hot air balloon in free flight was noted by media outlets such as Forbes Russia as one of the most unusual combat sports venues in history.^[8]

On 12 March 2025, above the Azat Reservoir in Armenia, Boytsov, alongside Guinness World Record holder Vladimir Murzaev (highlining), played a table tennis match on a platform suspended beneath a hot air balloon at 2,450 meters above sea level

On 5 June 2025, in the Moscow Region, Boytsov performed giant swings on a horizontal bar suspended beneath a hot air balloon at 1,500 meters, it was recognized as a world record by Russian^[28] and international organizations.

On 1 October 2025, Sergei Boytsov conducted the first documented football match^[29] on a full-size platform suspended beneath a hot-air balloon in free flight. The project demonstrated the feasibility of large external aerial platforms and became a verified record in aerial sports.The video of the high-altitude football game has gone viral,^[30] amassing over 50 million views so far.

In 2019, Boytsov married Viktoria Demidova, a businesswoman and the founder of a fitness app for smartphones.^[32][33] That same year, they had a son, Christian (Бойцов Кристиан Сергеевич).^[15] The couple divorced in 2021, and Boytsov subsequently began a relationship with the blogger Anastasia Sozonik.^[34]

Boytsov has stated that he grew up without the presence of his father.^[35] In 2024, at the presentation of the balloon Created by the Heavens, both of his parents appeared together in public for the first time in thirty years. Boytsov described the occasion as their "first shared celebration".