There’s a small moment in last month’s big Grand Theft Auto 6 Extended Look trailer that has become a bit of a meme online among GTA fans and players. It’s the part where we see Jason do a running backflip off a pier and into some gorgeous blue ocean water. Some thought it looked impossible. But one athlete has proven that you can pull this flip off in real life; it’s just unlikely any of us could do it.
On August 27, Rockstar finally shared with fans nearly 30 minutes of GTA 6 gameplay footage. People spent the next few days digging into every frame to find every single detail. And there was a lot packed into that lengthy trailer. But Jason’s backflip is a moment that has become a bit infamous online and has led to some debates among fans. I saw plenty of reactions saying it looked “off” or “bad.” When I showed the trailer to various people in my life, this backflip moment was one of the few times anyone had something negative to say. And yeah, it does look a tad stiff and… weird.
However, one athlete and content creator set out to prove that this odd-looking backflip wasn’t impossible. And after some trial and error, they pulled it off.
Content creator Aspen Tree seems like a very talented athlete who is extremely capable at flipping around like a real-life video game character. And even he struggled to pull off this awkward-looking backflip while running and jumping off two feet, while also ensuring it slowed down a bit during the rotation. That has me convinced that I could never do this. And I bet a lot of people reading this post likely can’t pull off this move, either.
Perhaps Jason in GTA 6 is far more athletically skilled than we realize? Perhaps he secretly spent years in the circus? Or, more likely, this backflip animation just didn’t quite flow as well as the other animations in the trailer and stood out as a result. The question now is: Will Rockstar change this flip before the game comes out on November 19? We’ll find out in less than 70 days.