If Iron Man can fly to outer space, he can surely scale Mount Kinabalu. Photos: Yohan Charles Jayasuriya
Sabahan deejay, emcee and cosplayer Yohan Charles Jayasuriya, 41, is a big fan of Marvel superhero Iron Man. And recently, he demonstrated his own human power by scaling Mount Kinabalu clad in an Iron Man cosplay suit.
Jayasuriya was one of the 13 climbers who signed up for Coalition Duchenne's 10th Annual Expedition Mt Kinabalu on July 24. The climb up the highest mountain in South-East Asia aimed to raise awareness and funding for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a muscle-wasting disease.
"This is my second attempt to scale Mount Kinabalu in an Iron Man suit. My first attempt was in 2020, when I wanted to raise funds for Mount Kinabalu's mountain guides who lost their source of income during the pandemic. Sadly, I couldn't reach the peak then due to bad weather," said Jayasuriya during a phone interview from Kota Kinabalu recently.
Coalition Duchenne was founded by Jayasuriya's aunt, Sabahan-born California-based filmmaker Catherine Jayasuriya. Catherine's son Dusty Brandom, 29, was diagnosed with the condition in the 1990s.
"I was thrilled to scale Mount Kinabalu in the costume again. This time around, it was more meaningful, as I did it for my cousin," said Jayasuriya, who wore the costume throughout his ascent and descent.
Hero with a heart: Jayasuriya was one of the 13 climbers who signed up for Coalition Duchenne's 10th Annual Expedition Mt Kinabalu to raise awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
It took him about four hours to reach the halfway point, Laban Rata, and another three hours to reach the peak the following morning. He admits it was challenging to scale the mountain in the foam suit, which weighs about 3kg.
"I couldn't move much in my full armoured suit and it was tough to walk on slippery surfaces. The hardest part was going up the trail to Low's Peak in darkness. For extra brightness, I used a headlamp. I also relied on the battery-operated Arc Reactor (the glowing orb on Iron Man's chest) built into my costume," said Jayasuriya.
To keep warm, he wore compression garments underneath his suit. He also used his sturdy hiking shoes instead of his regular cosplay shoes for a more comfortable (and safer) climb.
He cleverly removed parts of the detachable foam from his original cosplay shoes and stuck them onto his hiking footwear.
"It wasn't difficult at all. I peeled out parts of the foam from my shoes and stuck them to my hiking shoes using glue," shared Jayasuriya, who has scaled Mount Kinabalu 12 times.
Jayasuriya said it was challenging to scale the mountain in the foam suit, which weighs about 3kg.To prepare for each climb, he hikes along Bukit Padang in Kota Kinabalu, jogs and works on muscle training exercises.
Next year, he plans to reach the Everest Base Camp to raise awareness of DMD. He plans to accomplish his feat in his Iron Man suit, of course.
"I am still recovering from my recent climb up Mount Kinabalu (laughs). So I am taking a good rest before continuing my training for my next challenge," said the father of 10-year-old Maverick Jayasuriya.
Jayasuriya has many cosplay outfits in his collection, including Spiderman, Transformers and Power Rangers, but he likes the Iron Man costume the most.
"The character Tony Stark, who is known as Iron Man, mirrors me in many ways. I am sometimes overconfident. But the good thing is I always get the job done," said Jayasuriya, who plans to submit his feat of scaling Mount Kinabalu in his cosplay suit to the Malaysia Book of Records.
