Watch a Man’s Face Ripple as a Soccer Ball Hits It in Slow Motion

The pain—and humiliation—of getting hit in the head with a soccer ball during gym class fades with time, but Gavin and Dan, a.k.a. The Slow Mo Guys, decided to re-create the mortifying moment as adults and immortalize it in slow motion.

For the uninitiated, the Slow Mo Guys are YouTube sensations that film chaotic moments (examples: rapidly cooled glass exploding, a fire tornado twisting through the air) in slow motion, using high-speed cinema cameras. In their latest video, the duo fill a soccer ball with water, and Gavin hurls it at Dan’s face.

To the casual bystander, the painful moment occurs too quickly to register Dan’s reaction—but a camera filming the impact at 2800 frames a second captures how the heavy sphere impacts the daredevil’s face, causing his cheeks, lips, and nose to undulate as he recoils in pain.

Watch the painfully fascinating process below, in 1000x slow motion.

Banner image: iStock