Many know her as “The Limbo Queen” thanks to her skills in the popular party activity — limbo. Shemika Charles-Campbell made headlines in 2015 when she became the first person to ever limbo under a car. In other words, she fit her entire body through an eight-and-a-half-inch space, which is about the height of a beer bottle.
A video by Barcroft TV showed her limboing under her truck. “It takes a lot of concentration and a lot of balance and a lot of breath control,” Charles-Campbell, then 22, said.
Today, Charles-Campbell, who lives in Buffalo but was born in Trinidad & Tobago, where limbo originated, holds three Guinness World Records in limbo. Her first world record came in 2010 when she became the lowest limbo dancer in the world by going under a bar just 8.5 inches high. Then in 2016, she won the world record for farthest distance to limbo under 12 inches while competing in Beijing, China.
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In October 2020, she broke the record for the furthest distance limboing under a car, setting it at 12-feet, 3 inches. She achieved that feat while appearing on ABC’s “Live with Kelly and Ryan”.
Limbo dancing has remained a fun activity for any event across the world. It typically includes a stick that one dances under. With each pass, one tries to bend their back to get lower and lower. The history of limbo dancing dates back to the 1800s in the Caribbean Island of Trinidad and Tobago. It gained popularity in the U.S. as not only a fun activity but a form of entertainment. Flaming limbo has since been introduced.
Charles-Campbell made her living performing at NBA half-time shows and traveling across the United States exhibiting her limbo dancing talent. She began her limbo career at the age of 14. Interestingly, her mother, Sherrie, was also a limbo dancer and performed in her home country of Trinidad and Tobago. She danced for 16 years before injuring her back.
She once expressed her worry about her daughter’s health considering the risks involved in limbo. But Charles-Campbell, who disclosed recently that she visits her chiropractor often for a check-up, has no plans of stopping limbo anytime soon. In fact, her plan in the near future is to limbo backwards.
“Most likely, that record is next,” she said.
