Published: Tuesday, 30th June, 2009 11:00am

Bucket list barman makes 10,500ft leap

by Colin Hutton

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Skydive was on list of things to do before he dies

A BAR worker who wants to punch a shark on the nose as part of range of things to do before he dies, has admitted defeat in some of his mad-cap plans.

But Johnny McClung did jump out of a plane from 10,500ft recently - ticking one item off his bucket list which was inspired by the Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson Hollywood movie.

Since embarking on his challenges in August last year, which included finding an incredibly short elderly man to take for a drive in his car, and the daredevil shark punch, the 19-year-old has realised he did not fully consider his list before he started.

But he has not entirely ripped it up - and even raised some money for charity as he works through a more achievable revision of the original version.

Another successful task on his list was to feed strawberries to GMTV presenter Lorraine Kelly.

He met the Scot at her book signing in Glasgow and made national headlines with the stunt.

The Silverton lad, who works in The Clipper on Dumbarton High Street, told the Reporter: 'Unfortunately I have not done that much more on my list because a lot of it is maybe not that realistic.

'I did do a leap frog in the middle of Buchanan Street though, over a completely random guy.

'He was kneeling down tying his shoelace and I just did it, I"m not sure the guy knew what was going on and he was ridiculously confused but I just ran off.

'I suppose I did not really think through the idea of the bucket list properly, because obviously punching a shark in the face or stealing a prosthetic leg will not be the easiest things to do.

'I realised pretty quickly that I had been a bit over adventurous because I don"t think any aquarium would be too happy with me going in to a tank and giving a right hook to a great white.

'I do not know if I"ll ever finish the list, but it"s given me something to focus on instead of just sitting in the pub drinking.

'I"m glad that I decided to do it though because it means I"ve got a few stories to tell the we"ans.'

Johnny took on his tandem skydive on June 20 after getting a gift a voucher from his parents, Billy and Fiona, for Christmas.

And as well as fulfilling a lifelong ambition, the adventurous jump also allowed Johnny to raise cash for two charities - Comfort Rwanda and Pathway Trust, in Dumbarton - which will each receive around £325.

With the completion of the bucket list looking like a far off pipe dream, Johnny has now turned his attentions to his studies and has just been accepted onto a photography course at Clydebank College, allowing him to tick off another conquest.

He added: 'I"ve already had one of my pictures in an exhibition which was one of the things I wanted to achieve.

'I"m hoping that I can make a career out of this because photography really is something I love.'