What shocks the crowd is not the apparent self-mutilation, but rather the fact that he appears to come away unscathed. Then he returned to beating himself with his sledgehammer, studiously pounding every joint in his arm to the winces of onlookers. "It's all real, nothing fabricated," said Edward Carbonell, who watched Tomasen in awe. "I want to be remembered as someone who pushed the limits of what was possible," he said. Reporting by Anett Rios and Alexander Frometa; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Lino Tomasen, Mike Tyson, Tomasen, Edward Carbonell, Anett Rios, Alexander Frometa, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, Havana, Cuban, Mexico City, Cuba