VIDEO: A Backflip Artist at The Cliff in Negril

If you’ve ever watched the cliff divers at Rick’s Café in Negril, Jamaica, you’ve no doubt been awed by their fearless feats and wondered about the secret of their prowess.

Shavon Drummond, a lifeguard and pool attendant at The Cliff, a charming new enclave on Negril’s West End, has the answer: “It’s all about height, speed and balance,” he says.

And Drummond should know. After all, the affable 24-year-old has been diving since he was 11. “I come from Grange Hill in Savanna-la-Mar, and as a child I used to love to play and dive in the river there,” he explains. “I was always getting punished for disappearing to the river.”

Now, however, you could say that back flips and somersaults are part of Drummond’s daily duties. Perched on the craggy coast, the 22-room/five-villa hotel couldn’t be a more perfect work environment for Drummond, who, much to guests’ delight, demonstrates his skills, expertly plunging from the jagged edge of the ironshore into the impossibly blue water below.