What is the handstand t-shirt challenge? What the latest Instagram trend that involves Tom Holland and Ryan Reynolds is all about

With life under lockdown affecting millions across the globe, it’s not just regular people turning to internet trends to keep them entertained - celebrities are as well
Tom Holland attempting to get a t-shirt on whilst doing a handstand (Photo: Tom Holland)Tom Holland attempting to get a t-shirt on whilst doing a handstand (Photo: Tom Holland)
Tom Holland attempting to get a t-shirt on whilst doing a handstand (Photo: Tom Holland)

This is everything you need to know about the handstand t-shirt challenge, which has seen celebrities like Tom Holland, Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllenhaal get involved.

What’s the challenge?

The challenge asks the participant to try to put on a t-shirt while doing a handstand.

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Spider-Man actor Tom Holland brought the trend into the social media spotlight after posting his attempt on his Instagram story on 1 April.

He was originally nominated to take on the challenge by Ollie Gardner, a filmmaker and actor.

“Thanks @Ollieg for this one mate,” Holland captioned his video before taking on the challenge - after successfully managing to get his t-shirt on whilst maintaining a handstand, the actor nominated his fellow Spider-Man: For From Home co-star Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds and school friend Harrison Osterfield.

Gyllenhaal took on the challenge first, writing on his own Instagram story: “Wait, what’s the challenge??? Shirtless heavy breathing??”

What you need to know about the new trend involving Tom Holland (Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)What you need to know about the new trend involving Tom Holland (Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
What you need to know about the new trend involving Tom Holland (Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

He managed to get his shirt on as well, and also nominated a few others to give the trend a go - Hugh Jackman, 50 Cent and his sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal.

However, Ryan Reynolds' response was less than enthusiastic, posting a video of himself to his story looking extremely confused before saying: “...No?” and tagging Holland.

What other celebrities have done the challenge?

American olympian Lolo Jones also got in on the action, posting to Twitter her video and writing: “When I saw Spider-Man and Jake Gyllenhaal do a handstand challenge with one shirt…

“First I want to thank them for having their shirt off because I haven’t seen a man in 25 days.”

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Jones’ video opens up with her drinking a glass of wine before taking on the challenge. However, Jones doesn’t just put on one shirt, but two shirts and also takes another sip of wine whilst upside down.

Also here to step things up again is olympic gymnast Simone Biles, who posted a video to her Twitter showing her taking off a pair of sweatpants in a handstand totally unassisted by a wall.

Maggie Gyllenhaal also took on her brother's challenge with ease and tagged Jessica Chastain, Sarah Silverman, Alison Roman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to take part next.

Can I do the challenge?

Not wanting to be left out of the fun, regular people have been posting their attempts to take on the challenge on social media - but it proves more difficult than it looks.

If you want to try out the challenge, you should start off by holding your handstand against a wall and trying to get a t-shirt on from there.

The challenge could result in injury if you aren’t prepared to maintain a handstand for a long period of time, so you should be extra careful if you plan on taking it on.

Practice doing handstands first and decide from there if you’re able to do the challenge.