NICK Rudd loves the game of table tennis and has played competitively since 2015. But his desire to make the craziest, most creative trick shots is shooting him to stardom.
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Whether putting out the flame on a candle, knocking over dominos, landing multiple balls into cups or even through the tiny hole in a roll of tape, the 14-year-old's talent is impressive.
So impressive that producers from the Ellen DeGeneres show have made contact, telling Rudd and his parents they will fly him to the United States to appear on the show if a spot becomes available in the future.
"When I saw the email I was really surprised. I told my whole family pretty quickly," he said.
"All from doing some trick shots ... it's a good feeling."
His Instagram account, thepingpongkid, has amassed 87,200 followers with some videos reaching hundreds of thousands of views.
"I started playing competitively three years ago but honestly since I was a little kid I was playing," he said.
"I played table tennis with all my extended family and I really liked it. We tried Port Macquarie Table Tennis Club out one day and started going every Tuesday because it was so fun."
But videos on social media led him to his true calling - trick shots.
"I saw something online and tried to replicate it. I started my Instagram account and made trick shot videos and it's grown from there," he said.
"I have uploaded more than 100 videos. I was really surprised with how viral some of the videos went."
He says he plays table tennis every day and is forever coming up with ideas for new tricks.
"Sometimes I'll see a shot and add to it, trying to make it different. Other times I just randomly come up with ideas," he said.
"My favourite was the domino shot, where I hit them and it fell over, then knocked a ball into a cup.
"My most viewed funnily enough is the blooper video, but the one where I hit the tape and it spins around the inside of the roll of tape is the most popular."
Depending on the shot, Rudd can spend up to an hour for one snippet of successful footage.
That is well over 100 shots. The battery on his camera has even run out.
"But when you finally get a shot it's such a good feeling," he said.
"I think I prefer the trick shots. It's an unreal feeling, but so is winning a competitive game of table tennis."