Mark Berglin: Unicycler, Fencer and Swing Dancer

Reported by: Shelby McCormick

Photographed by: Yolanda Diaz

Even if you don’t know his name, there's a good chance you've seen Mark Berglin riding through campus on his unicycle. While Berglin, a senior mechanical engineering major, is most well-known for his unicycle, he is also a notable figure in many clubs on campus. He is currently president of the Fencing Club and vice president of the Swing Dance Club. He has also been involved in Nerf Club, StuTea Time, and Arts & Crafts Club in the past.

        Berglin decided to get involved in these clubs because he was inspired by the communities he saw developing on campus. He noted the camaraderie in the fencing and Swing Dance Club: "It's just a place I want to be a part of."

Berglin's role as president of the Fencing Club tracks with his history of a love of sword fighting. Playing with toy lightsabers when he was a child sparked his love of sword fighting. Eventually, Berglin began to make his own foam swords, which he later used in live-action role-playing (LARPing). When he came to George Fox University (GFU), there was no LARPing community. However, there was a fencing club, so he joined and "never looked back."

        Berglin's mastery of the unicycle did not come from any club, but rather from self-determination. He recalls a middle schooler in his youth group who could ride the unicycle and let Berglin try it. While Berglin struggled initially, his fellow youth group member appreciated his enthusiasm and gifted Berglin a unicycle. "How do you get gifted a unicycle and not learn how to ride it?" Berglin said. 

From then on, Berglin practiced every day for 30 minutes. He said it took him two weeks of falling off before he could finally ride it around campus.

        While there is an initial learning curve, Berglin believes anyone could learn to ride with enough determination.

Riding the unicycle around campus has also become quite convenient for Berglin. "It's like walking but faster,” he said. “You can lug things around; I would like to see someone on a bike carry around as many foam swords as I do."

While Berglin has embraced his role as the "Unicycle Kid," he did impart these words of wisdom about well-known figures around campus. "I would avoid assuming much about a person just because you know them." He explained that when riding the unicycle, the persona people see at that moment is what they expect him to be all the time. "If you see a person and think, 'oh, they're famous, they got it all together,' take a second to think twice because it's a lot more complicated than it looks."