Brandon Bell is a bit behind on his school work but leaps and bounds ahead when it comes to agility.
The 17-year-old Western Heights High School student admits his school work has taken a bit of a back seat as he pushes his body through its limits.
He is busy training for the Australian Men's Artistic Gymnastics, which take place in Canberra from July 12 to 17.
While his peers study at home Brandon can be found rehearsing his routines at Mid Island Gym Sports. He trains for four hours Monday to Thursday, three hours on Fridays and then if there are no competitions he travels to Auckland for more training.
"I'm kind of behind in my school work at the moment," he says.
"I might do some on the weekends, but not really. I don't think most [of my teachers] know much about what I do."
If they could see him in action then they could maybe see why Brandon has the Commonwealth Games in his sights.
He started gymnastics as a 9-year-old with a back flip his main goal. He is now a level 8 in the men's artistic gymnastics category, just two steps away from being at the pinnacle and able to compete on a world level.
"Back flips just looked cool," he says. "It took a while to learn because I was also learning other things. I enjoyed it and carried on."
He started off in the recreational level and then got moved up to level 3.
In Canberra he will be competing in all artistic competitions, including pommel horse, rings and floor.
"Australia should be pretty good. I was in the team last year but a level lower. My goal is to get to the Commonwealth Games and I think I could get there - I just have to train harder.
"My favourite apparatus is the rings. It's also my best. It takes quite a bit of strength."
He is in his final year at Western Heights and hopes to study sports science at Auckland so he can continue to train in the city.
Last year the event was held in Brisbane where he finished 25th overall and fourth New Zealander. His best score was on the parallel bars.
* The Australian Men's Artistic Gymnastics takes place in Canberra, Australia from July 12 to 17.
Teen flipping close to Games dream
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