video transcript

(ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION) STORY: Ivan Stoiljkovic may be six years old, but he's already developing the flair of a performer, whipping off his shirt at a moment's notice to display an unusual talent: Ivan appears to attract metal with his chest. He looks like any other slightly chubby little boy, but his extended family in the small town of Koprivnica, in northern Croatia, say Ivan possesses extraordinary strength and even healing powers. "We always felt he is a bit different. At 15 months-of-age he was rollerblading, he started walking at eight months. He was less then two years when he had already been driving a little motorcycle, and it was a bit weird," Ivan's grandfather said. Preferring the company of adults rather than children, Ivan's magnetic skill is something he now practices every day, usually with his grandparents. His family says Ivan needs to be calm and focused, and his powers seem to be stronger in the morning. His upper body appears to be more magnetic; and his family say his wounds heal extremely quickly and leave no scars. In total, his family says Ivan can carry up to 25 kilograms of metal stuck to his torso. His grandmother Dragica has found novel ways to train his powers, adding metal objects of various sizes to his torso, including a big metal frying pans and dumbbells. Family members told Reuters Ivan has also used his 'healing' hands to alleviate stomach pains for his grandfather Ivo, and soothed the pain of a neighbour who hurt his leg in a tractor accident. But speeding around his garden on a quad bike, followed by his puppy, Ivan couldn't look further from the mystical healer.