Streaker ends naked ambition after 519 streaks

The sports world is in mourning after the world’s most prolific streaker deemed his nude, pitch-invading days officially over.

Mark Roberts, 49, the man whose streak tally finished at 519 individual dashes, announced his retirement from the bizarre obsession because his son became sick of being the butt of jokes, the Daily Mail reported.

Though most streakers hastily retreat to the shadows after their moment of madness, Roberts has thrived off the attention, constantly seeking a grander stage to showcase his goods.

The Liverpool native revealed that during his career as a serial streaker, he spent 30 nights in police custody, suffered broken bones from enthusiastic security guards and all up, had been fined a total of over AUD $6,000.

His first 'nudie run' was in 1993 when he leaped over the fence at a rugby match, and scored a try against New Zealand.

"There and then, I was hooked," he told the Daily Mail.

"My first time changed my life. Everyone should try it once.

"What I realised that day in 1993 was that while I could perhaps make four or five people laugh by telling a joke in a pub, I could, just by doing something daft on a pitch, make tens of thousands of people laugh."

Roberts had no limits to who would cop an eyeful of his package, as his streaking attempts became more and more daring.

The father-of-three streaked everywhere from Wimbledon, to Royal Ascot and Wembley. He’s also crashed swimming championships, golf tournaments and live televised weather reports. However, his most audacious streak was in 2004 when he ran onto the field during Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Texas. The largest event in US sport is watched on television by over 130 million people in almost one hundred countries, but remarkably, Roberts was dealt a modest AUD $850 fine.

"There’s no major venue or event I haven’t done," he said.

"But I’m 49 now and my children have begged me to stop. It’s time. I’m not ready for my slippers just yet, but gravity’s against me."

He has not exactly made a living off his penchant for public nudity, despite the dedication he has shown with the endeavour. But Roberts does have plans to publish an autobiography cheekily titled I Didn’t Know An Inch Would Take Me This Far.

"I don’t have a compulsion to take my clothes off. It’s only the laughter that matters. It’s nothing like flashing. There’s nothing sexual about it – it’s just comedy nudity," he said.

His final run in the buff was done in a pair of Crocs. And a g-string.