Bodybuilders recreate Iwo Jima photo with human flag

RACINE, Wis., July 7 (UPI) -- A group of bodybuilders in Wisconsin put a twist on "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" by recreating the photo with a human flag.

Five members of the bodybuilding group Relentless Team gathered on Independence day to raise fellow member Alexander Ersing as he clung to a pole with his body acting as a flag.

Ersing told WISN that they decided to recreate the photo "mostly for our troops and veterans in recognition for what they have done."

The pole that supported Ersing was constructed with pipes from a hardware store and fitted with a cross, which they whittled out of wood laying around his house.

Relentless Team chose to recreate the photo at the top of a hill at Lockwood Park in hopes of reaching the most people and Ersing said he was pleased with the result.

"I [saw] on Facebook, one guy actually [saw] us doing it and pulled over on the street," he said. "And I thought that was pretty cool."