Today I had the incredible opportunity to attempt another Guinness World Record title on Live! with Kelly and Mark. This year (3rd time) was particularly special because my family joined me for the first time. My wife, two boys, and daughter were all there, cheering me on.
The day started early, especially for my eight-year-old, who insisted on waking up at 5 AM Eastern Time (3 AM at home) to help set up the 600 balloons. He even took on the important task of passing out earplugs to all the audience members.
The previous record was 327 balloons burst with boxing gloves in one minute. After punching the racquetball court wall tens of thousands of times and with the support of my family, I achieved my goal of bursting 600 balloons (ironically, landing exactly on 600 after setting up 630 and telling Michael Empric, the Guinness adjudicator my goal was 600). The efficient setup was so impressive that Mark Consuelos himself took a shot at practice on the show beforehand and probably could’ve broken the previous record too.
There were a few nerves during the short interview before and as the 3,2,1 countdown started but I then burst balloon after balloon, my arms were burning and my body was sweating, but the exhilaration of breaking the record made it all worth it. I was able to average 10 breaks per second and now, 25 years into record attempts on Live with Kelly and Mark with 91 attempts, 61 successful and 21 still held, I currently hold 3 of 21 currently held records broken on the show :). But it’s the memory of the day with my family will be cherished.
