Breaking the Record for the Most Concurrent Guinness World Records Titles
I am thrilled to announce that I have broken the world record for the most concurrent Guinness World Records titles! This feels like a lifetime achievement for me as it took 9 years, over twice as long as my Electrical Engineering Degree from MIT, and I now hold the record for the most titles held simultaneously.
The Journey to the Record
Watch the YouTube video to see the full story. It’s a journey filled with drama, suspense, and intrigue, and it almost didn’t happen.
I am only the third person to ever hold this record. The first was Ashrita Furman, the patriarch of Guinness World Records, born in 1955, the same year as the Guinness World Records itself. The second was Silvio Sabba from Italy, who held the record since 2020. When I started tracking in early 2021, I had a mere 87 records compared to Silvio’s 228. This is the story of how I got there, and it wasn’t a straightforward path. One year, I almost walked away from Guinness World Records entirely.
Common Misconceptions
A common misconception is revealed by one of the most common questions I get: “How do you make up all the records?”. The vast majority of the records I have broken existed already and I found them, practiced, and then broke them.
Why Break Records?
It started to promote STEM education. A student might fail a math test or struggle with science and therefore say they can’t be an engineer. But I’ve learned with a growth mindset accompanied by grit, you can accomplish virtually anything. Like not being smart enough to get into the gifted program in the Idaho public education system to getting my EE degree from MIT. Or from not being all that athletic to breaking a Guinness World Records title (or the most!).
My First Record
The first record I wanted to break was the fastest 800m juggling. I aimed for 2:13 but got down to 2:21 in a time trial before I hurt my knee and had to give up.The very first record I successfully broke was the longest duration blindfolded juggling, for six minutes and 34 seconds. I’ve since broken it three more times and now hold the record at over an hour and two minutes.
The First 10 Records
The rest of the first 10 records I broke were:
- Fastest five-ball juggling
- Most juggling head rolls in one minute
- Longest duration bouncing a chainsaw on the chin
- Fastest blindfolded juggling
- World’s fastest juggling
- Most selfies taken in three minutes (disqualified)
- Longest duration bouncing a bicycle on the chin
- Furthest distance traveled with a pool cue balanced on the finger
- Longest duration bouncing a ladder on the chin
Of these, I currently hold only one, so only one counts towards the most concurrent Guinness World Records titles held.
The Timeline
- October 2015: Broke my first record
- 2016: Broke 10 records
- 2017: Broke 22 records
- 2018: Broke 51 records
- 2019: Almost gave up after breaking 47 records with 74 completed applications, 27 of which didn’t count
- 2020: Broke 43 records
- 2021: My most famous year, breaking 52 records in 52 weeks
- 2022: Broke 25 records
- 2023: Broke 45 records
- 2024: Achieved my goal of holding the most concurrent Guinness World Records titles at 181.
The Competition
With Silvio Sabba holding 180 records, Ashrita Furman 150, and Andre Ortolf with about 100, I have my work cut out for me to keep this record in my name.