When, Who and How?: WHO OWNS THE MOST GUINESS WORLD RECORDS?

Thursday, September 22, 2011

1 WHO OWNS THE MOST GUINESS WORLD RECORDS?

The individual who holds the most Guinness World Records is

Mr. Ashrita Furman

Pogo jumping!

He holds the records for, among others, long-distance pogo-stick jumping, most glasses balanced on the chin, most hop-scotch games in 24 hours and fastest time to pogo-stick up the CN Tower.

Ashrita Furman (born September 16, 1954 in Brooklyn, New York) has set more than 300 Guinness records since 1979 and currently holds 131 Guinness records. He has set records on all seven continents and in more than 30 different countries. He has the official record for "The most current Guinness World Records held at the same time by an individual." (Marco Frigatti, Head of Records, Guinness Book of World Records).

Ashrita Furman (born Keith Furman) was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1954, the same year the Guinness Book of Records was conceived and the year Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile. Furman was fascinated with the Guinness Book of World Records as a child but never thought he could ever break a record, since he was very nonathletic. He grew up in the Kew Gardens Hills neighborhood in Queens, and attended Jamaica High School.

Furman at the Great Wall of China
in January 2005 breaking the
Guinness record for
the fastest mile on a kangaroo ball
Pic by wiki user Northstar7

That all changed when, as a teenager, Furman became interested in spirituality and in 1970 became a devout follower of the mystic Sri Chinmoy. Chinmoy inspired Furman to participate in a 24-hour bicycle race in New York City's Central Park in 1978. With only two weeks' training, Furman tied for third place, cycling 405 miles (652 km). He later described the experience, “It was one of the most profound moments of my life. As I climbed off my bicycle, I realized that it wasn't my body that had cycled for 24 hours, but my inner Spirit. By using meditation I was able to connect with an inexhaustible energy which we all have but rarely use. At that moment I decided to attempt breaking Guinness records to inspire others to connect with their own indomitable inner strength.” Around this time, Furman changed his first name to Ashrita ('protected by God' in Sanskrit).

First record

In 1979, Furman set his first official record by doing 27,000 jumping jacks. In 1986, Furman invented and set the record for underwater pogo stick jumping and introduced it on Good Morning America on April Fools Day. That same year Furman began setting records at historic landmarks by doing forward rolls along the entire 12 ¼ mile route of Paul Revere's Ride in Massachusetts and jumping 11 ½ miles up and down the foothills of Mount Fuji on a pogo stick.

Records around the world

Furman has managed a health food store in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, New York since 1982. He is also a tour conductor for his meditation group and is therefore able to travel extensively. Furman had set records in more than 30 countries and completed his goal of breaking a record in all 7 continents when he set the mile hula hoop record at Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) in the Australian desert in 2003. While in China, he broke the record for running 8 km (5 mi) on stilts, a record which had stood since 1892.

Some of his other record-breaking stunts involved pushing a car for 17 miles in 24 hours, translating and reciting a poem in 111 languages in 24 hours as well as:

Walking 80.95 miles with a milk bottle on his head:

Chopping 27 apples in mid-air with a samurai sword within sixty seconds:

Deep Knee Bends on a Balance Board:

Racing against a yak, in a sac, in Mongolia:

Most Grapes Caught by Mouth in One Minute (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia):

His latest world record breaker - in one minute he caught by mouth - 85 grapes at the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team offices in Jamaica, New York, on 9 September 2010.

Longest time balancing on a Swiss Ball (Stonehenge):

Skipping on a Pogo Stick (Cambodia):

The most pogo stick skips in one minute is 178 and was achieved by Ashrita Furman (USA) in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York, USA, on 18 May 2008.

Fastest Mile Balancing a Pool Cue (Egypt):