© Barry Bland / Barcroft Media
Unstoppable Ashrita Furman holds the world’s best record – having more
world records than anyone else.
For full story and pictures:
The determined 54-year-old won the title for being the globe’s best at
100 different activities.
His list of achievements include doing 27,000 star jumps,
somersaulting over 12 miles and 390 yards, and chopping 27 apples mid
air with a samurai sword.
© Barry Bland / Barcroft Media
Ashrita, who has dedicated the last 30 years to being the world’s
greatest, is pictured training for his next effort – running the
fastest mile with flippers on his feet.
He has broken a staggering 236 Guinness World Records in his time, but
his peak came two years ago, when he held 100 simultaneously.
Two of his records have since been broken, and he now holds 98, but
his title of ‘most records held simultaneously by an individual’ is
far from being touched.
“The next nearest is about 20 records so even when some of mine are
broken, the record is pretty safe,” he said.
© Barry Bland / Barcroft Media
Ashrita’s most recent antics include a hand-blistering 339 basketball
bounces in one minute, in February, and a fiddly 40 M&Ms eaten with
chopsticks in one minute, set in March,
And a stunt in April involved having a poem translated and recited
into 111 different languages.
It is a dramatic turnaround from “skinny weed” to superman for the New
Yorker.
Ashrita became obsessed with reading the Guinness Book of World
Records as a nerdy child, and dreamed of one day breaking one.
“I was so un-athletic and weedy I got bullied,” he said. “I had no
interest in sports or physical activity whatsoever but I reached a
point in my life where everything changed.”
© Barry Bland / Barcroft Media
As a teenager he began studying the Eastern art of mediation with
Indian spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Sri Chinmoy.
“It changed my life,” he said. “The link between mind and body became
a huge part of my outlook and with encouragement from Sri Chinmoy I
was starting to think about taking my body to extremes through
meditation.
“I soon realised that limits are all in the mind. Using the practices
taught by Sri Chinmoy I decided to start training for world records. I
had always loved the Guinness Book and my new approach to life got me
thinking that anyone was capable of taking the body to new limits.”
Since then Furman has been breaking record-after-record and has no
intention of stopping.
In 1979, with a new no-limit philosophy, Furman broke his first
Guinness record with a bone-grinding 27,000 standing star jumps in New
York.
His longest standing record to date stretches back to 1986 for
somersaulting for the longest continuous distance of an incredible 12
miles, 390 yards.
Other achievements include pushing a car 17.06 miles in 24 hours and
walking an unbelievable 80.95 miles with a milk bottle on his head.
“It’s not about beating anyone or my ego,” he added. “It’s about
proving to people that there are no limits to what we can do.”
Words by Liam Miller
Related posts:
- Three World Records Smashed In 112-person Simultaneous Skydive Casting a spectacular image several thousand feet up these extreme...
- Serial Record Breaker To Strike Again! An Indian record breaker hopes to become the first man...
- Big Cat Goes For Oldest Tiger In The World Record She may be a veteran of the jungle but this...
- Piercing Lover Braves 1,093 Needles In Bid To Break World Record A Californian man turned himself into a human pincushion after...
- The World’s Favourite Record Breakers These incredible people are all in the running to...
- Cape Town Surfers Set New World Record Over one hundred surfers lined up on the same...
- Could This Be The Next World’s Tallest Horse? Standing 20.2 hands tall at the shoulder and 10...
- Student Smurfs Smash Through Record These amazing pictures show a world first – the...