Ashrita Furman

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"Keith Furman" redirects here. For the film character, see The Imitation Game § Cast.
Ashrita Furman
Furman in Rome, Italy 2011
Born
Keith Furman

(1954-09-16) September 16, 1954 (age 69)
Brooklyn, New York
NationalityAmerican
OccupationHealth food store manager
Years active1979–present

Ashrita Furman (born Keith Furman, September 16, 1954) is a Guinness World Records record-breaker. As of 2017, Furman has set more than 600 official Guinness Records and currently holds over 200 records, thus holding the Guinness world record for the most Guinness world records.[1][2] He has been breaking records since 1979.[1][3]

Life and records

Early life

Furman was born in 1954 in

Brooklyn, New York. He 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 unathletic.[4]

As a teenager, he became interested in spirituality and in 1970 became a devout follower of the spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy.[5]

Sri 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).[citation needed] Around this time, he changed his first name to Ashrita ("protected by God"[6] in Sanskrit).[7][8]

First record

In 1979, Furman set his first official record by doing 27,000 jumping jacks.[1] In 1986, Furman invented and set the record for underwater pogo stick jumping and introduced it on Good Morning America on April Fools' Day.[citation needed]

Records around the world

Furman has managed a

jumping rope on a pogo stick). While in China, Furman broke the record for running 8 km (4.97 mi) on stilts
in the fastest time (39 min. 56 sec.), a record which had stood since 1982.

Creating new records

Furman has also been a pioneer in setting records in several new activities including landrowing. Using a converted

Queens, New York, to the City Museum in St. Louis.[11] In April 2009 Furman became the first person to hold 100 Guinness World Records at once.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Guinness World Records 2015". guinnessworldrecords.com. 2014-09-10. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-10-09.
  2. Guinness Book of World Records
    . Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  3. NY Daily News
    . Retrieved 2012-01-07.
  4. ^ Kilgannon, Corey (3 July 2009). "For a Record Seeker, No Idle Day". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  5. ^ Kilgannon, Corey (12 June 2003). "Got Milk? Hula Hoop? It's a Record!; He's Guinness's King Of Strange Feats, All for Inner Peace". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  6. ^ "World champion record breaker Ashrita Furman aims to set another best in Brazil". The Telegraph. 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
  7. ^ "What drives a Guinness World Record holder?". Radio Times. Retrieved 2012-12-12.
  8. ^ Mincer, Jilian (2010-11-18). "The Ultimate Guinness Record Is the Record for Records". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  9. ^ "Wild World Records". ABC News. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  10. ^ "The world beater". The Age, Australia. 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  11. ^ "metro.co.uk, 'World's biggest pencil' draws in a crowd". Metro (British newspaper). 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
  12. ISBN 978-1-908843-15-9
    .

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ashrita Furman.
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