Ashrita Furman breaks his 102nd World Record

Last modified February 9, 2008

An interview with Ashrita Furman with BBC Radio Scotland in 2008, after Ashrita had broken a Guinness World Record for most number of pogo jumps.

Report from BBC Scotland:

“Shopkeeper Ashrita Furman carried out the attempt next to the statue of Greyfriars Bobby, while carrying a dog. Mr Furman, who has the highest number of Guinness World Records, had to complete in excess of 173 jumps – more than two per second. He now holds 102 records and said he was already planning his next stunt. Mr Furman has been up Mount Fuji on a pogo stick, bounced a mile on a space hopper along the Great Wall of China and pushed an orange at speed with his nose. He also holds records for backwards cycling, an underwater pogo attempt and most hop-scotch games in 24 hours. The record breaker insisted the dog, which he carried in honour of the legendary terrier who stood guard by his master’s grave, was unharmed. Mr Furman – who also has records for balancing a huge stack of beer glasses on his chin, using the world’s largest hula hoop and somersaulting – added that dogs he had used in training seemed to enjoy the experience and had, literally, leapt to the challenge. However, he had asked for a vet to be on stand-by in an effort to reassure onlookers. After his success, Mr Furman said: “The editor of the Guinness book is Scottish and he said ‘now listen here, you’ve been around the world and you have not broken a record in Scotland’. “So why not break a record in Scotland?”

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Ashrita attributes his World Record achievements to studying meditation with Sri Chinmoy: “As a kid I had a huge fascination with the exotic places and people listed in the Guinness Book of Records, but being a non-athlete, I never imagined ever actually getting a world record myself. Years later, as a teenager, I became interested in Eastern spirituality and began studying meditation with Sri Chinmoy. Suddenly, I was filled with an inner joy and a seemingly inexhaustible energy. Sri Chinmoy also taught me about his philosophy of self-transcendence, that when you have access to the divine power we all have within us, nothing is impossible.

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