Alastair Galpin
took to world record-breaking in
2004 after being inspired by a record-setting rally
driver in Kenya. What began as a hobby soon escalated
into an active publicity pursuit. Today, he promotes the
work of social and environmental causes. For these
purposes, the most fitting game plans are chosen; then
world titles are attempted and frequently created.
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Special thanks
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Behind every world record attempt is the expertise of professionals in their field. Their success underpins Alastair's. |
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Most candles lit in the mouth: 8
This is the story behind my Guinness World Record™ for the Most candles lit in the mouth.
In the early part of 2011, I went to Milan,
Italy, for a world record TV show. I made 3 attempts on set, one after
the other, to be aired over the coming weeks. I’d just slipped 13
gloves onto one hand in 60 seconds, and then had barely a minute to
reorganise my thoughts for the next world record attempt – holding the
most burning candles in my mouth.
I hold this world record, and I’ve been brought to Italy to try and
beat myself. But with all the celebrity action surrounding my visit, it
is tricky to concentrate on just candles!
Famous names have been imported from across the planet – Kenya, Bosnia,
Canada, Lithuania, Ivory Coast, India and elsewhere - to act in this
show. My mind is battling to cope with the amazement of it all. In
fact, there are so many celebrities here for the show, the first hotel
is booked out and many have been taken to a second hotel.
Famed Italian TV presenter, and host of Italy’s “Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire”, Gerry Scotti, is
who we’ve come to appear in front of. But I must have been special: I’d
been taken to a mini studio at the back of the main studio arena, where
I was beginning to focus on just how to insert candles into my mouth.
That was hard to concentrate on, when I knew there were so many
incredible people on site. Images of faces I’d passed in the hotel
flicked through my mind: a pilot without arms, the strongest woman in
north America, the world’s top slack-liner, and dancers who send
shivers down my spine. My head was already spinning with intrigue at
having met a human
cannonball, a six-fingered man, the
world’s
smallest
teenager, and the greatest living high diver
among others.
By the end of my first day in the hotel, my mind had been crammed with
fascinating facts about the people around me. It felt surreal to be
staying with these types, I must say! And they had kept coming: Moses Lanham – Mr
Elastic – and his son walk backwards with their feet facing in the
direction they’re moving. Great to watch! The Russian Bar Trio humbly told me,
when asked, that they’d been invited onto Oprah Winfrey. Their acrobatics were
indeed impressive, even in practice. Jarno Hams – Dutch
strong man, his Lithuanian and Latvian counterparts had arrived to
compete at carrying a car weighing 400 kilograms 20 metres as fast as
possible. Zydrunas
Savickas
of
Lithuania was to win. Then a black couple from the
Ivory Coast walked in and I went over to introduce myself, only to find
the French-English language barrier. With help, we exchanged greetings.
The husband, Dickson Oppong,
better known as Waterman, can extinguish a fire by spraying water
from his stomach.
The next and the next incredible human being had kept
arriving. I was so stunned by all this, I must have looked dumbfounded.
I probably was! But they kept astounding me. The world’s fastest knife thrower
– the Great Throwdini – allowed me to take a photo of himself and
his ‘target’, Katarina, as they enjoyed dinner with a selection of
throwing knives on the table… And as if I hadn’t been shocked enough, 2
more celebrities were soon milling around the hotel. Anthony Kelly introduced
himself to me, having heard of my work. He catches arrows, and is
tremendously fast-acting.
Next, the Great Nippulini came
over to chat. I saw nothing out of place until he lifted his T-shirt to
reveal what he calls the “world’s strongest nipples”. He lifts heavy
weights with his nipples.
I felt a chill dash up my spine as he smiled
proudly.
But – hard as it may have been - I had to forget them all and pinpoint
my mental energy on sticks of candle wax where I stood in the mini
studio. Since I had made this attempt before, I knew I’d have squashed
wax oozing in between my teeth and some wax might even make my jaws
stick together. The thought was wonderful. And, to make it even more
real, my memory of wax in my mouth was rather fresh…
In the days preceding, I’d found a supermarket which sells Italian
candles, being the local option. Due to the language barrier, staff
couldn’t talk to me and I couldn’t speak to them. So why try to explain
that I wanted to see how many candles I could fit in my mouth? There
would be no point, so I scanned the aisles instead. No staff were
watching. “Now!” I told myself, and grabbed a handful off the shelf.
Tilting my head right back, I folded my lips around the first candle,
while letting it slide down to the back of my throat. Then the next.
And the next. Nobody stopped me, so I treated that as a reason to
continue.
Five candles were soon snuggly positioned in my mouth – the same as the
world record I currently hold. Italian candles are more slender than
New Zealand equivalents, making this easy for me. Having got 6 candles
tightly in between my jaws, I twisted my eyeballs to the left and
right, but seeing nobody, I remained in position. Several seconds
later, I whipped my neck forward and hauled the cluster of candles from
my head. Although I didn’t mean to, I must have had a terrible smirk on
my face, which customers saw. I knew that by the looks I received.
Placing the damaged candles on the shelf, I dashed for the exit where I
spat flakes of wax and thick saliva onto the concrete as 2 ladies
approached the shop. I didn’t care, and proceeded to spit with audible
disgust. Let me tell you, wax in between your teeth is no good thing!
The supermarket visit proved that I could beat my own world record, and
I was about to do just that in the studio for numerous TV cameras.
Goggles were passed to me as I stood at the table in front of a bank of
small TV screens as a backdrop to the attempt. Overhead, massive
spotlights beamed down on me, their heat being detectable. Production
staff were milling around in the semi-darkness.
And the next thing, the world record representative was holding 10
candles in his palm. I was told to begin whenever I was ready. I
cleared my throat, peered around me nervously and lowered the goggles
over the bridge of my nose. Gingerly, I plucked the first candle from
the pile, lit it and inserted it into my mouth comfortably. The TV
cameras were trained on me, production staff had formed a wall not far
ahead of the table, and the brightness of the overhead lights burned my
eyes.
It really was extremely simple: I repeated what I’d done in the
supermarket and this time, I’d be awarded a new world record if I could
beat myself. Less than 4 minutes later, I had 8 burning candles stuffed
in my mouth which the rules stated I had to keep in position for 30
seconds. Those few seconds were the toughest.
Molten wax dribbled down the candle shafts and solidified on my tongue.
Although I tried not to swallow, I could not help myself, and it was
then that I tasted blood. Later, I was to find out that the left corner
of my mouth had split slightly as I’d forced the 8th candle into
position. Thinking about my flesh tearing – like a chunk of raw meat
being pulled in opposite directions, was not heart-warming. But thank
goodness I did not know my mouth had torn until after the attempt. As
some do at the dentist, I began moaning uncontrollably from the
discomfort and from feeling pearls of gradually solidifying wax coming
to a standstill part-way down my throat. The 30 seconds passed quite
quickly, and I ripped the bunch of candles from my face as soon as I
was permitted to do so. They chipped as they hit the floor and
extinguished themselves.
Reaching for a bowl, I spat and spat. My saliva was reddened, dotted
with wax flakes. My facial muscles contorted. A number of spits later,
I turned to see the world record representative waiting to honour me
with a beautiful medal. I had succeeded at breaking my own world record.
In an instant, I’d punched the air and – quite rudely – ignored the
production staff alongside the men trying to issue me a certificate!
This was too much excitement to bear. I had yet another world record.
Awesome.
As I picked my way to the studio’s outer entrance, I felt good. Within
weeks – just enough time for the footage to be edited – Italy would
know who the great candle holder is: me. ”Bring me more attention,
bring me more attention” I wailed in my mind…