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.
Sustaining sponsor
If you would like regular exposure from Alastair's activities, become his Sustaining Sponsor:
- A range of attempts annually
- Your brand in multiple media
- Distribute your own media releases
- Receive product endorsements
More details about sponsorship opportunities
Special thanks
|
Behind every world record attempt is the expertise of professionals in their field. Their success underpins Alastair's. |
| They are listed here |
Most radio interviews in 24 hours
(shared): 57
This is the story behind our Guinness World Record™ for the Most radio interviews in 24 hours.
When I think back to this event, I
am still amazed. What a privilege it was to have the
opportunity to promote a charity this way. It was my
pleasure, and one I will hold dear for years.
Between the charity and I it was
decided to make an attempt at this particular world
record. As is most often the case, I don't know exactly
how a world record event will turn out when I begin
planning. Things develop, plans change course, and
peoples' involvement changes as progress unfolds. So it
was with this event. I was involved from concept to the
completion of this event, and it was exhausting. I
became a chaser: chasing radio stations and their
presenters because staff were continuously changing. But
that was fun. The biggest challenge was chasing time
zones.
Where are you right now? If you're
west of me, according to the world map you learned from
at school, do the hours wind backwards or forwards if
you were to travel to me on the same day in my local
time zone - which changes by an hour twice a year, via
the shortest route? If it is yesterday in one country
right now and a radio station repeater 21 hours behind
you there transfers you to a nation 6 hours ahead of
yesterday, at what time will you be dealing with the
repeater station, local time? Don't be confused – you
don't need to be since you're probably not about to
attempt this world record. But that's what I mean when I
say this was a challenge to set up. My mind was working
hard all the time.
Thankfully, there is help on the
internet, which I came to rely on. Once I'd arranged
dozens of radio interviews, I needed to source the
telecommunications to make the plan work. That took
weeks, and a good friend helped locate a very proactive
company to supply just what we needed. In addition to
this, I was collaborating with many people in various
countries about specific radio programmes, listener
content and their format for taking overseas interviews.
What a learning curve that was. All the time, I was
being spurred along by knowing a wonderful reward could
be near...
My interviewee partner and I had
arrived at the charity premises by 7:10am. The witnesses
followed us in. Food and drink had been prepared and the
room had been made as homely as possible. One would have
sworn this man and I were coming to live there. In the
far corner, a row of tables had been positioned. Two
telephones sat on them, as well as paperwork to guide
us. Upon seeing this, I felt a tremendous sense of
gratitude to a handful of people who had helped over the
preceding months. What made me most appreciative,
though, was their foresight and belief that this world
record attempt deserved their efforts. These individuals
had my respect and I wanted to see this world record
succeed with impact. The event was minutes away from
beginning and helpers were pacing around the room,
setting the last of things up. It looked good.
We were almost ready when a test
discovered that one telephone was dead. Oh no! I
swallowed hard and turned away. Minutes later, after
much discussion, someone announced that both phones were
operating as usual. I was relieved, realising that the
results of 12 months' work was then totally dependent on
two slender phone lines.
The phone rang. My colleague and I were
in such a rush to get to pick up our receivers, we must
have looked funny. He went silent in mid-sentence,
cleared his throat and adjusted his jacket. I jumped in
panic and lunged toward the nearer desk with nervous
energy. The secretary was having to control our
situation calmly, and she did well: “Radio interviews
world record attempt. Thank you for calling...” Four
steps from her, my colleague and I had scrambled to the
handsets and pulled them to our ears. To our advantage,
we had both lived through many radio interviews, and
chatted away as if this was our hundredth incoming call
of the event. The countdown had begun.
The morning passed, then the
afternoon and evening. Pre-planned interviews were being
struck of the list every few minutes. Helpers were
seeking additional interest from within New Zealand,
Australia, the UK and the USA as well as from countries
we thought would be interesting to speak to like Namibia
and Indonesia. During periods of no interviews, those
present shifted around, stretching their legs, swapping
duties, preparing refreshments, and most importantly,
securing more interviews for my colleague and I. It was
tiring, but the results were beginning to show already.
Into the night we spoke. Actually,
we were providing daytime, noon, midnight, breakfast,
afternoon tea, pre-dawn and every other type of radio
show with content, depending on where in the world our
voices were being aired. My colleague remained
emotionally calm all the time. But not me; my excitement
was running away on me, making me hyperactive and
somewhat of an irritation to the others. I bet they were
all relieved when tiredness struck me in the early hours
of the morning.
The rate of interviews had slowed by
then, which was unplanned, since I'd purposefully spaced
interviews across the whole 24 hour period. However, not
every plan works out precisely as intended and we were
left with extended periods of non-activity. In some ways
this was to be appreciated because my colleague and I
had just had more-or-less the same conversation several
dozen times, each with slightly varied content. “Why are
you doing this?”, “What is the best part so far?”, What
is the worst part so far?”... It was then I thought that
having sent out a list of suggested questions may not
have been such a good idea after all.
Daylight came. My colleague and I
were both drowsy. But somehow, the energy and enthusiasm
in the room kept us alert enough to speak with the same
level of passion we'd begun with. The frequency of
interviewing stations calling in escalated. More than
once, the engaged phone line prevented callers from
reaching us, and some gave up. We weren't concerned; all
we wanted was the world record – at whatever cost.
It felt wonderful to receive a call
from one of the largest radio stations globally,
broadcasting into much of Africa, the Middle East,
central America, north America and Europe.. They were on
the line just for us? Wow, yes they were. That call got
my heart racing and soon I had renewed energy as if I
was about to start an Olympic race. Every interviewer
after that might have thought I was strangely intense,
and I'd have agreed. I'm not sure what causes the
pleasure from such media opportunities, although the
exhilaration of such an experience is incredibly
satisfying.
Soon after, 7am arrived and the
event wound to a close. The line was jammed around this
time, and we even took several presenters' calls just
after the 24 hours had lapsed. I was feeling fresh and
vibrant, but at the same time, tired and deserving of a
whole day's sleep. I'm sure my colleague felt the same
while I completed the last of the required admin. We
both knew - and everyone else who'd been in the room at
any point during the event knew - that this had been
massive global exposure for the charity. It was worth a
great deal both in financial terms and publicity-wise.
No matter how that world record is
described, I will always cherish it as my first virtual
round-the-world trip, and what a memorable one it was,
thanks to brilliant radio presenters all over the
planet. After this world record attempt, an estimate was
done on how many listeners would have heard the
charity's message. The figure stood at a staggering 10
million or more. I was aghast that my work – with great
help from others – had produced this widespread result.
Then the feedback began proving how extensively our
message had been received. A call came in from Belgium,
where an associate of my interviewee colleague had heard
us while driving; calls came in from the east coast of
Australia; and messages trickled in from across the
United States. As the subsequent weeks passed, more and
more comments were coming in from distant locations, and
we knew – with immense satisfaction – that our world
record attempt efforts had been a very worthwhile
pursuit.
Sadly, though, our message was heard
a little too widely; that's said with a touch of
sarcasm. A famous rock band from the southern United
States must have heard us on air, otherwise the news got
to them pretty quickly. Because soon after the charity
and I succeeded at this world record, the rock band
claimed it. If I'd commented at all, it was that this
proved how effective my work with the charity had been.
If our efforts got the interest of a rock music band – a
rock band! - so intently that they went out of their way
to try and beat us, then we did something with impact.
Was I disappointed? When I first
heard the world record was no longer in my hands, yes, a
little. But there may come a day when I hold that title
again. One can never tell what the future holds. What I
do know though, is there is always a chance: I have had
renowned wildlife protection groups asking me about it.