Ashrita Furman proved that it is not necessary to have unique physical data to get into the Guinness Book of Records. It became not only his favorite book, but also a testament to his achievements – 600 records, which are constantly being updated, and 200 remained unsurpassed. Not everyone will be able to skip 11 km, leading a tiger on a leash, run with chicken eggs in spoons, twist a 4-meter hoop and walk 5 km with it, carry a cue on his finger 11 km, and much more. He doesn’t stop there, finding new unbroken records. And this is not only a path to fame for him, but also an opportunity to test his strength and surpass himself again, as his spiritual mentor taught him.
Ashrita Furman’s first record
A person chooses in life what he considers important for himself: he learns, develops, imitates something, and sometimes it is influenced by someone, a person who becomes his teacher. Keith Furman’s life changed after he met spiritual mentor Sri Chinmoy, who invited him to participate in a 24-hour bicycle race held in New York’s Central Park in 1978.
The whale didn’t have any special physical qualities. He was a diligent student with no special achievements in sports, so a long marathon was beyond his capabilities. However, this is exactly what was taught in the teachings of his spiritual mentor: nothing is impossible, and you need to constantly improve. Keith Furman decided to participate in the bike race and was the third to arrive at the finish line. For him, it was an indication that he could do more than he thought. From that moment on, his goal was to test himself in something new, to set a record that would be recorded in his favorite book, the Guinness Book of Records. After his first victory over himself, he took on a new name, Ashrita, meaning “one who hopes for the refuge of God.”
Furman’s Records
In 1979, Ashrita Furman set his first official record, recorded in the Guinness Book of Records – 27,000 jumps on the spot. And then, as they say, it went and went. His list includes records for somersaults at a distance of 19,312.25 m. However, there was a slight problem with them, and this distance was difficult for Ashrita. He was training on the track, on flat terrain, and he had to set a record on hilly terrain, which caused an imbalance that made his body feel sick. Because of this condition, he had to make small stops to get back to normal. Furman set several more speed records in the “somersaults” section: he was able to complete a mile in 19 minutes and 11 seconds, and completed 1,330 somersaults in an hour.Furman’s records.
Ashrita’s “track record” of achievements is long. For example, he walked on stilts, covering 37.18 km on them in 12 hours and 27 minutes, climbed 1,899 steps on them in 57 minutes and 51 seconds, and jumped on them 238 times in a minute. He jumped into the hopscotch 434 times a day, and a maximum of 33 times in an hour; he walked with a bottle of milk on his head for more than 13 km. Underwater, he juggled surrounded by sharks, but this record did not take place because of a shark that pushed his ball. But then he set a record by jumping rope underwater – 900 times in an hour.
He carried a firefighter on his back, twisted a four-meter hula hoop, made a seven-meter cake out of popcorn with caramel in two weeks weighing almost 5.5 tons, ate jelly sticks at speed (0.450 grams per minute), pushed an orange through his nose in 22 minutes and 11 seconds, lit 48 523 candles in the pie, which were supposed to burn at the same time.
He sliced apples in the air with a samurai sword (27 pieces in a minute), tore T-shirts at speed, set a record for eating kiwis, and climbed through a tennis racket (three times in 8.1 seconds). Visit. A F R I N I K . C O M . For the full article. He ran a mile in 9 minutes and 29 seconds, holding a spoon with an egg in his mouth, and also set other records with them: he played table tennis with eggs, caught them at speed (75 pieces per minute), placed them on the tip, and broke them with one hand.
Furman set a record for pulling apples out of the water. It would seem that this was strange, but he caught them in his mouth, ate grapes with a teaspoon at speed, carried a brick weighing 4.1 kg 136,874.7 m, and much more. He walked the distance with jumps, holding the reins on which he led the tiger. In 2005, he walked 11 km in Egypt, holding a billiard cue on his finger. It’s hard to even imagine, let alone embody, because, as the folk proverb says, “even a needle on the road is a burden,” and here’s a whole cue. It is difficult to list all his achievements, because there are already 600 of them, and the Ashrita does not stop there.
Records as a goal in life
At what price are Ashrita records given? In fact, when the record is already being videotaped, it doesn’t seem difficult what Ashrita is doing, but long weeks of training have contributed to this. He admitted that not everything goes smoothly, and some records have to be worked out for months. For example, to set a record with a lawnmower that had to be held with his chin, he walked 71.5 meters with it every day for six months. Delays may also be of a technical nature, because the application for setting a record and approval have to wait six months.
When he gets his way, he picks up his favorite Guinness Book of World Records again and searches for an area he hasn’t been to yet, what interests him, and what he will do. Furman sets records every week, and he has long achieved one goal – he has set records on every continent. He traveled to more than 40 countries to set another record. In China, there is a record in running on stilts (in 39 minutes 56 seconds 8 km), in the USA – hula hoop rotation underwater (2 minutes 38 seconds), on the Eiffel Tower – a record for squatting in an hour, at Stonehenge – standing on a Swiss ball, in Bali – swimming on land.
Ashrita claims that his goal is not to become famous, but self-development, defining the limits of his capabilities. He admits that he didn’t succeed, but he doesn’t despair, because he knows what to strive for. For example, he never managed to keep 77 glasses on his chin. They were constantly falling and crashing, but he thought of something else and did it. Some records look funny, but Furman is not afraid to look funny. He claims that he likes to be the first in something, and this is not about ego; this is the purpose of life.
Furman is a businessman who runs a grocery store, which he opened at the age of 28. His passion for records does not bring him income, so he also needs to work, but even at the age of 62, he is not going to stop coming up with new records. He remains the only person who has set 100 records in one month, and he also has more than 200 that have not been beaten by anyone. Considering that the Record Book is big, Ashrita has something to strive for.
