Exclusive
BLOOD PRESSURE
I broke 52 world records in ONE year – but I sliced myself with swords and smashed my mouth in the process
A MAN who smashed 52 Guinness World Records in one year has slashed himself with swords, twisted ankles, and given himself bloody lips in the pursuit of his goal.
After successfully breaking his first record in 2015, Idaho man David Rush has attempted to knock down 52 in a year since 2018.
7
7
7
He was finally successful in 2021 - despite being derailed by suddenly having to get his appendix out early in the year - to smash through a string of records and bring his yearly average up to one a week.
Rush started the year breaking the record for stacking wet bars of soap before going on to break records for the most apples, grapes, and marshmallows in the mouth; and the record for longest duration blindfolded while juggling.
Among the dozens of other records broken, Rush ran the fastest 100meters while blindfolded, wrapped up his neighbor in wrapping paper in the fastest time, and defended his ping pong balls in shaving foam record.
He also crossed the massive milestone of breaking 200 Guinness World Records when he beat what is considered one of the five hardest to take on: the most kiwis sliced in one minute using a samurai sword and while standing on a swiss ball.
Rush first decided to target a Guinness World Record as part of (science, technology, engineering, and math) education and encouraging kids not to give up despite failure.
Having grown up in Idaho, he told The Sun that he "wasn't even smart enough to get into the gifted program" but that through a "growth mindset and hard work" he managed to get himself into MIT to study electrical engineering.
Most read in The Sun
"I thought, 'How can I take this message to the next level? How can I create a tangible example, that if you set your mind to a goal, believe in yourself, and pursue with a passion, you could accomplish virtually anything?'"
His first planned attempt was to break the record for running the fastest half-mile while juggling.
Yet after two years of training, he hurt his knee and was forced to pivot to the longest length of time juggling while blindfolded.
While that went on to be his first record, it was far from his last injury.
"When I was practicing for juggling blindfolded I ran off the track a couple of times and like twisted my ankle," Rush told The Sun.
"And other records, with the knives or the swords, I've sliced myself a couple of times."
Yet he added that "the most painful one this last year was actually the most apples caught in the mouth in one minute.
"To have my neighbor throwing apples me and if I missed by a little bit, it hits my lips and smashes into my gums," he explained.
"So I was bleeding quite a bit."
HARDEST CHALLENGE
Rush broke the 200 Guinness World Record threshold by slicing kiwis with a sword while on a swiss ball but he says that he believes that running and juggling while blindfolded has been his hardest challenge.
"I think the hardest one is probably the fastest 100-meter dash juggling blindfolded," he said.
"You have to put a blindfold on, start running, start juggling, accelerate and stay in the lane while juggling while blindfolded.
"It's hard, darn near impossible."
He said that while his mom gets a "little worried" at some of the more risky challenges, his wife is "very supportive" and their two young sons simply know no different.
"I started breaking records about the time the first was born," Rush said.
"And so my kids think I own the Guinness logo and they're like, 'oh, Guinness World Records that's Dad's thing.'"
After breaking his first record seven years ago, it took Rush several months before he was ready to attempt the next one.
But he then built up to break five in his second year and 20 the year after that.
RECORD RIVALRY
He had attempted 52 records a year since 2018 but lost out when some of his attempts were not successfully certified.
And the frantic pace with which he is now making attempts means that he is constantly practicing the skills needed to break a high number of records at any one time.
"I have a regular rivalry with several folks in the world that come after the record and then I go back and break them again, and then they take him back," Rush laughed.
"At any given point, I'm probably practicing the skills necessary for anywhere between 20 and 40 Guinness World Records," he added.
"Interspersed in that practice is the juggling, running, balancing, and trying to be efficient with my time.
"There are records for balancing things on the chin or the forehead and those all kind of go together. So it's about strength, endurance, and agility there."
"Everybody's got the same amount of time in the day," Rush said about cramming all the practice in.
"And you can choose to do what you want with the time and I try to make the most of it because I do have a full-time job in the technology world.
"But I do make time for practicing for Guinness World Records, and a lot of it is running, biking, or doing workouts to mainstream strength and speed."
FAMILY PRACTICE
Even his three and five-year-old sons are sometimes roped in to help.
"Keeping balloons in the air is one of the favorite ones with the kids because that's when they can actually do," Rush said.
"Now they're not trying to do three of them for an hour, but they're trying to do one of them for as long as they can."
Rush wrote a book in 2020 named in which he detailed his journey to becoming a Guinness World Record holder and what he's learned along the way.
He says that it has helped him learn how to deal with failure and to get better the next time around.
"On most of them, when I try a new skill, I almost always fail the first time. I'm horrible at it," he said.
"But I recognize with a growth mindset and this belief that I can get better, I know I can. And so I put the practice energy and effort in.
"I've written a book about the things I do that helped make me successful like having deliberate practice, approaching each new record with a growth mindset, pursuing with grit, and then getting immediate feedback on what I'm doing.
"That has helped me be successful."
However, there's still one record that has evaded him: the fastest half-mile while juggling, the record that was due to be his very first attempt before hurting his knee back in 2015.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"After I got that injury I've never revisited it and then," Rush explained.
"The other one is the most water moved by hand in 30 seconds and that's one that shouldn't be super hard but it's been disqualified multiple times for technicalities."
7
7
7
7
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
Email us at [email protected] or call 212 416 4552.
Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at
Topics