A man with close ties to Vancouver Island has set a Guinness World Record for having the most clothes pegs on his face in one minute, in a feat he’s calling “outlandish” and downright “crazy.”
It’s always “been kind of a lifelong goal, a bucket list thing, to beat a Guinness World Record,” said Jake Hillhouse, 25, in an interview with CHEK News.
On Dec. 7, at Society Barbershop in Maple Bay, near Duncan, he set the record after clamping 52 pegs onto his face. That’s one more peg than the previous record, which a man in Italy set back in December 2012.
Hillhouse says he was scouring the internet to find a “funny” record he could try to beat.
“And I came across this one and trained for a couple weeks, and that’s how it came about,” the YouTuber said.
So, after his application to Guinness was approved, he flew to the Island to attempt the record because that’s where his best friend and film editor Colton Davis lives. The record attempt must be validated, filmed and documented, and then the proof sent to Guinness.
At least four other people also have to be in attendance — two timekeepers and two witnesses, explains Hillhouse. “There’s a lot of rules that they give you and guidelines that you have to follow.”
It was no easy achievement.
“We had a couple training sessions that latest for at least an hour, and I was only getting around 40 to 41 clothes pegs,” recalled Hillhouse.
“And then, when we did the official attempts, which were a total of four hours and 75 attempts, I started getting into the 44 to 48 range, and then we finally got 52.”
Hillhouse, who lives near Toronto, Ont., is a big fan of the Island.
“(Davis) lives in Duncan, so I’m on the Island fairly often,” he said, adding that he flies in “seven to eight times a year, at the very least.”
Now, Hillhouse is awaiting a response from Guinness. It was roughly a week ago when he sent in the evidence, and it takes up to two weeks to hear back.
It was an experience he sums up as “very cool” despite the minor injuries.
“The pain that came with it is irrelevant to me now. There are a few blemishes on my face, and there were some blood marks and stuff, but I recovered quickly,” laughed Hillhouse.
“Nothing too serious.”
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Ethan Morneau
