Craig Glenday is sitting in his home study, sipping tea from his branded Guinness World Records mug, surrounded by bookshelves that are stacked with editions from the last 70 years.
A fan of GWR since childhood, Craig bravely rocked up at the London head office 23 years ago, with a portfolio under his arm, after hearing about a web editor vacancy. His enthusiasm and knowledge on ‘a little bit of everything’ secured him the job. ‘It’s worth being bullish,’ the now 52-year-old reflects to Metro, and that advice applies to those who fill the pages, too.
For seven decades, people have done the weird, wacky, and wonderful to get a mention, and Craig, who worked his way up to GWR editor-in-chief, has a fondness for every one of them.
‘The Olympians are held in such high regard, and yet we’ve seen a lot of record holders who are much more impressive.
‘They just do stuff on space hoppers or in sacks,’ he adds with a smile.
‘People may think, “Well, that’s a bit weird”, but I think it’s weird that people don’t want to break records. Recording things is a core defining factor of being a human; no other animal does it.’
It’s certainly an attractive prospect to many — there are more than 40,000 applications every year, and around 5% will make it into the pages. Craig himself set the record for the longest stretching of a curly wurly to 90 cm in 2005, which has since been smashed by Tracy Jane Sullivan’s 426.2 cm. He’s fine with it, by the way, telling us that records are meant to be broken.
Now Craig is behind the scenes, his favourite part of the job is moderating attempts. ‘It’s such an honour to be present at so many life-changing moments in people’s lives,’ he says.
He has shed many tears in the process, from watching Paul Harnett complete a marathon in ski boots to witnessing the tallest man, Sultan Kösen, being gifted his first pair of jeans.
However, his favourite record belongs to Michael Carmichael, who painted the most layers on a softball to create the world’s largest ball of paint. ‘It was ultimately pointless. I love that someone thought to do it,’ he offers as an explanation.
There is truly no shortage of stories for Craig to tell over a pint in the pub, including how GWR, which has now sold over 150 million copies in more than 100 countries, began. In the early 1950s, Sir Hugh Beaver, then-managing director of the Guinness Brewery, attended a shooting party in County Wexford.
‘The group wondered what the fastest game bird in Europe was, but there was not a single book that could answer,’ Craig explains. ‘He thought to create a book and place it in pubs so lively conversations like this could be solved.’ The books kept getting stolen, so they began selling them, and the rest is history. (GWR never did tackle the original question, as their focus is on world records, but the red-breasted merganser would be the most likely answer.)
It’s been 70 years since that first edition, but Craig has no doubt it can continue for 70 more.
‘We reflect what happens in the world, so always will be relevant,’ he argues. Craig poetically adds: ‘Sometimes you just need to see the world from a slightly different angle to get a better, clearer picture of what’s going on. Humans stay the same at their core; we want to improve and do interesting things.
‘One of the best things about GWR is we say it’s good to be different, it’s something to be proud of, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.’
Here, Metro chats to GWR holders…
James Goss, 30, holds the record for the most face flesh tunnels
‘I was given the record in March 2023 for having 17 tunnels in total – four under the bottom lip, three on the lips, two at the corners of my mouth, four on the nose, two on my cheek, one septum, and one philtrum. The person I beat was… myself. I set the record of 15 in 2022, and before that, I held it with 14 from 2020. I’m finally happy with what I have and won’t be getting any more now.
What is a flesh tunnel?
A flesh tunnel is created by slowly stretching a standard piercing over time with plug jewellery. It leaves people with a hollow, tube-shaped body piercing.
Having official Guinness acknowledgement makes me feel validated and cool, especially when people recognise me. They are genuinely interested and want to celebrate who I am, which is special to me as I have autism, ADHD, Tourette’s and OCD, so I’ve always felt very different and had an overwhelming sense of not belonging. I sadly spent many years trying to be the kind of person that I thought other people wanted me to be. It led me on a dark path, and I became addicted to drugs.
I’ve learnt that my differences are my strengths, which meant I took power in making myself look different. I am happy to say that I’ve now been clean for over three years. If someone else takes the record, I’ll be excited for them because it doesn’t erase how it’s changed my sense of identity and all the experiences I’ve had, such as TV shows and speaking with Metro.
The only slight downside is that I’ve had to become accustomed to the maintenance. I take them all out every couple of days to clean, and I sleep without my cheek tunnels in, so they get rest time. If I don’t, then saliva leaks out of my cheeks, but it’s all worth it to be a record holder.’
Liz West, 40, is the owner of the largest Spice Girls memorabilia collection
‘I now have more than 5000 Spice Girls pieces, but it all began on a Friday evening in 1996. I was sitting in front of the TV with my parents watching Top of the Pops, as we did every week, when the band appeared on screen singing Wannabe. They had powerful energy, and I thought, “That’s for me”.
Like any fan, I wanted all the stuff. I got their album and I would go to the corner shop with my £3 pocket money every week to buy three £1 packs of their postcards. It brought me joy, and so I began scouring shops — this was pre-Internet — for more stuff.
When I was armed with a student loan, I would go out dancing with a pint of water in my hand so that I could spend more money on expanding my collection. I don’t know how much I’ve spent in total, as it’s not important; what’s important is how pleasurable it’s been. I remember excitedly finding four out of the five Spice Girls dolls reduced from £19.99 to £5 at Hamley’s. It took me around eight more years to get the missing Sporty Spice from eBay, but it was so satisfying when I did.
I’ve been able to meet three of the Spice Girls, starting with Emma Bunton, whom I waited for outside a radio station. I looked at her and thought, “You have no idea how I’ve dedicated myself to The Spice Girls”. Mel B was generous with her feedback about my collection, and Mel C sent one of her costumes as a wedding gift after my husband contacted her.
Holding the GWR has allowed me to exhibit my collection nationally and internationally, which is great, as I have never seen the point in keeping it in boxes. I want to share the nostalgia. I’ve been able to use the income to fund my art education and create work — I make pieces using natural and artificial light. Being a collector has ultimately allowed me to work full-time as an artist, which has always been my dream.’
A few more GWR holders…
The shortest woman is Jyoti Amge, who measured 62.8 cm in Nagpur, India.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers in France is the world’s richest woman. She has an estimated worth of $73.6 billion. She is the only daughter of Liliane Bettencourt, who was one of the principal shareholders of beauty company L’Oréal.
PSY’s Gangnam Style became the first video of any kind to receive one billion views online.
The official land-speed record, 763.035 mph, was set by Andy Green from the UK in the Thrust SSC. It was the first car to break the sound barrier and was powered by two Rolls-Royce Spey 202 jet engines.
Colin Furze, 45, has achieved six records — fastest pram, fastest dodgem, longest motorbike, fastest mobility scooter, fastest toilet, and biggest bonfire
‘I used to be a Flatland BMX rider, but when I turned 26, all my mates had stopped, so I gave it up too. It left a hole in my life, and for some reason, I thought that building the world’s biggest bonfire would fill it. I bought a pickup truck and spent just over a year collecting 25,000 wooden pallets, which I set light to on my birthday, October 14, in 2006.
As someone who read the GWR book as a young boy, it was undeniably exciting to get the record. Back then, I had to create everything in my bedroom as my dad’s shed was off-limits. When I got my own, it felt like the shackles had been taken off. I can spend hours in there and not realise it until I look out the window and see it’s dark.
I caught the bug for GWR, and so a year after the bonfire, I built the world’s longest motorbike at 14 metres, and next up was the fastest mobility scooter, which broke the national speed limit. It was a catalyst for me to quit my day job as a plumber to focus purely on YouTube, where I document my processes.
When you break a record, it feels like everybody is talking about it for a short period. That never gets old, even after six times, so I want to do more. I hope to do a channel crossing, which will be my biggest physical challenge. Luckily, my partner Charlotte and our kids are used to it. My son actually just presumed this is what every dad did until he went to school and realised how unusual things are at home.’
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Josie.Copson@metro.co.uk
Share your views in the comments below.
