Alastair Galpin (born 1974,

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

, South Africa) is the 2nd biggest Guinness World Records breaker of the 2000s decade, breaking 38 World Records, behind

Ashrita Furman Ashrita Furman (born Keith Furman, September 16, 1954) is a ''Guinness World Records'' record-breaker. As of 2017, Furman has set more than 600 official Guinness Records and currently holds 530 records, thus holding the Guinness world record for th ...

. He immigrated to New Zealand in 2002, and says that his career in Record Breaking was inspired when he met champion rally driver, Simon Evans, in Kenya in 1998.

World records

Alastair Galpin has broken over 85 world records for feats including having the most

snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastro ...

s on the face (eight in 10 seconds) and the most rubber-bands stretched over the face (62 in one minute). He also holds the most

stamp Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...

s licked (57 in one minute), loudest clap, and the fastest time to peel and eat three kiwifruit. Galpin is also the holder of the Guinness World Record for the most hugs in one hour in Civic Square,

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

on 13 July 2007 (624 hugs) and achieved three new Guinness World Records at the

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

Day 2009 for Champagne-cork spitting, coin blowing, and Malteser (malt ball) spitting. Along with

New Zealander New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Don Purdon, Galpin commenced an attempt at the longest hand-shake at 8 pm EST on Friday 14 January 2011 in New York Times Square. After 33 hours, three minutes, they had smashed the existing record by more than 17 hours and shared the record with Nepalese brothers Rohit and Santosh Timilsina.

Charitable awareness raising

Galpin seeks to raise awareness – and sometimes raise funds – for social and environmental causes. He uses various methods to spread knowledge of environmental issues, including referring to issues of global concern in his website's stories, and during his motivational storytelling in schools. His opinion piece, titled 'Human Application of Consciousness' – while not directly related to world record-breaking, explains Galpin's drive to contribute to the struggle for a truly sustainable future for mankind and other life on earth. He does so by collaborating with non-profits and organisations on projects of varying degrees of social and environmental importance. Among his more noteworthy charitable efforts are the greatest height to drop gambling machines as a statement against gambling harm, the largest bowl of soup (shared) to show healthy eating in disadvantaged communities, and the most radio interviews in a suspended cage to bring media attention to the issue of problem gambling.

Unusual feats

His activities were played down by some US websites covering "most ridiculous" and "least impressive" world records and he has also attracted US television coverage for similar reasons. Among other print media, The Citizen has featured his work.

References

External links

Official website of Alastair Galpin

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galpin, Alastair Living people 1974 births World record holders