If you live in a house with at least one bookshelf, some of the books on that shelf are most likely written by famous authors. Although you may not know what those authors look like, you recognise their names. Some authors are a step higher on the fame ladder, with recognisable faces. And some are so successful that their wealth rivals that of the Royal Family!
As an author several rungs down the ladder, I have only been recognised by name once, when a checkout worker noticed the name on my credit card matched the name of the author of her brother’s favourite book. Even though they are called royalties, the payments I have received for my book sales fall way below what the lowliest member of the aristocracy would pay for a pair of shoes. So like many authors and creative professionals in other fields, I also have a day job. I’ve mentioned this before, so today let’s chat about the weirdest author day job I’ve stumbled across yet: Guinness World Record Holder.
Technically, being a Guinness World Record Holder isn’t a job, as it’s not necessarily a paid gig. It could be described as a hobby, a passion, or a seriously misguided use of time. However, I am proud to say that a writer friend of mine, Nick Manning, trained very hard for over six months and is now the proud holder of not one but two world records!
I met Nick way back last decade when we and fellow writer friend and all-round good guy Lee McGowan were selected to write some locative fiction stories for Story City. Locative fiction is a story you read on a mobile device in the place where it happens. I had an excellent day walking around with Nick, Lee and Emily Craven – the brains behind the operation – checking out the three locations our stories would be set in. At that time I had no idea Nick would become a multiple world record holder.
So what are the world records that Nick broke?
Fastest time to put on 10 pairs of undies
Putting on the most pairs of undies in 30 seconds
It’s something we all do every day, just not as fast or as often as Nick.
Needless to say, the time Nick saves getting dressed in the morning is put towards his latest writing project.