Some people will do anything to become famous. Why else would they appear in Made In Chelsea or make Vine videos like this?
But while airing your relationship laundry on national TV or deliberately hurting yourself for a few thousand views might seem extreme, it’s nothing like as extreme as what these guys got up to: Inventing (and then breaking) some seriously random records for their 15 minutes of fame.
Pioneering geniuses or absolute nut jobs? We’ll leave you to decide…
The Man Who Ate Bikes for Breakfast
In this age of fad diets and excessive male grooming it’s reassuring to see a real guy who doesn’t care what people think and chows down on whatever he fancies – even if that’s a bike.
Michel Lotito took to eating strange objects at a young age to impress his friends, regularly dining on lightbulbs, screws and TVs.
“HE REGULARLY DINES ON LIGHTBULBS, SCREWS AND TVS.”
‘Mr Eats All’ even managed to consume an entire Cessna 150 aeroplane over a period of 10 years and has put paid to 18 bicycles – making him the world’s most prolific (and probably only) bicycle muncher.
His unique approach to his two wheel meals sees him snipping the bikes into bite sized chunks and washing them down with plenty of water.
Unfortunately Lotito died in 2007 aged 57. His doctors said it was natural causes but surely his diet must have had something to do with it?
The Tallest Bike Ever Ridden
According to the Guinness World Records website, the tallest bicycle ever ridden measured 18.25ft and was piloted by Terry Goertzen in 2004. But this one blows the official record out of the water.
Apparently Goertzen had to ride in excess of 300 meters for his attempt to count, which is why Michael Mooney doesn’t have it. But he surely deserves some recognition for this effort?
The Highest Vertical Drop on a Bike
Some people try to ice skate uphill, some people think they can talk to animals and Wayne Mahomet likes to drop off stupendous heights.
The bonkers former trials champion holds the Guinness World Record for the longest vetical drop on a bike, with a bone crunching descent of more than 4 metres. Skip to 4.10 to see it in all its glory.
“WAYNE ADMITS IT WAS ‘A BIT OF IMPULSIVE’ TO ATTEMPT THE CHALLENGE, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING HE’D SUSTAINED A NASTY SHIN INJURY.”
Wayne admits it was “a bit of impulsive” to attempt the challenge, especially considering he’d had almost no practice and sustained a nasty shin injury earlier on the day of the attempt.
However, if he could stick this effort, Dale Armstrong looks like he could give the current king of the drop a run for his money.
What do you reckon, is that higher?
The World’s Smallest Wheelie
They say that good things come in small packages, but this is ridiculous.
Showman Bobby Hunt is the proud owner of one of the world’s smallest bikes. Measuring just 7.75 inches tall and under 3 inches long it’s been built by hand and uses the seat from a child’s bike.
“THE BIKE MEASURES JUST 7.75 INCHES TALL”
Yet the size of the bike isn’t what’s important here but rather what might be the world’s most miniature bike trick.
Although he’s not reaching these sorts of distances it’s pretty impressive, specially as he’s doing it with half a hand on the handle bars. Apparently he sometimes does it with no hands at all.
Maybe he’s been giving this guy some pointers?
Either way, popping the front wheel on a bike that miniature is pretty awesome…
The Most Candles Put Out Using a Bicycle
Benito Ros Charral has made his way into the record books with the ultimate way to show off at your birthday – snuffing candles with a trials bike.
The focused Spanish rider took a leaf out of Danny Mackaskill’s playbook using super-precise control to put out 22 candles in one minute back in 2010.
You can check out some of Benito’s work above as he snuffs 30 candles in around a minute on the Game Fever show in China.
But although Benito is also the holder of the current World Record for the highest bunny hop we still wouldn’t trust him with our birthday cake.