This Is What Happens When People Cheer For Each Other

You may end up in the Guinness book of records. Or you'll just be a part of something truly amazing.

I had an entirely different newsletter coming out today, believe me.

However, last Thursday, I saw an opportunity to do something wild and weird. And by Friday afternoon I found myself in a room with six strangers, fully engaged in a Guinness world record attempt.

I haven’t done something that random since my travel blogging days when I’d wake up in a different country, eat a normal breakfast and by lunchtime, find myself in an underground cave so obscure that if I had died nobody would’ve found the body.

You can’t make this kind of stuff up on a Thursday…or ANY day!

Here’s how it happened and why it turned into one of the most worthwhile human experiences to participate in.

Last Thursday, I found a curious Facebook post in a former coworker’s feed. Her post read something like this:

“Is anyone free tomorrow from 3:30 to 5:30? My friend, Pineapple Hoops, is competing for a Guinness world record in hoola hooping with her bum. She needs a stranger to attend as an impartial witness to sign off when she’s done.”

First of all….you will NEVER see that Facebook status…like, ever again. 😂

I felt in my bones that I needed to be this stranger if for no other reason than to see what hoola-hooping with a bum looks like. So, I sent a message asking if she had found anyone yet.

As luck would have it, the spot was still open and she said she’d pass on my info.

Later that afternoon Miss Pineapple herself called me gushing with gratitude that I was willing to take time out of my life to help her out. I have to admit though, my willingness was less about her and more about the oddity of it all…at first.

Pineapple Hoops, later referred to as Piney, sent me all the details through Whatsapp and that was that. I was to show up the next day and be an ‘official’ stranger.

Image courtesy of Pineapple Hoops Facebook page

On Friday afternoon I was the first to show up at the given location. Right after me, another woman arrived identifying herself as a friend of Piney’s. Next, a young man in a bowtie walked in and introduced himself as “the other stranger.” Apparently, Guinness requires two neutral parties.

Then, Miss Hoops herself walked in. She was a petite woman with a brilliant smile and a bright spirit, and easily identifiable as the only person wearing pineapple-printed leggings.

🍍🍍

Lastly, her mother and two young men arrived. Her mom was adorable and SO kind to bring a full spread of finger food for everyone in attendance. The young man with her mom was a 24-year-old Ukrainian transplant who had only been in Canada for one week. Piney’s family is hosting him until he finds his footing here in our country.

Ummm helloooo…can I just say my heart exploded a little over this? Not only the part where they’re helping out a young Ukrainian but that he chose to show up and support her dream.

The other man was her friend doubling as a tech guy who would set up no less than five cameras at five different angles in the room. The event would be live-streamed on Piney’s Twitch channel as well as recorded for the Guinness attempt.

Did you know that if you want an official Guinness representative to attend it’ll cost you TEN GRAND?! And here I was doing it for veggies, hummus dip, and Oreo brownies. I think I’m in the wrong line of work.

If you don’t wish to pay the Guinness price you can simply follow strict requirement guidelines to serve as proof of the attempt, hence the five cameras, two stop-watches and two strangers.

Once again, Piney gushed with gratitude that we strangers gave up a Friday afternoon for her. I’ll admit, once I was in the room I felt pretty excited and nervous. A Guinness record for hoola hooping is probably the closest you’ll ever get to the Olympics unless you’re a rhythmic gymnast.

I shamelessly wanted her to NAIL it!

Image courtesy of Pineapple Hoops Facebook page

Once the room, the tech stuff, and the witnesses were set up and ready to go, Piney’s nerves exposed themselves. She placed a pair of noise-cancelling headphones over her ears, did a few stretches, took several deep breaths and signalled that she was ready to start.

The current world record was 31 minutes and 25 seconds and after I’d seen what hoola hooping with your butt looked like I couldn’t even begin to imagine being in a squat position for that long.

Click below to watch her do it in practice.

Just to clarify, there are two world records: One for the longest time and one for the most rotations in a set amount of time. She opted for the longest time.

Okay…enough of the preamble.

There we were…six humans in a silent room watching one adorable human ‘boop’ her butt off (literally). We all wore our own headphones so that we could hear the live stream commentary while keeping the space quiet for her.

Aside from her breathing, the room was dead silent. We watched as the two stop-watches and digital timer on the Twitch screen rolled on. (The actual live stream can be played back right here but beware…it’s two hours long)

My most awesome realization…

The number of people who tuned in to watch the livestream was simply amazing. Even more awesome was watching beautifully supportive comments flood the chat feed. Piney could neither read them nor hear anything happening on Twitch but we could.

Hundreds of viewers were liking, subscribing on the spot, sending money gifts, etc. It was wonderful to see such an outpouring of support. I have no idea how Twitch works but I’m assuming the viewers were from all over the world.

She had SO many people in her corner, rooting for her success!

We should all be so lucky.

So, how did it all pan out?

By Guinness rules, Piney had 90 minutes to pull off as many attempts as she needed.

Her first attempt lasted just over 15 minutes before one of the floor fans became an obstacle. Motion naturally carried her around the room and she just couldn’t steer away from the fan without losing herself.

Her second attempt went over 17 minutes before she lost momentum.

Her third and fourth attempts were both quite short. My best guess was physical exhaustion coupled with being inside her own head from the first two attempts. She did mention that her lower back was having spasms after the two longer attempts.

After four tries she admirably opted to call it quits. Combined time for all attempts went well over the current record…she had to be exhausted.

Tears welled up in her eyes yet she still held her smile as we six clapped in support of her efforts. Her mom went in for the warm motherly hug that every girl wants when she needs reassurance and comfort.

I couldn’t help it…tears welled up in my eyes too. I was so proud of her and didn’t even know her.

One would think that a failed world record attempt would be the biggest letdown ever. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Her mother, her friends, her fans and a bunch of strangers were all bursting with pride that she even tried.

We were all fully invested in her success not just as a competitor but as a human being giving it her all. It made no difference to any of us that she didn’t make it this time.

The point is that she SHOWED UP for herself and in turn, everyone else showed up for her.

The best part? The space we occupied that afternoon had a glass wall so anyone on the outside could see in. Naturally, some spectators gathered.

At the end when we all exited the room, a little girl handed the following note to Piney.

😭😭😭

And there you have it. Sage advice from a child - STAY WILD and go big...because you never know who you’re inspiring.

Note: This post was written with express permission by “Pineapple Hoops,” who did not use her real name for the event.

Have you ever witnessed a world record attempt? (Not on TV but in real life)

Have you ever been told you’re an inspiration? How did it make you feel?