The English-language paper Iran Daily has conducted an interview with the whiz.
Below you can find excerpts of the interview:
IRAN DAILY: Could you tell us about your records?
HOB-DARVISH: Three times I juggled while going up nearly 1,860 stairs of Tehran’s Milad Tower. I did it with a soccer ball, tennis ball and marble. I juggled soccer ball 30 hours straight. With a tennis ball I juggled 10 hours which was around 70,000. I am the record holder as I juggled a marble for five hours without a break.
In Kish (an island in southern Iran), I juggled a ball in a 22km distance in six hours. In Darbandsar Ski Resort, I juggled 2.2km on ice.
Q: Which of your records was registered in the Guinness Book of World Records?
A: In the presence of Guinness representative, I juggled with a tennis ball for five and a half hours. He told me the record of speed juggling with tennis ball is 60 times per minute but I juggled it 144 times in a minute to set a new record. Now, I can juggle it almost 180 times a minute.
Q: Have you done anything new recently?
A: I have started juggling with fruits such as orange, apple, lemon, walnut and pomegranate. Juggling a ball is not appealing to me anymore. I set a new record as I juggled a ball 6,527 times on a treadmill.
Q: How does training help you make success?
A: I think setting a new record needs extensive trainings. I woke up early in the morning – 2 a.m. – to train for registering a 30-hour record. It is tough because you have to stand on one foot for a long time.
Q: What other trainings are needed?
A: The concentration trainings and aerobic exercises are very important. I also run regularly and play for the artists’ football team.
Q: Who is your rival?
A: Previously, a Polish and a Briton were my rivals. I broke their records. The British juggler had set a 26-hour mark and I improved the record to 30 hours. Right now, I am able to set all the juggling records for Iran.
Q: Do the officials support you?
A: I spend lots of my time on juggling but I don’t get any money from the federation. Other countries pay due attention to such records. In my recent visit to Turkey, they made me attractive offers, but I refused to accept as I want to set records for my own country.
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Tehran, Nov 21, IRNA – As a young Iranian footballer Mehdi Hob-Darvish has set numerous world records for juggling and his name has been registered in the Guinness Book of World Records.
