There was a �Whole Lotta Shakin� Going On� at a
Brampton mall this weekend, as professional
world record breaker Suresh Joachim successfully
set a record of 55 hours for longest non-stop
Elvis impersonation. He beat an already existing
record of 43 hours and 11 minutes.
At 3:30 Saturday afternoon, after shaking and
singing and wiggling his hips for three days,
and undoubtedly two long nights, he still had
the energy to finish off with an impressive
finale, said his wife and biggest fan Christa
Joachim.
�Towards the end he was performing really well,�
said Christa, who took three days off work to
cheer him on during mall hours. �He even kept
dancing for the last full hour,� she said,
adding that a sizable crowd had gathered to see
him reach the record.
It was a different story Thursday morning when
he began the attempt, dressed in a white suit
with gold trim, a wig, and large sunglasses.
Considerate of the early 8 a.m start time, he
warmed up the crowd and began the challenge with
one of Elvis�s softer ballads, the �Heartbreak
Hotel. Some of the early morning shoppers looked
at him blankly, others simply ignored him. But
Joachim -- aka Elvis -- kept shakin�. Even mall
security guards and record observers had the
pleasure of being serenaded through the night,
�He was being watched, so he couldn�t sleep or
cheat,� said Christa.
Joachim sang a total of 41 songs over and over
again during the record-breaking attempt - the
only Elvis songs that he had learnt in
preparation for the event.
�He didn�t even know any Elvis songs when he
decided to do this,� said Christa. �So he had to
practice these ones lot,� she said, her newfound
disdain for Elvis songs clearly evident. And how
was the record holder celebrating his new title
Saturday night? By sleeping. �He�s exhausted,�
she said. �He crashed as soon as he came home.�
This is the 53rd record Joachim has broken since
he began challenging world records in 1996.
Other titles he holds include crawling non-stop
for 56 kilometres, and standing on one foot for
76 hours. But this is not the end, he�s already
started planning the next one - a 48-hour guitar
marathon.
Posted: 29th. January 2008