Forums > Social Discussion > world records

Posted: 7th Nov 2004
well, i don't think anyone here knows what the records are for fire breathing.



not many people here will endorse, let alone actively encourage anyone else doing fire breathing.



'having gotten the scars, boo-boo's and chemical pneumonia, i think i can say I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING, OK?' - generally scars are a result of not knowing what one is doing, but that's still being debated somewhere else, by someone that weaves in trippy metal patterns into their poi then wraps with them. but generally, scars, booboos etc mean you screwed up. i cut my finger slicing onions, i did it because i screwed up. i smack myself in the nuts with a set of poi, i screwed up. i get a scar/cut from something - i screwed up. there is a pattern forming here. and not that i screw up regularly. though that is true also.



In the end, however, it is entirely up to you. i have breathed myself, quite enjoy it, actually (though kerosene tastes like crap and fuel burps aren't good either), and will probably keep doing so. really, honestly, if you are a professional fire performer, i don't think that us telling you to be safe should be of as much concern as it has been.



enough of that, anyway. good luck, and if i see a record in there about someone that breathed a 10 metre pillar of flame, i can say 'i had a go at that guy'



edited cos i forgot something:



and the main reason we are so iffy about fire breathing is so that everyone is aware of the risks. you are, we've established that. however, maybe one of the 34 unregistered users isnt. and if a thread like this stops them from getting drunk and spitting some kerosene, then it's done its job.



Edited again cos i found something:



From pele's aricle- The longest one I know of to date is 28 feet high. I have managed to get some into the 18+ feet category. However, Pillars tend to average anywhere from 4 to 10 feet for most fire breathers.
EDITED_BY: MiG (1099847171)

"beg beg grovel beg grovel"
"master"
--FSA

"There was an arse there, i couldn't help myself"
--Rougie

Posted: 7th Nov 2004
of course, injuries happen. that's exactly what i'm saying... like the old adage says, "if you're going to play with fire... etc." and never has it been more true than with fire performers. the reason, i'm sure you realize by now, that i mention the scars, boo-boo's and chemical pneumonia is of course to state that i have experienced these risks firsthand. injuries from fire performance are a fact of life. everyone here should know this. if they don't, i realize there are plenty of people here who will inform them. the people who've never been injured in the slightest doing what we do, have either only done it once or twice (beginner's luck) or are not of this earth, or are lying. (please don't read this wrong... i'm not aiming it at anyone's statements... just stating it on point of fact.) by now i realize that everyone here is very concerned about the safety of those who get into fire performance without contemplating the risk. again, my self-defensive "soap box" has been retired on this matter, so again please do not misread this statement.



the current record was set in 1986 at 9.4 meters, or approximately 31 feet. i have this response from the guinness records site, but i have since deleted the email, or i would include his name.



edited because i felt it worth mentioning:



my personal record for height is approximately 20 fet or so. the longest time i've sustained the fire ( begin the blast, remove the torch, continue to expel the flame ) is 7.5 seconds. this trick is not a very high flame move, but the time it's perpetuated has a profound effect on the audience. so for height, i have a long way to go, whereas two of the members of my troupe have a REALLY good shot at the record.

Frederick the Reckless,
Troupe Leader,
Fire and Steel

Posted: 7th Nov 2004
for my favorite move, check out my troupe's yahoo group. in the files section, in a folder marked sneak previews, there is an animated gif titled wheel of fire.

i'd post it here, but it's a huge gif file.
http//groups.yahoo.com/group/fireandsteel

Frederick the Reckless,
Troupe Leader,
Fire and Steel

Posted: 8th Nov 2004
7.5 seconds is a long time! I'd on't think I've seen any jets longer than 5 or so. 20 feet ain't shbby either. You must have a good set of lungs!

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!

Posted: 9th Nov 2004
yes, i think i do have a good set of lungs, but my fiance', who is also a member of my troupe, is a more powerful firebreather than i. in fact i'm third highest in my troupe. she gets an average of 20 feet, and i think she's actually, though unofficially beaten the world record. no one else i've seen to date has matched my sustained blast record time... though in my troupe, i know for a fact i've got competition...

Frederick the Reckless,
Troupe Leader,
Fire and Steel

Posted: 11th Nov 2004
the official word from guinness:
The current record is:
Reg Morris blew a flame from his mouth to a distance of 9.4m (31ft)at The Miner's Rest, Chasetown, Staffordshire, UK on October 29,
1986.

Frederick the Reckless,
Troupe Leader,
Fire and Steel

Posted: 21st Jan 2006
and i stand corrected. the record i was asking guinness about is apparently the HIGHEST flame breathed... 13 feet 5 inches. i forget the name, but the record is current as of the latest edition.

Frederick the Reckless,
Troupe Leader,
Fire and Steel

Posted: 21st Jan 2006
Guinness stopped taking submissions for this (and other related categories) for over a decade because people were dying in their attempts.

Therefore the current records as recognized in the industry do not match those of Guinness.

Keep in mind that Guinness, when keeping accounts of records, actually sucks and is not the end all beat all. I know someone who kicks the crap out of the sword swallowing current record holder, and he has even done it on national television. Despite the fact that it was recorded and televised in front of millions of people, Guinness will not recognise it. The current holder doesn't even use real swords.
They are the same with many.

Last I knew, I held the female record. Placed in Feb 2001 at the Cold Rush event at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, NY at 36. something feet. And I will say, it was a freakin' stroke of luck with all of the environmental elements being just right (indoors was the largest factor).

Last I knew, and I won't say his name because he isn't on here and may not want it up, a performer I know from the midwest blew the roof off the men's category in 2000 with 39 ft. Again, the conditions were absolutely perfect and he wasn't attempting to do it.

For the longest sustained I believe the last I knew it was none other than Cirque Du Soliel creator Guy LaLiberte with a staggering 9 secs. He started in this business as a fire breather.

And anyone who attempts these records is stupid btw. We didn't try. It just happened with great conditions and years of performance work behind us.
To actually set out to try to do this is just a bad idea, imo.

Group and sustaining records are different.
The pro group I am part of wants to attempt some new stuff, never before seen, for a large gathering. If it ends up happening, I'll let you know. I know that some major media coverage is already being lined up for it though, so should be good. (How cryptic was that! )

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 21st Jan 2006

Written by: MiG

---

From pele's aricle- The longest one I know of to date is 28 feet high. I have managed to get some into the 18+ feet category. However, Pillars tend to average anywhere from 4 to 10 feet for most fire breathers.

---

While the average still is true. And the techniques in that article are still true....
That statistic is out of date because the article was written over 6 years ago. (wow...does that date me to HoP or what?)
My earlier statements take the place of it now.

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 21st Jan 2006
do you know anyone besides me who breathes fire through a cartwheel?

Frederick the Reckless,
Troupe Leader,
Fire and Steel

Posted: 21st Jan 2006

Written by: Frederick the Reckless

---

do you know anyone besides me who breathes fire through a cartwheel?

---

Let's see...

Me...several years ago. There's very little I can do that I have fire breathed through.
Several of the people I know who do martial arts or capoera and fire.
There are also several acrobats I know who do it from cartwheels, dive rolls though my favorite is from a standing back flip. I think it looks the most dynamic...has proven pretty dangerous though.

Hell I even know people who have fire breathed while sitting atop a couch on top of a bonfire (long story and def. not recommended).

You have to understand, I am close with a very creative bunch of psychopaths.

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 22nd Jan 2006
Finally someone gives me feedback on that question... thank you. for a long while i was worried that there was no vision left in the world for firebreathers. (by the way, i think i fall into that category of creative psychopaths.)

do you have video of any of these? i would like to compare styles, if i could. a backflip is impossible for me to learn anymore, as my left knee is roughly the structural integrity of egg custard at this point... but i would like to see the other moves.

Frederick the Reckless,
Troupe Leader,
Fire and Steel

Posted: 22nd Jan 2006
I don't anymore of me. I dunno about the others. Maybe Fireworks Dance might have some. I know they have some fire acrobats.

Trust me. There is a crapload of innovation going on, just not with the breathers on this bb. Like I said before, I am a member of a group of pro eaters, and some of them have stuff in the works that is making my eyes bug out with just the ideas! lol

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK