Young Canadian Guinness World Record holder says no skill is too niche

Canadian Saul Hafting barely graduated high school when he set a Guinness World Record.

Hafting is 21 years old now, but back in 2021, when he was just 16, the Nova Scotian set the record for the most Rubik’s Cubes solved while on a pogo stick — 211, to be exact.

It sounds like a totally niche skill, doesn’t it? Which might explain why, in the Guinness World Records 2027 book, which dropped on Sept. 8, Hafting still holds the title.

Speaking with Daily Hive, Hafting explains that he was inspired to apply for Guinness World Records after watching Chinese speedcuber Xia Yan earn a title for the fastest time to solve one Rubik’s Cube on a pogo stick, at just 9.613 seconds.

Essentially, Hafting thought: “Let me break the world record for the most, not the fastest.”

Growing up in the super-small town of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, which has a population of about 530, Hafting has been passing the time and finding entertainment in speedcubing since he was 11 years old.

And while holding a Guinness World Record sounds like it should come with a pretty sweet payday, Hafting explains there’s no monetary prize. Just a certificate and some free publicity.

“The certificate is currently at my parents’ house, and I just moved into a new apartment, so I need to steal it from them and bring it into my office,” he says.

Currently studying computer science at Dalhousie University, Hafting hopes to land his dream job in cybersecurity. Any future employer Googling him will certainly come across his unusual accomplishment, which is a good thing, he insists.

“I don’t go out of my way to tell people that I have the world record, but I do like the bragging rights,” he says. In icebreaker situations where he’s forced to name a fun fact about himself, his record is something he’s happy to bring up.

Five years later, he’s still surprised no one has beaten him.

“It’s lasted longer than I expected,” he says.

Hafting is joined by other Canadians who have earned a spot in the Guinness World Records 2027 edition.

Ephemeral Remy from Lethbridge, Alta., is the world’s most tattooed person, with 90 per cent of his body covered in ink.

Dave Fawcett from Hamilton, Ont., holds the world record for the largest collection of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles memorabilia, with a whopping 2,195 items in his possession.

Canadian Miles Cloutier and his South African fiancé, Beth Neale, have held the record for the longest underwater kiss, smooching for exactly four minutes and six seconds, since 2023.

Other records broken by Canadians include shortest person to wing walk (1.24 metres), most pull-ups in one minute (112) and, in an unbelievably niche entry, thinnest sandwich sliced by hand (5.12 millimetres).

“The thing is, there are so many different records out there that have yet to be claimed,” Hafting says, encouraging Canadians to lean into their hobbies and interests, regardless of how quirky they are.

“There’s very likely to be one that would suit any individual’s strengths, even if they don’t really think they have one,” he says. “Everyone’s got their niche, and everyone’s good at something.”

Hafting says Canadians can apply for a record that already exists or do what he did and come up with a new one altogether.

So, if you’ve ever wondered whether your weird little hobby could actually amount to something, maybe it’s time to dust off the pogo stick, pick up a Rubik’s Cube and start practicing.