In the five years that Danny Girton Jr. has represented Guinness World Records (GWR) as a senior adjudications manager and, currently, as a client services manager, he has personally witnessed hundreds of record-setting attempts by ordinary people striving for the extraordinary. “Nearly anyone who wants to be recognized as a world hero on a local level, or as a local hero on a world-class stage, can achieve fame by setting or besting a Guinness World Record,” he says.
Girton was a student in Baruch’s Flex-Time MBA Program, specializing in international business and entrepreneurship, when he was offered the position at GWR. He jumped on the unexpected opportunity and has not once regretted it. “I never knew roles existed like the one I am privileged to now fill,” he says.
Girton’s professional life fascinates all who come in contact with him. The most common question he gets is, What’s the most memorable record attempt you have witnessed? According to Girton, that’s nearly impossible to answer. “It is challenging to talk impartially about any single record attempt among the 500 to 600 we annually attend,” he avers. “However, in early June 2012, I adjudicated a ‘longest single line of dancers’ successful record attempt in Dutchess County, N.Y.—where I mostly grew up–which was satisfying on a personal note.”
So what do the world’s biggest cream puff or longest line of hokey-pokey dancers have in common, besides being adjudicated by Girton? “GWR maintains a rigorous process to assess the viability of a concept as a records category,” he explains. “Part of the evaluation process includes determining if a concept is (a) measurable, (b) breakable, (c) verifiable, (d) of international interest, and (e) singular in nature.” Among the approximately 50,000 categories GWR monitors, mass participation records are most frequently attempted.
GWR has proved to have real staying power. First introduced in 1955 as The Guinness Book of World Records (it was a bestseller its first holiday season), GWR is now equally popular on the Internet. Its site, www.guinnessworldrecords.com, receives 1 million unique monthly views, the brand has over 1 million Facebook fans, and its videos have been watched by 155 million people on YouTube.
Girton managed by serendipity to do what many job seekers strive for: to sell his skills in an unexpected field. “My formal education and professional talents—from event planning and TV/film casting—were transferrable skills that are well suited for our unique business,” he says, “which I intuitively develop and manage like creative event planning on a global scale.” (Girton earned his undergraduate degree, in English and communications, at Boston College.)
For the “record,” adjudication is just one of the many integrated services Girton manages for GWR’s client list, which includes multinational corporations and brands and not-for-profit institutions, as well as individuals. But record attempts and adjudication still hold a special place for him: “The creativity and aspiration our global community celebrates every day through a Guinness World Records endeavor amazes me!” he says.
—Diane Harrigan