Junior unicycles to donate for charity
AJ De Las Alas
Staff Writer
American High School junior, Owen Farmer, broke two Guinness world records on April 2nd and 3rd: the most Rubik’s Cubes solved on a unicycle and the most stairs climbed on a unicycle respectively.
Farmer solved 117 cubes, beating the former record of 80 cubes, and climbed 1005 stairs, smashing the former record of 670 stairs.
“I was super proud of what Owen had accomplished,” Kristy Lu (11) said. “It was a pretty hot day and his record took a long time to accomplish.”
Farmer’s unicycling career started when he was eight years old, and his aspirations to become a world record holder also began at a young age.
“I have always wanted to break the world records; I loved reading the books ever since I was little and thought it would be really cool to be in one myself,” Farmer said. “I actually submitted an application to Guinness when I was twelve, but they told me that I was too young and to come back when I turned sixteen.”
After a Guinness representative reviewed Farmer’s recent application, the guidelines and logistics for each world record attempt were organized. Farmer was arranged to attempt to break the Rubik’s Cube record at American High’s field and break two stair-related unicycle records in San Francisco: the most stairs climbed on a unicycle in 30 seconds and the most stairs climbed on a unicycle. Preparing for the attempts required plenty of time and effort devoted into practicing the different tasks.
“I have been practicing after track practice is over, jumping up the bleachers on my unicycle, as well as going to San Fransisco for regular trips to practice on the stair set that I will use for my actual attempt,” Farmer said. “As for the Rubik’s Cube record, I constantly play with Rubik’s Cubes at home anyways, so not much practice is needed.”
On the days of the attempts, Farmer’s friends and family came out to support him.
“I came out to support Owen because I knew it was a big day for him,” Lu said. “A few friends and I cheered for him whenever he finished a lap, and we followed him on one lap to keep him company.”
In addition to personal satisfaction, Farmer used this platform to fundraise for a charity called the Not For Sale Campaign. The charity spreads awareness and works to provide relief to human trafficking victims.
“I have been reaching out to local businesses and asking them to donate money in exchange for advertising at my record attempts, asking friends and family to donate to the charity, and [selling] the Rubik’s Cubes that I bought for the attempt for a profit,” Farmer said. “My goal is to raise 500 dollars.”
Eagle Era 