While a senior at Tolar High School near Granbury, Brandon Overbey decided he wanted to hug the entire school before his time there was done. He embraced about 250 people — every single student and faculty member, ending with the principal.
Overbey, 24, has since moved on to bigger things.
On Saturday, the Plano resident planned to spend all day at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, attempting to set a Guinness World Record for most hugs given by an individual in a 24-hour period. Overachiever that he is, he’s giving himself only 13 hours, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., to break the record of 5,050 hugs. He’s aiming for 10,000 “two-armed, close embraces” (according to Guinness rules).
“I’m taking extra deodorant and cologne,” he said before the event. “And lots of Gatorade and water, and a sign that says ‘Free hugs.’
“I know, it sounds cheesy,” he says of his chosen area of expertise. “But I’m a big advocate of the 'free hugs' movement, where someone just stands around handing out hugs all day. … I also liked that it was based on other people’s participation, not on a personal skill.”
As of 2:15 p.m., he said he was up to about 2,400 hugs.
Overbey is a professional body piercer at Love-n-Hate Studio in Lewisville, and also has spent a lot of time skateboarding, “but trying to do either of those things as a record was beyond my means,” he says.
It would have cost Overbey $5,000 to have an official Guinness judge at the event, so he’s documenting it by filming portions and having official witnesses. It’ll take a few weeks before Guinness determines if he set a world record.
