Guinness World Record goes to Pensacola man carrying a heavy weight on shoulders

When Pensacola's Shawn Evans first attempted to set the Guinness World Record for most triceps dips in one minute while carrying a 40-pound pack two years ago, he hit 85, smashing the bar − 60 dips − the respected keepers of all world records had established for the attempt. (There was no record for this before Evans' attempt.)

"I smashed it,'' he said at the Pensacola Athletic Center on West Highway 98, where he trains. "Completely smashed it."

But there was a problem with the scale weighing his sack, so 15 minutes after hitting 85 triceps dips − which wouldn't count −he performed 81, officially establishing the record.

Then in March of this year, he broke his own record with 88 triceps dips in one minute while carrying a 40-pound pack, and recently received his official "World Record" certificate from Guinness.

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He's 48 now. He was 47 years old "and nine months,'' he added, when he set the new record of 88 in March outside in the tennis court area of Pensacola Athletic Center.

"That about this − most athletes retire by the time they're 35 or 36,'' said Evans, who runs a lawncare business but has a background and education in physical training. "I did that 10 years later. It was like parting the Red Sea in my mind."

An Indiana native, Evans is an intense, driven-guy, motivated internally to press on despite the pain.

That means training six days a week in the months leading up to the attempt.

"The training was grueling,'' he said. "But when I see something, I go after it. I was born a visionary. I have a thought of what I can do, what might be possible, and I push myself to that. For this, I pushed myself to near death. It was intense."

But Evans has always been intense said one person who knows him best.

"He has always been that way,'' said his younger brother Jerald Evans, who also lives in Pensacola. "Shawn was always strong, he could bench 400 pounds in high school. He's always been motivating and inspiring and was a great role model. He led me to Christ and changed my entire life."

Shawn Evans spent years as a fitness trainer, and said he might get back to that line of work in the future.

"I was always a great athlete,'' said Evans, who set track and field records − shot put and discus − in high school in Indiana and was part of the track and field team while a student at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. "I have a background in power lifting and did a lot of that back in my teens and early 20s."

But why the push? Why put up with the grueling training and the pain that accompanies it?

"I grew up in a real rough environment,'' Evans said. "I grew up in garbage, actually digging through garbage cans and that sort of thing. I learned at a young age that if I was ever going to be anything in this life, I'd have to outwork everyone around me."

He definitely did the work for his world record attempt. The Guinness World Record for most triceps dips in one minute is 119. Evans did 88 in a minute with a 40-pound pack − lots of nickels and small weights − on his back.

What's next for Evans?

He's eyeing another record, but doesn't want to give too much away.

"But it will be with a 100-pound pack,'' he said. "It won't be triceps dips though. I've gone as far as I can with that. I did as many as I could and broke my record and couldn't push any harder than I did."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Guinness World Record goes to Pensacola man carrying a heavy weight on shoulders