A couple of weeks ago we introduced Steve Langley, a Huntersville juggler who was headed to Italy to film a TV show where he would try to break a world record for paddle ball. In an April 8 taping of “Lo Show dei Record” sponsored by the Guinness Book of World Records, Mr. Langley made it into the record book.

Mr. Langley is known back at home as comedian, juggler and variety entertainer. He hosts the annual Vaudeville Extravaganza at Davidson College every Labor Day weekend.

Mr. Langley said this week it was a nerve-wracking couple of days leading up to his record-setting TV appearance. After he arrived in Milan, he learned that the Guinness officials wanted him to alter the technique he had been practicing for weeks.

They rejected his practice of bolting together three paddles to make them easier to hold. Then they told him he would have to maintain the bouncing for 30 seconds – which he estimated would mean 150 to 160 hits per paddle without flubbing it up.

“In my mind, I’m thinking: They’ve made it way more challenging than I thought,” Mr. Langley said. “But this is a Guinness world record, and it shouldn’t be easy.”

Guinness didn’t have a record for paddle ball before Mr. Langley’s trip to Milan.  In an April 7 rehearsal, he set the first record, successfully bouncing the balls on five paddles at once. Guinness officials required him to bounce the balls continuously for 30 seconds. Guinness officials were on camera to verify the record.

Then the show’s producers told Mr. Langley they wanted more paddles – presumably to make for better TV. A lead producer told him “five is nothing.” She said if the segment wasn’t good enough, it might get cut from the show.

He solved that problem quickly by handing her a paddle and having her try it. “I gave her one paddle and she couldn’t do it. I said let’s find anybody in this studio that can do one,” he recalled.

On the big day, April 8, the pressure was on, but Mr. Langley earned his title as the Paddle Ball King – the name he gave himself before the record attempt. He got a bit of good news when the Guinness officials decided that 30 seconds was too long. They told him he only needed to hit 10 seconds.

In a day of shooting that began at 6 a.m. and ended up late at night, he had plenty of time to keep practicing. In the end, he did six, and then seven successfully. He also tried but couldn’t manage eight.

Mr. Langley set the record with three paddles in his left hand, two in his right, and two attached to his belt, which requires a rhythm with the hips that’s hilarious to watch. (He’s got all this on video.)

The show’s producers ended up editing out the failed attempt at eight paddles.

“They edited it down to just the seven,” Mr. Langley says on his YouTube page. “But it was a very fun experience and it was the very first Guinness World Record ever set with a Paddle Ball. Pretty cool.”

While he had been nervous about the changed rules and the pressure of going for a record on TV, he says the entertainer in him came out. He played the crowd, told a dirty joke involving paddles and balls, and fed off the applause and laughter.

“The audience cheers, they’re giving me so much energy back,” he said, as he recounted his attempt at the record. He made 6, then went for 7 paddles, “which I finally nailed.”

“In the span of 30 minutes’ time, I went from being as low as you could possibly be, feeling as down as I could possibly be … to being on top of the world,” he said.

When the show aired, Mr. Langley’s paddle ball act appeared in the ultimate position of honor – as the very last segment. “They put me on last. I was the best act on the show,” he said.

This is high stakes in the paddle ball world. Mr. Langley even has a sponsor for his competitive paddle ball efforts: A Swiss company named Active People Toys that sponsored the contest that landed him on the TV show. And he said the world record and successful Italian TV appearance could lead to future engagements on Guinness-sponsored TV shows.

His world record TV appearance began with an Internet video contest last fall. Active People Toys, which makes paddle balls, offered an iPad to the creator of the best video showing someone playing with one of its toys.

Mr. Langley makes his living as a comedian, juggler and all-around entertainer.

What’s next for the Paddle Ball King? This weekend he has a private party at Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, then a gig at an arts festival in North Charleston, S.C., with Mike Heidtman, the other half of a duo act they call the Fettucini Brothers

Meanwhile, he’s concocting some new stunts with paddle balls. He has an idea for a digitized paddle, which would allow him to play music on multiple paddles. “And I’ve got a whole idea for a complete multimedia off-Broadway show” involving paddle balls,” he said.

He also wants to build the world’s largest functioning paddle ball paddle. Another record, perhaps?

RELATED LINKS

“Lo show dei record” website, with video of Steve Langley’s performance, (high quality official video.)

March 29, 2011, DavidsonNews.net, “Huntersville man shooting for paddle ball record.”

Direct link to Steve Langley’s YouTube.com video of the record.

Steve Langley’s Paddle Ball King Facebook page.