Dion has always loved Guinness World Records…he never thought he’d get INTO the book, but now he’s managed to get ONTO it! Learn more about the man on the whoopee cushion.
Full Name: Dion McLeod
Age: 31
Hometown: Dapto, NSW
Tell us a bit about yourself! Perhaps an interesting fact or a special skill?!
I am a big bookworm and lover of all things pokemon, pugs, and pop culture! I have two adorable dogs, Charlie and Luna. I work in a bookstore and also at a university where I teach English Literatures. I don’t have any special skills really, but as a fun fact I did my PhD on Disney villains, so I got to spend three years watching Disney movies on repeat and writing a book on the topic!
Why did you enter the competition to get on the cover of Guinness World Records 2021?
I saw the competition come up on my Twitter timeline and entered as a long shot! I have always loved Guinness World Records and all the fun facts and human feats! I figured since I will likely never be *in* the book, I should try and get on it instead!
Isn’t it everyone’s childhood dream come true?! Guinness World Records has this nostalgic vibe to it, and it is something I think everyone can relate to reading and annoying everyone around them with all the facts at some stage in our lives! Being immortalised on the cover is such a crazy thing and I am so excited for it!
What do you love about the Guinness World Records books?
I think for me it has always been to do with being a bit of a nerd! I have memories of getting this book every Christmas and reading it cover to cover fascinated by all the really cool stuff that people have been able to do. One of my favourite things was looking for all the science records, as well as those related to animals!
This year’s Guinness World Records theme is DISCOVER YOUR WORLD…where’s somewhere in the world you are yet to and would like to discover?
I have always wanted to go to Antarctica! For as long as I can remember that has been the one place on the planet that has just fascinated me! But as a more realistic goal, I plan to one day visit all the Disney theme parks in the world! So far I have done Disneyworld in Florida and Hong Kong Disneyland, so I still have a few to go!
If you could choose one record to hold (in this life or in a dream world!), which one would it be and why?
I don’t really have many special skills or anything like that, so I think the one that I would love to have in a perfect world would be the world’s largest private book collection! I am up to about 1500 books in my home at the moment (with very little space left to house them), and I know I have a long way to go yet! My dream home would have the library from Beauty and the Beast and just be packed with books!
Do you have a childhood memory of reading the Guinness World Records books?
Guinness World Records always brings back feelings of Christmas for me. That is when a copy would arrive in our house and I would disappear and just get lost in the world of human feats!
Guinness World Records 2021 is out now and is available to buy at your favourite bookshop. Keep your eye out for Dion on the cover!