Interview: Maker of The World’s Largest Smoothie

A week ago, I mentioned that I had some upcoming interviews of people who had done inspiring things. Lest you think I’ve forgotten, today’s post is the first Defining Someday Hero interview, and its a big one – big enough that it involves a world record!

Before you get lost in the interview, let me say this; I’m aware that you can use the internet to get all sorts of information. To save you some guesswork and research, yes, some of the interviewees for this section will be people I know. That being said, my coming interviews are really cool, I promise. You’re not going to be bored or feel like all you’re doing is reading about my friends. I am honored to know some really vibrant people who have done amazing things. And I do have some interviews coming up with people I don’t know, to keep things interesting.

Q. When did you decide that you wanted to break a world record?

Frank: I got the idea to break a world record when I opened my first smoothie store. It was a new store and I needed to raise awareness of it in my community. I thought it would be neat to make the world’s biggest smoothie at our store, and I knew it would make a great PR story.

Q. Was there already a world record for the largest smoothie?

Frank: Yes, it was made in Vegas. That smoothie was only 333 litres (88 gallons), so I figured it wouldn’t be impossible to break.

Q. How big was your smoothie?

Frank: It was 738 litres (195 gallons).

Frank: I first had to define the parameters – I found out what it would take to surpass the previous record. Once I knew what the previous record was, I had to decide by how much I wanted to surpass it. Then I broke it down into smaller tasks; I found a suitable container, did the math to make sure the recipe was made in the proper ratios, invited a health inspector and engineer to verify my weights and measures (which is required by Guinness standards), got my staff started on pre-measuring the smoothie, and arranged for marketing coverage with media outlets. Then my staff and I blended smoothie for 6 hours and poured it into our large container.

Photos by David McKinley

Q. Was your record recognized by Guinness?

Frank: Yes.
Q. Are you in the Guinness Book of World Records?

Frank: Yes, page 7 of the 2008 edition.

Q. What did you do with 738 litres of smoothie?

Frank: We had a large crowd that came to watch the event, and we also had the Canadian Cancer Society attend. With every donation to the cancer society, donors received a free 24oz smoothie. It was a good fund raiser, because people were excited to get to drink part of the world’s biggest smoothie, and it was a great way for us to get rid of all of that smoothie!

Q. Do you have any advice for people who want to achieve their own life goals?

Frank: When you break things down into smaller tasks, you realize that everything is achievable.

I’m sure I would have interviewed Frank even if I didn’t know him. It just so happens that he is my best friend, and my financial guest blogger. Oh, yes. And he’s my husband.