Sibling rivalry at the highest level helps Americans set 181 Guinness World Records | Guinness World Records

The thrill David Rush felt when he beat his brother at something for the first time drove him to set more than 180 simultaneous Guinness world records, he revealed.

In an interview with The Washington Post published Monday, Rush, who makes his living as a motivational speaker, recounted how, growing up in Boise, Idaho, he often finished second or third in soccer, ping pong and swimming when competing against his two older brothers. He finally turned the tables on one of his siblings during a swimming meet, igniting in him a competitive spirit that he maintains to this day, laying claim to being the world’s most successful Guinness World Record holder.

“I had grown bigger than him and it was the first time I had ever beaten him at anything,” the 39-year-old told the Post about that formative day in the water. “I still remember how proud I was of it.”

Rush, who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, worked in the technology industry for several years before starting a career as a motivational speaker. He decided to break at least some of the 40,000 Guinness World Records because he thought it could be a way to promote the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in education.

He set his first record in 2015 by juggling blindfolded for six and a half minutes — a mark he has since increased to over an hour, the Post noted.

Other records he has achieved range from catching 59 marshmallows with his mouth in less than a minute to balancing 101 toilet paper rolls on his head. These records have earned him enthusiastic support from his wife and three children.

All achievements were certified either in the presence of a Guinness World Records representative or, more commonly, by volunteer timekeepers and witnesses and the submission of videos, photographs and documentation.

In early January, Rush smashed 55 records in 30 seconds, securing his 181st Guinness World Record, which was recently confirmed. Although Guinness doesn’t count the most records broken, Rush told his 50,000 YouTube subscribers that he knew he was only the third man to hold the distinction, overtaking Italy’s Silvio Sabba.

Sabba held 180 simultaneous Guinness World Records, after about 20 of the records he set were lost to other people.

As Rush told the Washington Post, he is aware that his record is constantly in danger – a sobering reality for people who are famous for quickly mastering tasks like folding – or hanging – T-shirts.

The former America’s Got Talent contestant recently said in a YouTube video that he has almost given up his obsession with the Guinness World Records, which takes a lot of time and effort.

Still, he told the Post he intends to defend the unofficial title he claims to have taken from Sabba to the hilt – putting him within striking distance of two other people with more than 100 Guinness World Record titles. That’s because he sees the Guinness World Records he’s pursuing not as silly tricks, but as stimulating challenges, he said.

And as Rush told his YouTube viewers, his record-breaking conquests are also “a tangible example” of a larger, human truth.

“If you set a goal, believe in yourself and pursue it with passion,” he said, “you can achieve virtually anything.”