The Butterworth lad grew fascinated with breaking records after watching videos of others doing so. During the pandemic, he Googled the process and was fascinated to learn that submissions to Guinness World Records were free.

Excited, Lim attempted his first record in 2021: the fastest time to solve a Klotski puzzle, which involves sliding wooden blocks.

He captured his attempt on video and sent it to Guinness, who verified his efforts and sent him a certificate. Congratulations, he was now a world record holder!

Lim, 20, has since set over 105 Guinness World Records. Most of these revolve around speed-solving various puzzles, such as Rubik’s cubes and Klotski puzzles, in various situations.

These include solving them with his feet, upside down, and even blindfolded!

An avid puzzle enthusiast with over eight years of experience in solving them, Lim credits his competitive spirit for his success, and has even come up with his own puzzle-solving techniques and algorithms.

He said his interest in puzzles was sparked after visiting a science fair with a Rubik’s Cube competition. But Lim wasn’t interested in winning prizes – what he was really fascinated with was the speed-solving process.

His achievements include the most Jenga blocks removed in one minute (33 pieces); the fastest time to solve a Rubik’s Magic Puzzle blindfolded (1.564 seconds); and the fastest time to solve a rotating puzzle tetrahedron while hula-hooping (3.9 seconds)!

Some of his attempts have been more challenging than others. Lim winced as he recalled his attempt at solving a 3×3 Rubix cube in a scorpion position – a complex yoga pose.

Done incorrectly, he could have broken his back. For obvious reasons, he never wants to try that again!

According to Lim, solving puzzles and breaking records have helped him improve his hand-to-eye coordination and multitasking abilities. As a linguistics student, his Guinness certificates have helped him with scholarships and internships, and also look great on his resumé.

Does he have a target of how many records he’d like to break? Lim cites one Ashrita Furman, an American who holds the record for holding the most Guinness World Records: over 600!

By his own calculations, if he breaks about 30 records a year, he might be able to set 1,000 of them during his lifetime, surpassing Furman’s achievement.

“In the short term, I hope to have 120 records by the end of this year,” Lim added.

Time is also a factor when setting records. According to Lim, Guinness usually takes about three months to verify a new record, and a person can only send in applications for 15 records at a time.

Regardless of his final tally, he is bent on setting new records and, hopefully, putting the country in the spotlight.

“Malaysia isn’t really that well-known for breaking records, but I have a dream of bringing the country to the global stage,” he said.

“This gives me determination and motivation to move forward, because if I am successful in my record-breaking, it shows that Malaysians are capable of doing anything.”

His advice to aspiring record breakers? Think outside the box, and don’t just listen blindly to what others tell you.

“A single method doesn’t necessarily work well for everyone. Many times, I developed my own ways of solving a puzzle over the conventional ways accepted at the time.

“Try something new. If you have creativity, then nothing is impossible,” Lim concluded.