Drinks on him! Man shatters previous record by balancing 511 wine glasses on his head

We’ve all seen a waiter come by our tables while carrying a hazardous amount of glassware… but Aristotelis Valaoritis (Cyprus) truly has the talent for balance. 

The 64-year-old took his skills to new heights last month, after attempting to retake a record of his for the most wine glasses balanced on the head.

Aristotelis has been moonlighting as a professional glass dancer since 1995 – a unique cultural practice that combines balancing glassware on the head and doing a little jig – and he loves entertaining others at restaurants and events. 

But he wanted his traditional talents to make the record books – and after his 2023 record of 319 glasses was broken, he decided to give the title a second chance on 25 July.

“I enjoy doing it,” he said in an interview with Guinness World Records in 2023. “I see the spectators’ faces full of tension and agony like they’re watching a movie.”

Typically, glass dancers will perform a dance while trays full of glasses are repeatedly placed on to their heads, until they shatter.

But to break his record – and set a significant distance between himself and his other competitors – Aristotelis decided to balance over 500 glasses on his head, which weigh approximately 123 g each, for a total of over 63,023 g (139 lbs). 

To add the glasses individually to the stack would take an unfair amount of time, and could cause unnecessary strain on his neck and back. So his family and friends helped Aristotelis arrange the wine glasses into a steady block of glassware, separated by eight sheets of plywood, which would be raised on to his head via a forklift. 

A circle of styrofoam was attached to the bottom of the stack, which is where Aristotelis would put his head.

Slowly and carefully, his team raised the forklift, until Aristotelis could tuck his head snugly into his temporary crown at the base of the tray.

Once he had his head secured to the wood, he gripped both sides of the tray and carefully straightened his back, so that the entire weight of the glasses was on his head. 

He then took a few quick steps forward, before the glasses started to wobble, and he had to engage his core to keep balance. All the while, he stared sternly ahead, focusing so as to not drop the hundreds of fragile glasses all over his body and the floor.

Then, as gracefully as a ballerina stretching out her arms for a bow, Aristotelis removed his hands from the tray and let the full weight of the glasses rest solely on his skull. 

For 15 seconds, those 511 wine glasses rested unaided on top of his head, while Aristotelis gently swayed on his feet to keep them from spilling over the side.

Once he was sure he had held the weight up for long enough, he shuffled back to the forklift, and calmly placed the tray back on top of the machine – without dropping a single glass. He then threw up his arms in celebration, while his loved ones cheered for his accomplishment.

“I took on this record challenge to show that I still have the ability and passion for what I do,” he said. “With dedication and training, I was able to accomplish exactly what I set out to achieve… [And] most of all, I am proud to showcase this tradition.”

Congratulations, Aristotelis – you’re Officially Amazing!