The king of collections: from finger puppets to Pringles cans, Sonny Molina keeps all
Salacnib "Sonny" Molina (USA) has a dream – to collect the most collections records in the world.
Spanning the walls of his house in Woodstock, Illinois, and spilling over on to shelves, boxes, and bins are the fruits of his labour. Miniature skateboards are arranged neatly on tables, Pringles cans decorate every corner of the room, and skull-themed drinkware are stuffed into his cabinets.
Over the course of his decades-long collecting career, Sonny has amassed a total of 12 active Guinness World Records titles for his accomplishments – ranging from post card to finger puppet collections, and even a handful of running titles that show off his grit and determination.
“I never thought even in my wildest dreams that I could be part of the prestigious and respected organization of Guinness World Records,” said Sonny. “I came from a country [Philippines] where it is very rare to have a world record, and I wanted to change that. I wanted to be one of the few that will hold several records in the future.
“A reason I applied for a Guinness World Records title was to prove that an ordinary guy like me could be extraordinary, and that’s what I did,” he said.
Interestingly, it all started with his barefoot running titles – back in 2012, he was challenged by two friends to complete a marathon, a race he’d never attempted before.
Faced with foot pain, Sonny – who works as an orthopedic nurse – started running without shoes, an unorthodox practice but one he ended up preferring, as it trained him to adapt to all types of terrain.
“I never thought of running barefoot until I kept having problems running with my shoes on,” he said. “I would always get blisters, pains on my calves, knees and hips. In fact, my feet have a weird structure which forces me to have custom shoes made just to be able to run. So one day I was so sick and tired of these problems that I just decided to run a full marathon barefoot – without any training.”
But sure enough, he quickly hit the ground running, collecting Guinness World Records titles along the way for the most barefoot half marathons run on consecutive days (male) with 20 days, most consecutive days to run an official marathon barefoot (male) with 11 days, and most barefoot half marathons completed in one month (male) with 20 marathons.
“I love running barefoot. It doesn’t hurt at all – it is natural running,” said Sonny. “It reminds me how blessed I am that I can walk, run and enjoy life to the fullest without any restrictions.”
From that point onwards, he used his special barefoot training to conquer two painful titles – the farthest distance walking barefoot on LEGO bricks and the farthest distance travelled by walking barefoot on LEGO bricks by a relay team in one hour.
He reclaimed the former title in 2021 after traversing 8,898.9 m (29,195 ft 10.39 in) on the prickly bricks, and defeated the latter title after travelling 4.021 km (13,192 ft 7.023 in) with a relay team of Kevin Strahle, Russell Cassevah, James Preseau Jr., and Kirb Lim (all USA).
But arguably his greatest pride are his Guinness World Records titles for his collections – Sonny has six active records for his gathering of goods, and he doesn’t plan to stop applying for more anytime soon!
Sonny said in 2021 that his goal was to achieve 'largest collection' of Guinness World Records titles for multiple different subjects, from Beanie Babies and chopsticks, so he can one day create a museum of all of his massive collections. Proceeds from that museum will then be donated to charity.
His first collection was for the largest collection of skull drinkware on 8 November 2021, a collection with 307 items that spanned skull-shaped goblets and cauldrons, cups and mugs, and even a series of shot glasses!
He also has the largest collection of leather postcards, with 1,043 items from all across the world.
“These things all have sentimental value to me and remind me of my childhood: where I got them, or why, or the people who gave them to me,” he explained.
He submitted his third collecting record title on 15 January 2023, for the largest collection of miniature skateboards. Sonny has 1,520 of the inch-sized skateboards in his collection, all neatly organized on tables, but he said that his favourite is an older pink one since it reminds him of the pink skateboard his mom once gifted him for his birthday as a child.
And he took home three record titles in 2025: for the largest collection of Pringles tubes (1,262), the largest collection of salt and pepper sachets (594 matching pairs), and the largest collection of finger puppets (2,978).
Sonny’s collection of Pringles tubes are sourced from all over the world, though his favourite can is a yellow “Rippled Style” of Pringles from the 1980s that looks like the one his mom used to buy him as a child when he was feeling sick – and his favourite flavour is “anything [with] cheese.”
He also has 594 matching pairs of salt and pepper sachets, acquired throughout his travels, and his favourite is over 50 years old!
And he finally reclaimed his collection for the most finger puppets this year, after losing his record in 2023. After collecting 438 more puppets, he was able to beat out Cheralyn Lambeth (USA) from North Carolina, and take home a title he desired badly.
“I used my finger puppets to entertain our kids when they were little and they seemed to like it so much,” said Sonny.
He’s been collecting the finger puppets since 2003, and according to him, he’s spent somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 (£3,943-£7,887) on amassing his finger-sized friends. Some of the puppets even date back to the 1940s to 1970s, but his favourite is definitely the surgeon, because he also works in the medical field!
“Record breaking is addictive…” said Sonny. “When I see my certificates – they remind me that nothing in life is impossible.”
Congratulations again to the King of Collections – Sonny, you’re Officially Amazing!
And if you want to see more of our incredible collections records, check out the new 2026 edition of the Guinness World Records book!