There’s a new master of the stairs. Inside the Goodlife Fitness where he works in Orléans, Helkat Jaffer broke the world record for most steps on a Stairmaster in 24 hours with 111,285, pending confirmation. The previous record was 108,887. “The end was like, all right, it’s still time and there is no way I can disappoint this crowd,” Jaffer says. “The crowd gave me lots of motivation.” Jaffer broke the record with 30 minutes to go in front of dozens of friends, family, and community members. His sister Bizav Jaffer was by his side the whole time, cheering him on and assisting him with step count, providing drinks and motivational remarks. “Our medical staff was surprised by how well he was doing and just to see like after a certain point it becomes a mental battle, and you can just see the determination on his face, it’s something very admirable,” she says. Jaffer says he never thought about stopping once the record was broken and wanted to complete the 24-hours. “My goal was to go to a hundred twelve, a hundred fourteen thousand, but I fell a little bit short. One hundred and eleven thousand, still good enough for a world record.” The Guinness World Record attempt wasn’t just a personal goal Jaffer set out to accomplish; he was raising money along the way with proceeds going towards the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa (BGC). “I used to go to the Boys and Girls Club and I really wanted to make sure that it aligned with my purpose, along with inspiring other people,” Jaffer says. CEO of the BGC Ottawa, Adam Joiner, says Jaffer’s message is exactly what the club is meant to do. “What Helkat is doing today is exactly what BGC is all about. More importantly, it’s also an alumni, so he came to the club as a member and is now giving back to the community,” Trainor says. “He’s just broke a world record. I get a shiver down my back just thinking about how inspiring this young man is and what he’s showing our new members, what the opportunities they can be, they can be whatever they want, and this is an example of it.” Jaffer says this challenge was more of a mental battle than a physical one but adds having the people he loved by his side gave him the motivation he needed to finish. “They were the ones that were here throughout the night as well. They didn’t sleep as well. They were supporting me every step of the way. I couldn’t have done it without them,” Jaffer says. “I looked at this record maybe four months ago, and I thought it was a little bit scary to even go into,” he adds. “I think the best things come on the other side of fear, and the cure to fear is action.”
