He's a record breaker! Whitburn man's underpants feat revisited: 15 years on

It was 15 years ago this year when Gary Craig made it into the record books, as well as onto the pages of the Sunderland Echo and Shields Gazette.

Gary was a record breaker

Gary scooped a Guinness World Record title in 2010 for pulling on 211 pairs of underpants in 25 minutes.

As well as being a great achievement, Gary also raised money for the Cancer Connections cause.

They were great times for the record breaker. Within a year, the father of two from Whitburn got his moment of TV fame.

He made an appearance on Britain’s Got Talent in 2011, albeit brief, and also featured in a show called Britain’s Best Dish.

Let’s hear it for the Geordie Pantsman

On Britain’s Best Dish, contestants battled it out for a £10,000 prize and the chance to have their winning creation on the menu of London’s Savoy Hotel.

Mr Craig decided to impress judges with his Union Jack Pie which contained beef, haggis, Guinness and leeks.

He said: “I was fully clothed this time and I was personally very pleased with the way things panned out.”

Gary was a volunteer hero

“I gave a pair of underpants to one of the presenters, Mary Nightingale, so I hope that will be aired.”

Gary, a self employed architect at the time, soon gained the nickname of the Geordie Pantsman and he was certainly a popular figure across the borough.

In 2012, he stepped in to help renovate a historic girl guides’ building. The rundown Victorian building in Westoe Road had been home to the Girl Guides Association’s South Shields division since 1971.

Back on the record trail

And he was back on the pants world record trail in 2012 after his record was taken by Janine Keblish, of Seattle, in the U.S. who donned 252 pairs.

Gary was ready to have another go at the record in the Great North Run’s finishing tent.

We want to know if he became a record holder for a second time. Tell us more by emailing [email protected]