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After watching the Olympics, Ivan Zoot of Buffalo Grove no longer could sit on the sidelines. He was determined to reclaim his own world records. So he grabbed his clippers and started cutting.
Ten years ago, Zoot broke the Guinness Record for fastest haircut - 2 minutes and 9 seconds - as well as giving the most haircuts in one hour, 22. In 2000, he went on to establish the world record in giving the most haircuts in a nonstop, 24-hour period: 144.
He adopted the nickname, Clipper Guy, and has drawn interest in his blogs and books on the subject.
However, in recent years, he has seen all three records broken.
On Aug. 23, Zoot attempted to set new Guinness Records in professional hair cutting, in a marathon that took place at Roosters Men's Grooming Center in Austin, Texas, which hosted the event.
"I was determined to reclaim the records that I held," Zoot says. "I want to be able to say that I am the world authority on hair cutting productivity."
Zoot now is in the process of providing Guinness Record officials with all the supporting evidence to back up his record attempts, including eye witness accounts and video footage of the events.
Jamie Panas, of the New York office of Guinness World Records, confirms Zoot's attempts, but she says the records management team still is assessing all of the evidence before declaring them records.
For the fastest hair cut, he completed it in 55 seconds. Moving on to the most haircuts in an hour, Zoot shattered his old record, by cutting 34.
For his 24-hour marathon, Zoot performed a whopping number of 340 haircuts, beating the previous world record of 300, set last year.
Proceeds from the marathon clipping event benefited a nonprofit organization called Children With Hair Loss, which provides hair replacement wigs to children in need, free of charge, as well as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas.
Regina Villemure, founder and CEO of Children With Hair Loss, swept hair by Zoot's side, for the 24-hour marathon.
"It was mind boggling to watch. He is incredibly fast - and good," Villemure says, who was haircut No. 230. "They were all precision cuts, not buzz cuts."
Zoot comes by his speedy clipping skills after years of working in the industry as a licensed cosmetologist and barber, and a former salon manager and owner.
For the last four years, he has served as the director of education and training at Andis Company, a family owned company in Racine that makes electronic hair cutting tools.
Every week, Zoot travels across the country and around the world demonstrating hair cutting at industry shows. He uses Andis clippers in a method he has designed that incorporates an economy of motion while producing a first-rate cut.
Ironically, Zoot left a job in sales to enter the hair industry. The son of a dentist, who grew up more fascinated with cars than hair, he figured his adeptness at working with his hands and tools would make the transition to hair cutting easily.
While working as a salesman, Zoot realized he never had a haircut he liked. He liked the salon he frequented well enough, as well as his stylist, and all of the amenities, but he figured there was a better way to do things.
"I recognized that the haircutting business was more about sales and knowing people than about hair," Zoot says. "I knew about both, so it seemed like it might be a good fit for me."
He expects to publish his latest book on the subject, appropriately called, "Clipper Guy Says ... Pick Up the Pace," soon.
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