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Clad in Speedos and swim suits, 150 strangers showered together in an attempt to break two world records Thursday morning.To promote its latest product for men, Pert Plus teamed up with Six Flags Great America to set Guinness World Records for largest shower and most people showering simultaneously at a single venue.
"We have two parks, so it seemed like a good fit," said Brooke Gabbert, Six Flags Great America spokeswoman, referring to the theme park and water park, Hurricane Harbor. "It's a neat thing to do ... we're definitely game for anything fun."
A 40,000-square-foot structure with 40 shower nozzles was custom-built for the record-breaking attempt, according to Pert Plus spokeswoman Karen Bailey.
"We may have gotten the record," Bailey said.
The record for largest shower was achieved by Ludacris and Tommy Lee at the "Battleground Earth" show in May, 2008. Their shower measured 96 feet and 3 inches long and 38 feet wide, according to a Guinness World Records spokesman.
Pert Plus commissioned a custom-built shower measuring 100 feet long and 40 feet wide.
Currently, there is no record set for most people showering at a single venue.
Record verification will take up to six weeks once Guinness receives the paperwork.
"It was awesome seeing it turn on and people get clean," Bailey said.
Squeals and shrieks sounded as the 10-minute 
shower commenced. The shower, built to hold about 600 people elbow-to-elbow, had ample space for participants to lather up and toss around inflated beach balls.
"The water is not warm, so these are some brave people," Gabbert said.
Gurnee resident Lupe Lara, 48, said she overheard a few of her shower "neighbors" complaining about the cold water temperature, but she said she enjoyed her experience.
"It was refreshing ... it was just like being in the rain," Lara said.
She described the shower pressure as a "mist-like spray."
It took about seven and a half hours for a crew of four people to build the shower structure, said Larry Wood, one of the structure's inventors and president of Eagle Exhibit Services, the company contracted to construct the shower apparatus.
"It took longer to build than to (use) live," Wood said.
The MII Series is a "portable, modular display" that could be used inside or outside, he said. Six Flags had it installed in the main causeway in Hurricane Harbor and it was disassembled before the water park opened at 11 a.m.
"It was interesting to publicly shower with many other people with a bathing suit on," said Diana Swindell of Lake Villa.
