Meet Joseph McGrail-Bateup: The World's Loudest Person and Honorary Town Crier
An Australian professional air conditioner cleaner and honorary town crier has recently achieved the title of the world's loudest person. Joseph McGrail-Bateup, a 58-year-old resident of Canberra, broke the previous record by shouting at 122.4 decibels, surpassing the previous record set in 1994. His shout was as loud as a chainsaw, a jet aircraft taking off, or an ambulance siren at close range. McGrail-Bateup mentioned that the record attempt was not something he could train for and required multiple attempts to achieve.
McGrail-Bateup considered himself the world's loudest man, as there was no previous record for the loudest man. He stumbled upon the previous record while searching for feats related to town crying in the Guinness World Records. McGrail-Bateup became competitively loud when he was appointed as the official town crier of Canberra in 2017, a role he considers a fun and honorary position. He is known as Lord Joseph in his town crier duties and makes announcements at various community events.
As a member of the Ancient and Honorable Guild of Australian Town Criers, McGrail-Bateup won a competition with the loudest proclamation at 98 dB. He experimented with different words before settling on "now" for his world record attempt. The shout was recorded in a Canberra radio studio with witnesses present and sent to Guinness World Records for verification. McGrail-Bateup had previously broken a world record in archery in 2019 but was surpassed by a 7-year-old boy later on.
McGrail-Bateup expressed his willingness to let go of his records if someone beats them, stating that records are meant to be broken. His achievements in both archery and shouting have brought him recognition and a sense of accomplishment in his unique endeavors.