Guest blogger has worlds tallest mohawk

A very cool guest blogger for you today. You met him just briefly in last weekend's edition of "News To Me." He was pretty hard to miss actually. Did you see the the 27 inch tall mohawk? It's attached to his head! Sure, he's in a punk band called "The Filthy Few," and he hangs out with the guys from "Bloodcow" and "Cordial Spew," but Eric Hahn isn't the angry rocker you might expect...

Check out Eric Hahn and his record breaking Mohawk on "News To Me"

Eric Hahn lets his hair down

Eric Hahn lets his hair down

It's pretty simple. I was sick of my hair. It had become a pain in the rear, and I wanted to cut it off. I am a bit of a procrastinator, so I didn't do it right away. I guess being lazy and putting things off can sometimes be a good thing, because after a few months of NOT cutting my hair, this is what happened.

One day I came across a clip of the guy with the world's tallest Mohawk on the Ellen Degeneres Show. I gotta say I was a bit surprised at the length of the tallest Mohawk, only 24 inches. I thought it would be taller. "Well...I can beat that..." I thought. I did some research, and found that indeed the record was still officially 24 inches, and had not been challenged since 2004. That's when it sank in; I could really become a world record holder, at least for a while. I was cutting my hair anyway. Now there was no choice. If it can be done, it must be done! I put my application in to Guinness, and waited for their response.

This is when I started to notice something that determined the course I took to breaking this record. I work at Universal Information Services, a media monitoring company in Omaha, scanning newspapers from all over the country. I saw articles about world record attempts, and not just in one paper here and there. One attempt would be covered by news all over the country. This could possibly grow some legs; get some attention. Not only that, but I knew that Todd and Jim Murphy, owners of Universal Info, could help insure that it got some attention with their 40+ years in the business. They ended up being instrumental.

Ok, now my brain went into overdrive. I have to put on a show with my band, The Filthy Few, and sport the Mohawk on stage. And it has to be for charity, Locks of Love was the obvious choice. I wanted to do get a local charity involved as well, and I had already known about Project Nightlights here in Omaha. I need a stylist, and a good place to hold the event. It must have a tall ceiling. I need to promote this. It's going to cost some money. I am broke. I need a website, and a venue. I need some bands. I need to do some research. I need money. I need help!

I found that it was going to be very difficult to bring Guinness to Nebraska, or go to one of their conventions, due to money constraints. This was definitely going to be a grass roots effort. My only hope was sponsorship. I approached Todd Murphy with Universal, and he liked the idea. Next was Smitty at Big Brain Productions. Having broke a world record himself for most piercings on one person, he was eager to help. Then, I went to Scott McCaig at Capitol School of Hair Styling, and I am glad I did! The stylists Elliot and Katie were skilled and professional, and it was a perfect place to hold the press conference. I called some old friends who are local business owners: Ed at Paradigm Gardens, Mark at United Services of America, and Nikki at Hebe GB Tattoo. I also made some new friends who supported the cause at Capes Comic Book Lounge, Omaha Fight Club, Paparazzi by Appointment, The Reader, 89.7 The River, 1% Productions, and The Waiting Room. I needed someone to record this whole ridiculous venture. Wayne Brekke had just documented a local Zombie Walk (which also aired on CNN), and It was clear that he was the man for the job. Finally, the bands: Bloodcow, Cordial Spew, Live Wire, and Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell. All of these people contributed in a big way, and they more than deserve the recognition I gave them here. I would like to add Bobbi Lovejoy, who made the banner, and my girlfriend Allyson Richard, who helped with design and had to put up with my relentless obsession towards the final outcome.

It all came together on November 14th, 2008. I broke the world record [with a 27 inch tall mohawk], the benefit show raised over $850 for charity, and this got way more attention than I ever thought it would. Thanks to CNN [Headline News], "News To Me," and Eric Lanford for commenting that my world record hair just might have made me the coolest person in the world. Of course, he is wrong. Everyone knows that Lanford himself… is the coolest person in the world!

Cheers!
Eric Hahn