Almost anybody can break a world record jumping on a pogo stick, James Roumeliotis said. He knows because he’s done it five times, even in chronic pain.
On Sept. 9, the 37-year old senior engineering manager at AcuityMD reclaimed his title for the most consecutive jumps on a pogo stick at the South Boston Vietnam Memorial. He finished with 115,170 jumps and raised over $12,000 for the New England Center and Home for Veterans. He had previously held this title in 2013, before losing it to Jack Sexty of Bristol, England in 2015. Before that, Roumeliotis had also broken records in most bounces in a pogo stick marathon and longest distance in pogo stick jumping.
His first attempt began in 2007. Eventually, pogoing led to Roumeliotis’ degenerative disc disease diagnosis.
The News interviewed Roumeliotis, who spoke from his home in Tewksbury, about the challenges of obtaining a world record. Roumeliotis also spoke about raising money for charity, life since his diagnosis and how his feet started to hurt in the first hour of his almost-12-hour record because he had bought new shoes a week prior.
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
The Huntington News: How did you overcome the challenge of your feet being in pain during your most recent world record attempt?
Roumeliotis: My family and friends were so supportive of me. Even if I didn’t make the goal, I know everyone would have still supported me and said, “You did your best.” But I did not want to let any single person down. A nickname I’ve taken on as a work persona is “Pogo.” And my license plate says “Mr. Pogo.” I kept thinking to myself, “Here I am calling myself these things. Labeling myself.” I needed to take this back.
HN: What does raising money for this charity mean to you?
Roumeliotis: My father-in-law served in Vietnam and he has since dedicated his life toward veterans and helping people remember those that gave the ultimate sacrifice of dying. It holds a special place in my heart because of what he’s done for the New England Center and Home for Veterans. As well as being a co-founder of the South Boston Vietnam Memorial, he’s played such a crucial role in all of that in helping keep Boston in the forefront for veterans.
HN: Back in 2015, Jack Sexty had the title taken away from you for a little bit. How did you feel when he beat your record?
Roumeliotis: There were three of us. Jack, Casey and I. That day, I bounced a lot faster. I’m a lighter, smaller guy. And so each hour that went by, the gap between myself and them was getting wider. I stopped at just over 88,000 jumps and immediately swore out loud, because I gave Jack the finish line. World records especially are meant to be broken. And so if someone else can take it even further, that’s awesome. Even though I was done and I gave him the finish line, he still had to do his job — and he did, which was great.
HN: Why did you decide to get your title back almost 10 years later?
Roumeliotis: I just kept thinking back to that day and what went wrong. I really wanted to give it a little bit more justice. This last one, everything came together and went well. I broke the record. I pushed it further. It was just super fun and engaging. I do look at this one though and think to myself, what could have happened if I didn’t make such a rookie mistake of changing my shoes a week before. Could I have gone further if my feet didn’t start to hurt until the eighth hour versus the first hour? So, who knows what the future holds? This one kept drawing on my mind for all of these years. I’m glad to finally put it to rest for a little bit.
HN: Would you say you’re a competitive person?
Roumeliotis: I don’t think I’m as strong of a competitor as what I would classify as true competitors. People that get visibly upset and emotionally driven to do what they need to do. At the end of the day, I’m happy for people. Especially when it comes to world records, they’re meant to be broken. I’m happy when someone achieves it because I know the work that needs to go in to do it.
HN: How would you justify that setting a world record in pogo sticking is genuinely a groundbreaking achievement?
Roumeliotis: One thing that Jack and I actually talk about is even though we set the records, we’re just normal guys. We’re not super athletes. People always say, “Oh yeah, I could totally do that.” And to me, that’s kind of the purpose, right? The purpose behind doing any of these record attempts, aside from raising money for charities, is to help people realize they’re more capable than they might think they are.
HN: With hard training, do you think that any able-bodied person could be able to do this?
Roumeliotis: Absolutely. I think so. I really do. This record in particular, it’s more of a mental game than a physical game. If you can maintain balance and just bounce on a pogo stick, you just need to want it and push yourself to hit that number. I definitely do think anyone with the right mindset and training can easily do it.
HN: People who hold world records can sometimes fall victim to overly pursuing their goals at the expense of other aspects of their life. Do you think that you have sacrificed anything substantial in your life for this record?
Roumeliotis: That is an incredible question. I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that. Well, yes and no. I’ve recently been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease. So my lumbar spine, the discs are pretty much … mostly gone. They’re still there, but they’re down to some bare necessities, and so I feel almost like a bit of arthritis in my lower back. Prior to the record attempt, I had a couple of cortisone shots, and it’s been amazing. I haven’t had chronic back pain that I’ve had for years, which has been remarkable. I’d say that’s probably the only unfortunate side effect.
As far as the rest of my life, I still have great ambitions for my leadership in technology companies. I still have a lot of aspirations to be a great father for my children. I’m not going to give up my family and I’m not going to give up my career. My wife stepped up in all acts of the word by helping the kids when I couldn’t, when I needed to train a little bit more. I’m fortunate enough where I haven’t had to make any significant sacrifices in any of my other ambitions.
HN: How recently were you diagnosed with this disease?
Roumeliotis: I was recently diagnosed while I was training for this event. I worked with my doctor to understand why I have this chronic pain. I’m only 37. With age, things get worse, but I’m like, “This shouldn’t be that bad. Not like this.” My primary care physician recommended an orthopedic surgeon in Lowell. He recommended cortisone shots to try and see how my body reacted, which has been phenomenal. He mentioned that there’s no way to heal this. There are advancements in medicine that, who knows, maybe five, 10 years from now it’s possible to do disc replacements in a healthy way.
HN: Did anyone in your life tell you to not go through with pogo sticking?
Roumeliotis: My family was concerned because they’ve seen the pain that occurs during these record attempts. My dad especially. All well intentioned, of course. Looking out for my well-being and making sure I can live a long and healthy life. He was concerned, but he knew that I was very passionate about pursuing this. So, he didn’t pressure it anymore and instead became an ally and supporter of what I was doing.
HN: Would you say that jumping on a pogo stick heals your inner child?
Roumeliotis: I think it absolutely does. Jack and I talked about this before. I mean, you can’t get on a pogo stick and look badass. You’re just bouncing around and it’s a goofy device. I think by nature and organically, it allows you to actually embrace that childhood feeling. It just naturally does that. I think it’s unlike the majority of any other toys or devices out there because you just can’t really look that cool.
