Australian Sets World Record for Loudest Shout

An Australian man, Joseph McGrail-Bateup, has been officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the holder of the world’s loudest shout by an individual.

The 58-year-old Canberra resident recorded a yell measuring 122.4 decibels after shouting the word “now,” surpassing the previous record of 121.7 decibels set in 1994.

The former record belonged to Annalisa Flanagan, who shouted “quiet” to establish the mark more than three decades ago.

According to Guinness World Records, McGrail-Bateup’s shout reached a noise level comparable to that of a chainsaw, an ambulance siren at close range, or a jet aircraft during take-off.

McGrail-Bateup, who works as a professional air-conditioner cleaner and also serves as an honorary town crier, said the feat was not something he could specifically train for.

The achievement was officially recognised by Guinness World Records last week, making him the new world record holder for the loudest shout ever recorded by a single person.

According to a report by CNN, McGrail-Bateup said the record attempt was not something he could specifically train for, revealing that he lost his voice while trying to prepare for the challenge.

He said, “There’s no way that you can actually practice for it. You have to just keep it for the day, especially with the world record attempt,”

“It took me seven attempts just for one word, which was the word ‘now,’ and my voice was shot for the next couple of days as well. It was husky. It was terrible. So no, you can’t really practice for it. But it’s a lot of fun when you’re doing it,” he added.

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McGrail-Bateup considered himself the world’s loudest man rather than the loudest person, he said. There was no previous record for the loudest man.

“I’m pleased that she (Flanagan) gets to keep her record. So she’s still the loudest woman in the world and I’m the loudest male in the world,” McGrail-Bateup said.

McGrail-Bateup said he stumbled upon Flanagan’s record when searching Guinness World Records unsuccessfully for feats in the realm of town crying.

He became competitively loud when he was appointed the official town crier of the national capital Canberra in 2017. It’s an honorary and part-time role established by the local government which he considers “a bit of fun.” His town crier name is Lord Joseph.

He makes announcements at community events, school fetes and car shows.

With the job came membership of the Ancient and Honorable Guild of Australian Town Criers, a competitive professional organization dedicated to preserving members’ historic and ceremonial roles.

He won a 2024 guild competition with the loudest “Oyez, Oyez, Oyez,” at 98 dB. That was a command for silence and attention before an Australian town crier makes a proclamation.

He experimented with several words for his world record attempt before settling on “now.”

His shout was recorded May 2 in a Canberra radio studio by a professional acoustic engineer and with witnesses present. The files were sent to Guinness World Records, which announced the record Friday.

It’s the second time McGrail-Bateup has broken a world record. In 2019, he broke a speed record for an archer shooting 10 arrows. His time of 60.03 seconds shaved a fraction of a second off a record that had stood since 2015.

Nine months later, a 7-year-old boy shattered McGrail-Bateup’s record by 11.4 seconds.

McGrail-Bateup wasn’t interested in attempting to regain the archery record or in keeping his shouting record.

“If someone beats me, that’s fantastic,” he said. “Records are meant to be broken.”