Joseph McGrail-Bateup, an Australian professional air conditioner cleaner and honorary town crier, has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's loudest person. The 58-year-old Canberra resident recorded a shout of 122.4 decibels, breaking the previous record of 121.7 decibels set by Annalisa Flanagan in 1994.
The noise level of McGrail-Bateup's shout is comparable to that of a chainsaw, a jet aircraft taking off, or an ambulance siren at close range. McGrail-Bateup stated that the record attempt is not something that can be trained for, requiring the effort to be saved for the actual attempt. He noted that it took him seven attempts to achieve the record-breaking sound with the word "now," after which his voice was hoarse for several days.
McGrail-Bateup considers himself the "loudest male in the world," distinguishing his achievement from Flanagan's record as the "loudest woman in the world." He discovered Flanagan's record while searching for feats related to town crying. His journey into competitive loudness began in 2017 when he was appointed the official town crier of Canberra, an honorary and part-time role he views as "a bit of fun." As town crier, known as Lord Joseph, he makes announcements at various community events.
He is also a member of the Ancient and Honorable Guild of Australian Town Criers, a competitive organization. In a 2024 guild competition, he achieved a loudness of 98 decibels with the traditional town crier command, "Oyez, Oyez, Oyez."
For his world record attempt, McGrail-Bateup experimented with several words before selecting "now." The shout was recorded on May 2 in a Canberra radio studio by a professional acoustic engineer with witnesses present. The recording was subsequently submitted to Guinness World Records, which announced the record on Friday.
This is not McGrail-Bateup's first world record. In 2019, he set a speed archery record by shooting 10 arrows in 60.03 seconds, a record that had stood since 2015. However, this record was later broken. McGrail-Bateup expressed no interest in reclaiming the archery record or in holding onto his shouting record indefinitely, stating, "Records are meant to be broken."