Jonathan Simos has a checklist of challenges he wants to conquer—eight or nine in all, each chosen because it plays to his lifelong strength. At 37, the Sarasota native has already dead-hung with 300 pounds strapped to his body for a Guinness World Record. On Sept. 6, he added another: most weight lifted by dumbbell rows in one minute.

At 12:15 p.m., during Sarasota's Kôr gym’s one-year anniversary celebration—his preferred gym—Simos leaned over a 90-pound dumbbell and started to row. He did it 58 times 60 seconds for a total of 5,231.6 pounds. The previous record, set in Russia in 2021, stood at 4,814.9 pounds. 

“This one is more endurance-based,” Simos says. “I’ve never done so many reps in one set. Maybe 20 max—but this was almost 60.”

The dumbbell row was not Simos' first choice. He originally planned to attempt the farthest distance on monkey bars in one minute with a 100-pound pack, but decided the timing wasn’t right. “I shifted gears, and I had enough of a foundation because I’ve worked out my whole life,” he says.

For Simos, chasing Guinness titles is less about spectacle than persistence. By day he installs hurricane shutters and works on building Neuxist, his wellness brand. His résumé includes gymnastics, obstacle races, and even a stint as a spanakopita chef, but training has been the through line.

“I like pushing limits,” he says. “I’m a lifetime drug-free athlete, and I want to inspire others to break down limitations. People set so many on themselves."

The rules for setting the Guinness World Record were exacting. Each of Simos' reps had to pass through a full range of motion, the dumbbell drawn high enough to count. “Pacing is the hardest part,” he says. “I had to time it. Just focus, and get the tempo right to fit in in 60 seconds.”

The record attempt also doubled as a fundraiser. Raffle proceeds from The Kôr’s anniversary celebration went to Operation Warrior Resolution, a veterans’ nonprofit.

For him, connecting a personal milestone with a community event was important. “I hope people feel inspired and realize we’re all more capable than we know," he says. "People don’t believe in themselves as much as they could, or they say it’s a time thing. But it takes less than you think.”

Simos isn't done attempting Guinness World Records yet, either. "Furthest Distance On Monkey Bars In One Minute With A 100-Lb. Pack" remains on his list, along with other tests of strength still to come. “I’m curious to see, as a" drug-free athlete and getting older, what I’m capable of,” he says. “People say the peak is 20 years old. I don’t believe that. I’ve been in obstacle races where two men in their 50s beat me. The perception is starting to change.”

For anyone tempted to dismiss the feat as impossible, his advice is simple: “Start where you can and where you are. It’s not an all-or-nothing thing.”

And for Sarasota, a place with an unlikely track record of record breakers, Simos' name is another addition to the ledger. Eighty-year-old powerlifter Robert Warren recently set three world records in his division. “Insane Shayne” Boyle caught 60 marshmallows in his mouth at breakneck speed for 60 seconds at a Bedrock Church event in Payne Park, setting a Guinness World record. Simos’ lift fits in right alongside them—grueling, precise and rooted in a community that seems to keep raising the bar.