Friends, family, local officials and long-time supporters gathered at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre to celebrate the launch of Doug “the Great” Hunt’s new book, titled “55,” on Thursday, December 11, 2025.
The book, written by Larry Brown and illustrated by Bernadine Van Renne, recounts Hunt’s journey to becoming an entertainer and a multi-Guinness World Record holder, and the people who supported him along the way; particularly those who stood beside him during his most recent, successful, stilt-walking attempt on October 21, 2023.
From juggling to overcome his childhood shyness to tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, a “failed” record attempt and the subsequent successful attempts after that, the book highlights Hunt’s dedication to always trying again; to “fail forward,” if you will.
A long time employee and supporter of the Participation Support Services (PSS), Hunt has spent decades helping those who live a “challenge” every day. As the organization’s Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Volunteer Services, everything Hunt does, both in his official role and outside of it, is to benefit PSS.
“Although Doug’s side business is magic and stilt walking, when asked by local friends and organizations if he would do a show for free, he always asks that a donation be made to Participation Support Services,” said Sherry Kerr, Executive Director of PSS. “When Doug and his team were planning his 55 foot walk, they planned many fundraising events with proceeds to Participation Support Services, raising over $22,000. …These donations help keep the roof over the heads of the people we support. Not only people with physical disabilities, but the many seniors that we also support through the transitional and housing programs we offer.”
During the event, Dave Levac, Hunt’s team manager for his 2023 attempt, said that even with an upcoming retirement, his long-time friend will continue to support the organization through the sales of his book.
“Doug does not get a penny from the sale of this book,” said Levac. “…Anytime Doug does a talk or a presentation or a magic show, the books will be available, and all those sales will go to PSS even after he retires.”
David Bailey, Mayor for the County of Brant, who grew up alongside Hunt in Glen Morris, said he was honoured to be there celebrating the release of the new book.
“It’s a great pleasure to be here. Doug and I go way back, …we’ve known each other our whole lives,” he said. “…Doug was great long before we called him Doug “the Great.” He’s a wonderful community booster, and he’s always been there for the community long before he found stilts.”
Speaking to his various attempts throughout the years, Hunt later told attendees about his first Guinness World Record attempt on February 15, 1997. He recalled that after being unable to complete the attempt, a Kitchener reporter approached him.
“She came after me hard and I was feeling pretty bad at the time. She said, ‘Hey, you were in our studio last week and you said you were going to do at least 25 forward steps …In fact, you said, Don’t call it a stilt walk, call it a cake walk.’ And she was right because you don’t go into something thinking you may not get it, I was pretty confident,” he said. “So she says ‘I don’t think I counted one step, what’s it like to be a failure?’ and this was on live television. Well I told her and I want to tell all of you, that she missed the point. I said, ‘We didn’t get the record, that’s right, but you forgot about our other goals, and one of them was to bring more support to Participation House, and look around you, we got like a thousand people. …People supported us today, and they cheered even when we failed forward.’”
Following his speech, Brown took the microphone to read a couple of the stories he included in the book, and afterwards, Hunt, the author and Van Renne, spent the rest of the evening signing the books and chatting with fellow supporters.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
