A Dayton, Texas man's love for Sonic the Hedgehog has earned him a Guinness World Record. Barry Evans has a collection of 3,050 items related to the blue, fast-moving video game character, breaking the world record for the largest collection of Sonic the Hedgehog memorabilia.
Evans' passion for Sonic began 30 years ago when he bought his first and favorite video game ever, Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The item he launched his collection with was a Sonic bubble gum container he purchased in 1993.
Barry with a bubblegum dispenser, the first piece of Sonic the Hedgehog merchandise he bought.
Guinness World Records"Later I saw a poster and more toys, and I just started decorating my room with it," Evans said. "He was cool, he's edgy, he had that wowness factor... the hedgehog with attitude."
Today, his expansive collection includes arcade machines, soft toys, figurines, lapel pins, posters, and more. But Evans doesn't just collect the Sonic items. He also creates them.
In 1993, Evans built an arcade machine using his SEGA Genesis video game console so that he could play Sonic the Hedgehog 2 the retro way. He also owns a mould used to make plastic Sonic toys handed out at U.K. Burger King restaurants. Among the most recent additions to his collection is a $1,700 1992 Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails plush walkie-talkie set from Japan.
The $1,700 Sonic the Hedgehog walkie talkie set.
Guinness World Records
Barry Evans owns a mould machine part used to create plastic toys of the blue character, which were given out at UK Burger King restaurants.
Guinness World RecordsHowever, Evans said the "crown jewels" of his collection are large Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails statues, which he scored from Toys 'R' Us flagship stores in 2001. He said he'd kept in touch with store managers for nearly a decade in the hopes of getting his hands on the statues.
"They called and said, 'Hey, if you want these statues, please come get them now because we're remodeling,'" Evans said. "I slipped out of work and went and picked them up before they changed their mind."
Evans displays his Sonic memorabilia in a 1,650-square-foot room adjacent to his house. He named it "Yesterdays - Sonic 1992's game room and museum," after an arcade of the same name that opened in Evans' local mall in 1981.
The Sonic the Hedgehog statue Barry Evans spent several years chasing.
Guinness World RecordsTo be verified by Guinness, Evans said he undertook the tedious task of counting and cataloging each item in his Sonic collection. However, having his decades-in-the-making collection recognized by Guinness has been a "life-fulfilling event," he said.
"To get it was no easy feat, it was a lot of work. It took three weeks of 8-10 hour days to catalog," Evans said. "It was just incredible to have Guinness World Records give me vindication for my collection."
English (United States) ·