World record holder shares strength with Merced kids

A man who holds a world record for strength shared “an empowering story” with Peterson Elementary School children Wednesday, school officials said.

Jon Pritikin owns a Guinness World Record for rolling frying pans together to with his bare hands. He demonstrated the talent Wednesday before sharing a motivational story with the students about his life, school officials said in a news release.

Pritikin, 46, also bent a medal while gripping it with his teeth, snapped a baseball bat over his knee and ripped a telephone book in half while students looked on.

“Those demonstrations set the stage for a motivational speech about Pritikin’s past,” school officials said. “He shared an emotional account of being severely bullied as a child because of a learning disability that made it difficult for him to communicate.”

Pritikin credited a teacher with helping change his life through encouragement and support. He now travels the world working for his nonprofit “Feel the Power.”

The event was part of the Merced City School District’s “Character Counts” program.

This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 4:49 PM with the headline "World record holder shares strength with Merced kids."