GLENDALE, Ariz. — Hard work pays off. That simple piece of advice helped inspire Jeremy Ware to break two Guinness World Records in one year in 2023.
Ware, who lives in Glendale, has the phrase tattooed as an acronym on his leg.
It was a reminder to him as he became the holder of the records for the farthest basketball shot made backwards (85 feet, 5 inches) and the most squats on a Swiss ball in one minute (37).
And while many people may have spent their entire lives chasing world records, for Ware, he says it all started randomly.
"I used to play college basketball and I ended up getting really good at doing backwards half-court trick shots," Ware said. "I kind of got to the point where I was like, you know what? There's got to be something else I can do to add flair, to switch it up a little bit.
"And so, I found out that there was a world record for the world's longest basketball shot made backwards. And then I actually went out to a park one day, measured off the old record, and on the third try actually made it. So I was like, oh, I've got something going here."
But how did Ware get so good at what has now become his signature shot? It turns out that it is all thanks to how he decided to kill time while doing laundry when he was a freshman on the basketball team at Colorado Christian University (CCU) in 2011.
"My freshman year, like, we didn't have hazing, so to speak. So, every now and then one of the freshmen would be in charge of, like, the team's laundry," Ware said. "So, when it was my week to do laundry for hazing, instead of going back and forth between the arena to my dorm or whatever, I would just stay there."
Ware would spend his time doing workouts and trying some trick shots and says there was one trick shot he always tried to emulate.
Ware grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and as a kid would take the hour-and-a-half drive down Interstate 25 with his dad to Denver, Colorado, to watch the Denver Nuggets play.
During Nuggets games, their 'SuperMascot' Rocky will entertain fans with his antics, which include dancing with the Nuggets Dancers, running around the arena in different costumes and antagonizing opposing players and fans, including former Phoenix Sun Charles Barkley. But it was Rocky's trick shots that kept Ware watching as a kid.
"He would always go to half court and shoot a backward shot and get the crowd going if he made it," Ware said. "And then sometimes, he would do this thing where he's like on a huge ladder, like 30 feet in the air. And he would throw it off of the ladder and still make it. So I always saw that and always kind of gravitated towards that."
So, when Ware grew up and began shooting trick shots on those laundry days, he knew there was one shot he wanted to try.
"I was in Denver, so obviously being there, I was like, you know what, I'm going to try the Rocky shot," Ware said. "I started making them and I got pretty good at it and I stayed consistent with it."
Over the next 12 years, Ware would continue to practice his trick shots and documenting them using Snapchat and other forms of social media.
After discovering he had a chance at breaking a world record, Ware, who moved to Arizona in 2015, started looking for somewhere to take the official shot.
He contacted the University of Arizona, Grand Canyon University, Arizona State University and even the Phoenix Suns, but they all either did not get back to him, said no or said they did not have any availability.
But then Ware remembered he had a friend who worked for the San Antonio Spurs.
"They were interested right away," Ware said. "I had their arena for three hours on Sunday, January 29, 2023, and I got it done in 30 minutes. And after that, I was just running around the arena like a big kid in a candy store, you know, just doing like imaginary game winners, and you know, dunking on the baskets and stuff."
But, even then, Ware knew he wasn't done breaking world records and he began searching for his next feat while his first record was being certified.
"I actually started squatting on exercise balls when I was 12 years old," Ware said. "I was like, you know, that's something that a lot of people don't really do."
Ware then searched through the Guinness Book of World Records and found out that the record for most squats on a Swiss ball in one minute was 30. Then, he got to work.
"I went to the gym and practiced a little bit and on the first try, I was able to beat the record," Ware said.
Ware broke the record at Esporta Fitness in Glendale on November 10, 2023, earning him his second world record in just 285 days.
It turns out that this may all have been destined to happen, as Ware was voted 'Most likely to break a world record' by his classmates at Cheyenne East High School.
"I completely forgot about that," Ware said. "It had nothing to do with me wanting to break world records, it just happened to be something that came about and happened to be true. So, I guess thanks to my classmates that voted me that."
And for anyone who wants to break a world record in the future, Ware has these words of advice.
"Just always believe in yourself," Ware said. "Let your self-talk be positive, don't beat yourself up. Obviously, be your biggest critic, but also be your biggest fan.
"Whether you say that you can or you can't, you're right," Ware continued. "So, like, if I say I can't do this, then I'm right. I'm not going to get it done. Because, you know, there's so much of it that's mental that plays into what manifests."
Ware says he has his eyes set on two more world records, but said they will be tough to break and one of them has never been done before.
However, he does not want to say what they are just yet.
"I don't want to put something out there and then not get it done," Ware said. "I'm really big on standing on my word and if it comes out of my mouth, I want to get it done."
You can follow Ware's chase for more world records on Instagram.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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