No one knew what to do when Aaron Hibbs failed just 59 hours into his 90-hour attempt.

“I was heartbroken at first,” said Jessica Riley, a third-year in history. “Obviously no one expected it. I think everyone honestly believed he was actually going to do it, but yeah I was heartbroken, completely crushed.”

Hibbs had dropped his hula-hoop.

Hibbs, 31, is a Columbus-based artist and drummer in the noise band Sword Heaven. He was attempting to break the 90-hour world record for continuous revolution of a hula-hoop when he stopped. On Oct. 22 he will try again.

This time he will employ coaches, mix up his nutritional regimen and try to dance a little bit less with his friends.

The atmosphere at The Shelf, the art space where Hibbs was hooping before the drop, was ecstatic. DJs and bands played while people danced and onlookers poured in from the Independents’ Day festival happening on Gay Street.

“I could just have this personal goal and do it semi-privately,” Hibbs said, “but I wanted to do it as an event and share it with people. It’s the duration of it, not the result. It’s about what happens in the process.”

Hibbs said his hooping was like performance art. “It’s a basic human relation to activity, what you can do, what is possible for a person. That is kind of a core value in art, I think. Expressing possibilities,” he said.

Hibbs has to deal with a lot of practical issues for his record attempts. For Guinness World Records to accept his attempt, Hibbs must have witnesses, medical personnel on hand, video documentation and media coverage. In addition to these issues, Hibbs has to figure out how to stay awake and on his feet for four days straight.

There are serious health issues that come into play with the attempt.

“If I’m not moving around enough, I could develop blood clots. I could also obviously have the effects of dehydration, and you can die from that,” Hibbs said. “And there is also the chance that I could pass out and crack my head open on the end of the stage or a wall.”

To stay healthy, Hibbs has developed a course of liquid nutrition that uses simple carbohydrates and fructose. He is currently tweaking his input, researching raw and whole foods as well as Gatorade. He also uses foot inserts and is trying out support hose for the next attempt.

“I’m going to keep going for it. It might be a little longer in between. I might not go for it the next month, but I will go for it.”

The next attempt begins Oct. 22 at The Shelf. The event will be open to the public for all 90 hours and broadcast live on Ustream TV.