Rumson Man Will Try To Break World Record To Help Patients Battle Medical Debt

RUMSON, NJ — A 20-year-old Rumson man will soon try to break a world record to help patients battle medical debt.

On Saturday, Aug. 8, Otto Gross will attempt to break the world record for the most pull-ups completed in a 24-hour period at Navesink Fitness in Atlantic Highlands.

The challenge will serve as a fundraiser for the Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF), a national nonprofit dedicated to helping patients navigate medical debt and access critical healthcare.

Gross' record journey started in July 2025 after coming off a string of setbacks in some other personal endeavors.

Rather than letting defeat define him, he looked to channel his frustration into discipline.

"Falling short of goals you have worked so hard to achieve can be soul-crushing, and that's exactly how I felt," Gross said. "But I didn't want to stay down. My failure became the spark I needed to chase my full potential."

Instead of doing his training midday, he started waking up at 5:15, getting a run and lift finished before 8:30, reading more, spending less time on his phone, and controlling his diet.

"All of these things made me feel better about where I was because I knew I was doing everything possible to work toward my best self," he said.

At this point, Gross picked up pull-ups, and his idea for the record-breaking challenge came from reading about people like David Goggins, Doug Martin, Truett Hanes, and Oh Yohan, all people he looked up to "for their disciplined mentalities and who had previously held this record."

Around three months after starting his training, Gross reached out to PAF to coordinate a fundraiser for his record attempt.

According to Gross, having friends who have previously struggled with paying medical bills made PAF's mission stand out to him.

"With how highly members of their programs speak of the foundation, I knew my efforts would be well spent with this organization," he said. "By the time of the record attempt, I will have completed 110,000+ pull-ups in training."

"I hope my efforts serve as a testament to my care for the cause and encourage anyone reading this to please consider donating to help patients in need."

To learn more about Gross' mission, or to donate to his fundraiser, you can click here.

To learn more about the Patient Advocate Foundation, you can visit their website.

Gross' 24-hour challenge will take place at Navesink Fitness, located at 1006 Route 36 & Valley Drive, Atlantic Highlands.