At 99, Pauline Kana became the world’s oldest crowd-surfer; the internet-famous ‘Gangster Granny’ achieved the Guinness World Records title at a Texas concert

At a country-rock concert in Texas, an elderly woman made her way through a sea of raised hands without taking a single step. Secured to a stretcher and carried above the audience, Pauline Kana was there to attempt something few people her age would consider. At 99 years and 274 days old, she became the oldest person to crowd-surf, according to Guinness World Records. The June 2026 report described a record attempt organised with help from her grandson, Ross Smith, who has built a substantial online following by sharing videos of their unusual adventures. For Pauline, the concert was another opportunity to take part in the kind of antics that made her an internet favourite.How Pauline Kana became the internet’s Gangster GrannyPauline's online identity, the Gangster Granny, developed through videos made with Ross, whose TikTok account has nearly 25 million followers and whose Instagram account has around 4 million, according to Guinness World Records. Their clips often feature her taking part in playful situations that challenge expectations about what a grandmother might get up to.Some of the videos involve encounters with professional wrestling stars, while others show Pauline appearing at baseball games in a bikini-print T-shirt or displaying cheeky signs in public. Their videos have also introduced Pauline to audiences well beyond her own family. In an interview with Press Pass LA in 2022, she explained that internet attention was unfamiliar territory for someone who had grown up in a period before television and the web became part of everyday life.She described the experience as a positive whirlwind and said the videos had helped people connect with older relatives. Viewers had contacted her to explain that the clips encouraged them to get back in touch with their grandparents, she said.Idea behind Pauline’s unusual Guinness World Records attemptThe record attempt grew out of Ross's interest in finding new experiences for his grandmother. Guinness World Records reported that he wanted Pauline to achieve something she could call a world record, and the pair agreed to try crowd-surfing at a Brantley Gilbert concert in Texas in May 2026.Crowd-surfing usually involves a concertgoer being lifted above an audience and passed along by people supporting their body with their hands. Pauline's attempt used a stretcher, allowing the audience to carry her while she remained secured in place.The setting brought together a live music performance and a planned record attempt. Country-rock musician Brantley Gilbert introduced Pauline and Ross to the audience and explained what they were about to do. Concertgoers then prepared to lift the stretcher and move it towards the stage.Pauline arrived wearing a red-and-white T-shirt printed with her own face and the words “Old's Cool”. The slogan matched the light-hearted approach that had become familiar to her online audience.What happened when the 99-year-old was lifted above the crowdAt the start of the attempt, Pauline held tightly to the sides of the stretcher as the audience raised her overhead. The movement meant she had to rely on the people beneath her to carry her safely through the venue.As the stretcher moved forward, however, she appeared to grow more comfortable with the experience. Guinness World Records described how she began lifting her arms and waving to the audience, smiling as the crowd passed her towards the front.People chanted “Granny! Granny! Granny!” while she travelled above them. The attempt depended on the audience working together to keep the stretcher moving, with numerous concertgoers supporting it along the way.When Pauline reached the front, she emerged from the crowd smiling and joined Ross on stage, where the two danced together. A video shared afterwards showed her holding the Guinness World Records certificate and announcing that she had done it.The achievement was officially recorded as the oldest crowd-surf by an individual, with Pauline aged 99 years and 274 days on the day of the attempt.How the record fits into her life onlineThe record attempt followed years of public attention that Pauline had not experienced during most of her life. Her comments to Press Pass LA in 2022 suggested that she had gradually become accustomed to meeting people through the videos, even as the scale of the audience remained unusual to her.The crowd-surfing stunt took that format into a live setting. Rather than filming another skit for social media, the pair invited a concert audience to participate in an experience that would be documented as a Guinness World Records achievement.Afterwards, Pauline's declaration that she was “the greatest of all time” echoed the playful tone of the videos that had introduced her to millions of viewers.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.