WETHERSFIELD, Conn. (WTNH) – Some people collect coins, comic books, cars or coasters, but Connecticut’s Doogie Sandtiger decided to do things a little differently – he collects Crocs.
“This is what life is about,” Sandtiger said. “Life is about having fun, living — simple as that.”
Dubbed the “Croc King” by the internet, Doogie has more than 3,500 pairs — including some for his dog. It’s a hobby he now enjoys for fun, but it began as something much deeper.
“Part of the foster care system that people don’t realize is, there’s a lot of things that kids don’t get taught or miss along the way,” Sandtiger said.
Because of his upbringing, Sandtiger said he never learned how to tie his shoes.
“I was too embarrassed to ask the adults around me for help,” he said. “Each year, you get older, and I’m like, ‘Oh… I still don’t know how to tie my shoes.’ It gets kind of weird.”
That hardship led him to discover a shoe he could easily wear — Crocs. Soon, Crocs became his thing, and to this day, they’re the only shoes he wears.
During those tough years, Sandtiger leaned on goal setting and journaling as motivation.
“I called it my goals list, and for whatever reason, I put 366 pairs of Crocs, that was the original goal,” Sandtiger, who wanted a pair for every day of the year, including leap years, said.
When he surpassed that goal, he set another for himself.
“Break or set a Guinness World Record and be in the Guinness Book — which are two separate processes,” he said.
Sandtiger learned that he would need at least 1,000 pairs to be considered for the record — and he did just that. He eventually reached out to Guinness World Records and officially set the record in November of 2024 for the largest collection of Crocs.
He was able to officially announce the feat this week, per Guinness World Records rules.
Sandtiger said he set the record in a museum in his hometown of Wethersfield, where he displayed his entire collection. He also said he plans to donate his World Record plaque.
Sandtiger, who estimates he’s spent several hundred thousand dollars on the collection, said he wants to continue growing it and eventually open up a museum called the “Crocsium.”
“Crocs are fun for everybody,” he said.
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