Career
He later became the public relations manager for Kings Island in 2007. As of 2014, Helbig has taken over 12,000 rides on the The Racer, generally recognized as a world record. Helbig was hired as the Kings Island public relations manager in 2007.
He has also been a broadcaster and media relations director working in professional ice hockey, winning the American Hockey League"s Ken McKenzie Award in 2003.
During his years in pro hockey, Helbig worked for the Cincinnati Tigers, Cincinnati Cyclones, Carolina Monarchs, Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and the Albany River Rats. He also spent one season as the broadcaster for the Albany Conquest of the af2.
Helbig began his pursuit of setting records on The Racer on June 15, 1981. Employed at the time as a novelty vendor for the Cincinnati Reds, he found free time during a Major League baseball strike that lasted nearly two months.
On August 9, 1981, he broke the record finishing the day with 97 rides.
On September 1, 1982, he broke his own record with 111 rides. Years later on September 2, 1987, he established the current record of 112. The endeavor brought attention from the national news media on his milestone rides (1,000, 2,000, etc).
Helbig continued to ride the Racer almost daily throughout the 1980s, accruing a single-season high of 2,211 rides in 1982, while mixing in more than 3,000 rides on the legendary Beast roller coaster and enjoying Kings Island"s live shows.
In 2004, Kings Island held a "Don Helbig Day" in honor of his 1,000th visit to the park. Helbig has appeared live on Good Morning America, been on Entertainment Tonight, and has been featured in the pages of numerous newspapers and media outlets including Star Magazine and United States of America Today.