Space Magic
Trip Start
Sep 08, 2007
1
10
23
Trip End
Dec 30, 2008
Christchurch,
New Zealand
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Age: 29
Nationality: Australian
Family status: Single (with a girlfriend)
Job: performance artists, extreme stunts
Religion: Agnostic
.
Walking though Cathedral Square, the main square of Christchurch, my attention is drawn to a large crowd of people gathered around a man juggling on a 2-meter tall monocycle. It is The World Buskers Festival this week, so Christchurch, a town of 300,000 people, considered to be one of the larger towns in New Zealand is bustling with street performers, stand up comedians, clowns and all sorts of freak show artists from around the world
The Space Cowboy
. The crowd erupts in laughter, so I edge closer to see what's going on. I wonder if this is the guy I saw swallowing swards yesterday.He turns away making a small circle with his monocycle and I see the two large wings tattooed on his back. Yes, definitely! I've seen his act, so I can go. Yet I linger around. The guy is having a dialog with the crowd and even though I know the script, I still want to hear the story. He is a crowd magnet. I suspect he would have held the crowd's attention just as well if he was speaking from the top of a regular chair. Now that he is on a top of a monocycle with couple of machetes in his hands, he has the crowd charmed. I wonder how does one decide to become a street performer. Then, he says "I'm The Space Cowboy, all the way from Australia" and I slap myself on the forehead - wait a second, I've definitely seen him before yesterday. That's right! At the Edinburgh's Fringe Festival in August last year! How bizarre - bumping into the same person, literally at the other end of the World. I wonder what he's been up to in the time in-between.
At the end of the performance I stand in line to throw few coins in his hat. My turn comes, but I wait to catch his eye, then say: "Hey, can I interest you with an interview for a Bulgarian magazine?" "Sure", he smiles, "I'll be 5-10 min tops". So I wait, and watch. People are coming to shake his hand and say thank you. There is a small group of guys that are really enthusiastic. One of them has brought a fork from home and wants The Space Cowboy to bend it with his gaze. The Space Cowboy waves the fork bent in front of our amazed eyes. Few more minutes of hand shakes and chit-chats, and I finally have The Space Cowboy's undivided attention.
He is surprisingly humble and down to earth for a guy who'd just thrown a show on the main square that gathered a crowd of a few hundred. He also strikes me as a very "normal" for a guy with couple of face scars from juggling knifes, 5 earrings, multiple tattoos, and a monocycle in his feet. His eyes are green and he smiles a lot. He is a nice chap all around. I go right ahead with my questions:
Is it for real? Do you really swallow the swards?
Yes, it is real. I hold the world sword swallowing record - 17 at the same time! Just recently The National Geographic filmed me in front of an X-ray, so you can see how the number of swards is growing.
How do you decide to stick a sward in your - troat at first place?
Well, I started with tubes first and slowly learned and improved. I thought that this will be a good stunt for a performance artist. [Phiu, I sign in relieve. It is not like he just thought it might be a good fun to swallow a sword, stuck one down his through and so liked it - he was doing it ever since.]
How did you decide to become a performance artist?
Well, I did my first trick at the market at Byron Bay [Australia] when I was 8. It was a guessing game based on psychology. I was just a kid showing off. But I liked it and I left school early to do this.
Are you the only one in your family that does this?
Yes. No. Sort of. My sister is a trapeze artist. Dad was a gymnast and mom is an artist. [Ah, gotcha ! Try to pool that trick if your dad was an accountant and your mom was a librarian]
Have you ever though of doing anything else?
Not really. Ever since I started, I always wanted to do this. I rarely do street performances like this one. I travel around the world and do special gigs at circuses and private shows. But I like to mix it up. Street performances is how I started.
I saw you in Edinburgh in August. What did you do between now and then?
I was traveling and doing shows mostly in Europe and Australia. I've been in Europe twice since then. Actually, I just came back from touring England and Ireland with The Crusty Diamonds.
Don't you ever get tired with the travel?
[He hesitates for a second]. Some times, but I can choose my own schedule. That being said, I'm booked through October, so I have to really plan ahead if I want a break. [Ha! I thought only bankers needed to book a date for their Christmas party 12 months in advance.]
What is your most popular trick? Is it actually a trick or something that you do for real?
It's got to be the spoon-bending. People are really into it. You saw that guy that brought a fork from home. I'm not gonna say it is a trick, I'm not gonna say it isn't. It's not what people think it is. [He smiles, and I ask no more. I think it's a magic.]
There are some people waiting for The Space Cowboy, so I feel I shouldn't keep him too long. He writes down his contacts and a couple of website addresses for me. I'm thinking - here is guy who likes what he does, so he excels at it. He was voted best street performer at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2006. I am truly very jealous [in the best possible way of course].
***
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Hugs & Kisses,
Vik
