Hearing from a sword swallower in 1998 that there were “less than a dozen sword swallowers left around the world” led him on his quest to locate as many of the surviving sword swallowers as possible while mastering the 4,000-year-old art. After three years of research, study, and daily practice, he taught himself to swallow solid steel swords up to 30 inches long while networking the remaining sword swallowers into the Sword Swallowers Association International.
A featured Ripley’s Believe It or Not performer and 3x Guinness World Record holder, he is recognized as one of the top performers of only a few dozen sword swallowers performing around the world today. He has performed on America’s Got Talent, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, MSNBC, CNN Headline News, CNN Health, Discovery Channel, Discovery Health, Discovery Times, Discovery Int’l, Learning Channel, Travel Channel, Spike TV, USA Network, Food Network, CMT, MTV, ESPN, WGN, 20/20, 48 Hours, NPR, PBS, BBC World, CBC, CTV, ITV, NTV Russia, Alan Titchmarsh Show, Mancow, Newsweek, USA Today, NY Post, NY Times, London Times, National Geographic,Forbes, Nature Magazine, Guardian Magazine, Telegraph, British Medical Journal, Scientific American, Science Daily, Christian Activities, and hundreds of other radio, TV, magazine and newspaper interviews around the world. He has also performed on national tour with Brooks and Dunn’s Neon Circus, on international tour with the Celtic Christian band Ceili Rain, at Ripley’s Believe It or Not attractions, Ringling Brothers Circus, and at conventions, corporate events, colleges, universities, science and medical centers, churches, youth events, Upward Unlimited sports awards night programs, parks, fairs, festivals, and other events in 10 countries around the world.
Despite a close call resulting in a near-fatal injury while swallowing 5 swords at once, he continues to amaze audiences with incredible feats. “I enjoy performing REAL feats that people think are impossible in order to demonstrate how incredible the human body really is…” he explains. To prove his point, he swallowed a 30 inch sword while submerged 20 feet underwater in a tank of 80 live sharks and stingrays for Ripley’s Believe It or Not, a feat witnessed by over 25 million viewers on over 400 TV stations around the world.