Johnny Strange

Johnny Strange

Johnny Strange, performance artist
Born (1988-12-06) 6 December 1988
Lancashire, England
Occupation Performer
Years active 2009–present
Website johnnystrange.co.uk

Johnny Strange (born 6 December 1988), also known as The man with ears of steel, is an English world record breaking performance artist, producer and street performer based in London, England. He is known for performing daredevil stunts with a comedic twist.

Career

Johnny Strange began his career as an amateur escapologist after studying the works of Harry Houdini. He began picking handcuffs and escaping from straight jackets, padlocks and chains; this led to him becoming fascinated with Victorian sideshows and freak shows. He has since studied various skills such as juggling running chainsaws, target whip cracking, lifting weights attached to his ear piercings, sharpshooting and prop manipulation as well as classic sideshow and fakir stunts such as sword swallowing, the human blockhead, walking across broken glass, fire eating and breathing, eating broken glass and the bed of nails.

Other stunts and variations include swallowing a magnet then retrieving it by swallowing a sword, swallowing a 2000v glass neon tube, multiple chainsaw stunts and target whip cracking routines.

Johnny Strange has been featured in publications such as Ripley's Believe It or Not![1] and Guinness World Records[2] as well as appearing on many radio and TV programs.

Performance

Johnny Strange is known for performing dare devil stunts with a comedy twist. His live shows often include demonstrations of mind over body, escape artistry, precision marksmanship, juggling and feats of physical endurance.

In 2012 Strange produced his own variety show titled "Johnny Strange's Theatre of Wonder", which he currently hosts and performs in,[3] alongside a range of circus, sideshow and freak show artists from around the world including; contortionists, knife throwers, snake charmers, strongmen, aerial performers, hand balancers and fire breathers.[4]

According to his official website, Johnny Strange’s Theatre of Wonder "brings the golden age of freak shows alive, propelling traditional Victorian sideshow into the 21st century for a new generation".

Guinness World Records

Strange holds multiple Guinness World Records. In 2013 he gained the nickname “the man with ears of steel” after setting the official Guinness World Record for 'the heaviest weight lifted by pierced ears'.[5] Guinness soon challenged him to attempt 'the heaviest vehicle pulled by pierced ears', Strange accepted their challenge and at North Weald Airfield he managed to pull a Cessna 172-P aircraft for 67 ft.[6] After setting this new record Strange became the first person to hold both the record for ‘the heaviest weight lifted by pierced ears’ and ‘the heaviest vehicle pulled by pierced ears’ at the same time.

Johnny Strange pulling an aeroplane with his ear piercings

Some of his records include;

The Express announced that Strange’s ‘most melons chopped on the stomach on a bed of nails’ record was one of the "best ever Guinness World records”.[15] International Business Times listed Strange’s ‘most apples chainsawed out of the mouth' record as one of “The most weird and wonderful records ever broken”.[16] To celebrate 60 years of the Guinness Book of Records, Geek VIP compiled a list of ’The weirdest Guinness World Records ever’; Johnny Strange’s ‘Heaviest weight lifted by pierced ears’ record ranked at number 22.[17]

Publicity

Globe of Death sword swallow

In 2014 Johnny Strange made headlines in several national and international newspapers after teaming up with stunt rider, Vesko Lesev, to perform a unique sword swallowing stunt in Brussels, Belgium, when he became the first person to swallow a sword inside the Globe of Death.[18] Strange swallowed a 17 inch long sword blade while standing in the centre of a 5-meter round steel mesh ball as a motorbike rode around him at speeds in excess of 40 mph (70 km/h).[19]

Strange has been quoted as saying that it took three years of practicing to master the art of sword swallowing, and that he had to practice daily to achieve it.[20] He went on to say;

“I have been performing sword swallowing for a few years now, it is extremely dangerous. Lesev is a great rider, the skill he shows in the Globe of Death fascinates me but teaming up was still no easy decision to make. There is a lot of trust needed on both parties as one false move could have had devastating consequences for either of us. I have performed in Belgium before but have never performed in Brussels until now, there was an amazing atmosphere and the audiences throughout the weekend were fantastic.”[21]

Because of the inherent danger and dedication required to perform such a stunt there are very few sword swallowers in the world, with the Sword Swallowers Association International (SSAI) listing Johnny Strange as one of Europe’s last actively performing professional sword swallowers.[22]

Television and media appearances

Strange has made several television appearances worldwide including:

His appearances in printed media include:

Affiliations

Johnny Strange has been recognised as an active member of;

References

  1. "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  2. "Guinness World Records 2015 - Guinness World Records". Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  3. http://www.tattoofreeze.com/entertainment/2015-highlights/johnny-stranges-theatre-of-wonder:
    Johnny Strange's Theatre of Wonder
  4. http://www.campermart.co.uk/entertainment/johnny-stranges-theatre-of-wonder:
    Johnny Strange's Theatre of Wonder
  5. "Heaviest weight lifted by pierced ears". Guinness World Records. 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  6. "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  7. Strange, Johnny (2016-12-15). "Most swords swallowed in three minutes". Guinness World Records Facebook Live. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  8. Strange, Johnny (2016-12-15). "Most newspapers split with a bullwhip in one minute". Guinness World Records Facebook Live. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  9. Strange, Johnny (2016-05-19). "Most eggs broken with a bullwhip". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  10. "Johnny Strange; most apples chainsawed out of mouth record". Northern Life Magazine. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  11. "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  12. "Fastest time to break 16 concrete blocks on the body (female)". Guinness World Records. 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  13. Arnold, Gareth (2014-09-10). "Dartford performer Johnny Strange breaks six Guinness World Records". Kentonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  14. "Alternative performer Johnny Strange coming to Cirque le Soir | The National". Thenational.ae. 2015-02-18. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  15. "Daniella D'Ville & Johnny Strange - most melons chopped on the stomach on bed of nails, 2014 | Best EVER Halloween Guinness World Records". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  16. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/guinness-world-records-60th-anniversary-most-weird-wonderful-records-ever-broken-1516857:
    "International Business Times' list of the most weird and wonderful records ever broken.”
  17. "The Weirdest Guinness World Records | PressRoomVIP - Part 9". Geeksvip.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  18. "johnny strange sword swallower globe of death 3 - Ripley's Believe It or Not!". Ripleys.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  19. "VIDEO: Blackburn stunt man performs world's first ‘Globe of Death’ - inside five-meter cage (From Lancashire Telegraph)". Lancashiretelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  20. "Johnny Strange - gallery - from Lancashire Telegraph". Lancashiretelegraph.co.uk. 2014-09-17. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  21. "Dare devil has sharp act to swallow". MediaZink.com. 2014-11-09. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  22. http://www.swordswallow.com/performers.php/:
    Actively Performing Professional Sword Swallowers.
  23. "We're Having A Ball". Thesun.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  24. "Galileo - Video - Spannende Fakten rund ums Ohr - ProSieben". Prosieben.de (in German). 2015-04-07. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  25. "Do Not Try This (2014)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  26. "Do Not Try This (2014)". YouTube. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  27. "Johnny Strange on TV2 (Hungary)". YouTube. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  28. "CBBC Officially Amazing". Instagram. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  29. "наука 2.0 (Science 2.0) - Sword swallowing". youtube. 2016-06-04. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  30. "Wedden Dat Ik Het Kan S06E02". kijk.nl. 2016-10-29. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
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