One of the most well-known street performers, who built his reputation through phenomenal magical feats, is David Blaine. Blaine was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York but moved to New Jersey later on in his life. However, at the young age of 17, he returned back to New York in hopes of making a career out of his talent in street performing. Blaine is often credited with “bringing magic back” and coming up with the most astounding stunts every time. According to David Blaine’s website, some of his most popular acts are “Buried Alive,” “Frozen in Time,” “Vertigo,” and “Revolution” (davidblaine.com). His physical feats range anywhere from staying underwater tangled in chains to standing on top of a 100 feet pillar for over 35 hours. Blaine has also broken the Guinness World Record for one of his most dangerous acts involving oxygen assisted static apnea in which he held his breath for over 17 minutes. He later even gave a TED talk explaining how he was able to train in order to break the previous world record, which was 16 minutes and 32 seconds. What increased his popularity was his willingness to let privileged institutions like Yale University conduct research on the physiological impacts of his stunts on the body. Blaine in many of his interviews, claimed that what motivated him to keep going and coming up with new feats was his obsession with Harry Houdini, who was his idol growing up. However, what truly sets Blaine apart from other high-endurance street performers is his ability to bring something fresh to the audience and hit them with the unexpected every single time.
(Taken from David Blaine’s Instagram Page)
Another popular street performer is Adam Winrich, who is popular for his whip cracking. In fact, he is so famous that he is also called Adam “Crack” Winrich. Adam grew up and currently lives in Wisconsin and still relies on whip cracking as his main career. Adam had revealed at multiple occasions that his inspiration was Indiana Jones while growing up and that he would imitate the moves on his own by just watching TV. As he grew older and more passionate about whip cracking, he met up with other professional whip crackers in order to learn from them. At first, Winrich started off performing in front of small crowds, but as he polished his skill through extensive practice, he was able to attract larger audiences. In fact, his videos of street performing became so famous that he ended up performing at the Steve TV Show along with the Conan’s TV Show. According to Adam Winrich’s website, he’s also famous for 23 Guinness World Records including most candles extinguished with a whip: 102 and loudest whip crack: 148.7 dB(A) (winrichwhips.com). Winrich continues to stay true to his whip cracking passion by continuing to perform around the United States showcasing his talent in fire whip shows at festivals. Through his drive to prove himself to the world, Winrich was able to make a name for himself by excelling in something totally unique.
(Taken from Adam Winrich’s Instagram Page)
Another street performer who may not be as popular as the aforementioned people is Roger G. also known as R.G. He was born and raised in Brooklyn and currently lives in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of New York. R.G.’s specialty is mime dancing. He has been performing in subway stations ever since he learned how to mime dance and claims that his favorite spots are Times Square and Port Authority subway stations. While he never had the chance to break world records like some of the other performers mentioned above, R.G. has had the privilege to appear in Michael Jackson’s Bad and Jay-Z’s 99 Problems video (nymag.com). R.G. has also claimed that what keeps him interested in his career is making people smile. While it may be true that he often receives a lot of criticism, the happiness that he brings to his audiences is worth all the other negatives.
(Taken from Mime’s Instagram Page)
Works Cited
“Magician & Endurance Artist.” David Blaine, davidblaine.com/.
“Adam ‘Crack’ Winrich.” Whip Cracker, winrichwhips.com/.
“Street Sensations.” New York City Street Performers-13 Local Talents, nymag.com/arts/articles
/04/street_performers/.
