In March 2020 I flew from Madrid to England, as high on life as I was in the air, just hours after a wonderful performance on Live TV. As the wheels touched the tarmac at London Heathrow and my phone came back to life, every single future event I had booked cancelled in a matter of seconds. During that 2 hour flight the world went into lockdown and my entire career came crashing down.

Suddenly my livelihood was gone. My profession has never been just a way to make a living but instead – the way I choose to live. Thankfully the one thing that did remain was my drive to find it. Without a single future gig booked I still trained every day, sometimes up to 6 hours. It was my own way of not giving up on what I believed in. All training spaces were closed so I returned to the exact place my entire career began – at the cricket field behind my house. 5 years on and here I was – with no place to train, no money and no future work. Life has a funny way of reminding you where you come from.

Around May I received an unexpected email from a lady named Kat proposing I take part in a new TV show called ‘The Go Big Show’, all the way in the USA. Due to the timing/nature of events I almost disregarded it, assuming the email wasn’t real! Fortunately I followed up and after my first Zoom interview with the producers I felt so inspired that I took a selfie and wrote in my journal ‘this day will change my life’. I was right – by agreeing to do the show I had unconsciously said yes to moving to America.

It was the first time I’ve been truly afraid to travel. Most hotels were shut, Air Bnb was not accepting bookings and flights had been diminished to leave only from a few large airports. If this gig fell through I had no plan B, security or accommodation, it was all or nothing. This didn’t deter me – in fact it inspired me. If you’re not willing to give something your all, you’re not going to get it back. So on August 8^th 2020, I boarded my flight to Miami, being one of only two passengers on a Boeing 747. The only reason I was allowed to fly was because of my US citizenship, which since then has become my saviour.

Thankfully the show was real and boy was it an adventure! I lived in a hotel for two months – a Covid ‘bubble’ with no contact from the outside world other than the production team and contestants. A mixture of acrobats, sword swallowers, stunt riders, rattlesnake handlers and magicians… The parties were wilder than you could imagine, from professional scooter riders somersaulting down the halls, to someone bringing a pet tarantula to join the party! During the filming I met my close friend – Grace Good, a talented and encouraging circus performer. As the show came to a close, she convinced me to stay with her in Nashville. I began performing at Plaza Mariachi and unexpectedly found a home in Tennessee.

At the end of September 2020 on the day I was meant to fly back to the UK, I tore up my ticket and decided to move fully to the USA. With only a suitcase full of summer clothes it really wasn’t planned, but as I’ve learnt – the best things in life never are. Grace also convinced me to start Tiktok and utilise my social media. It became a huge catalyst for my career in the States. It’s the reason I get to share my story with you all. So thank you Grace!

From September 2020 until now the road has been as bumpy as you would expect from someone who decided to uproot their life during a pandemic, but in return I’ve received the greatest rewards. I came to the USA without a single industry contact and since then I’ve attended red carpet events, performed for 20,000 people for the NBA and gained over 1.5 million followers across my platforms… I went from being a complete unknown to being flown across the states to sign autographs. I got to live my own upside down version of the American Dream and I’m forever grateful to the USA for opening its arms to me when I had nothing.

Sometimes we have to get to our darkest moments to see the light of opportunity. Back during lockdown I trained every single day in that cold, rainy cricket field because I truly believed that there was more to come. Now I get to live it. When I said yes to The Go Big Show, I never expected any of this. No one in this world can accurately predict the future but by saying yes and keeping an open mind, the possibilities are endless. Never say no to an adventure.

Selfie after Go Big Interview

Travelling on an empty plane to Miami

With Grace Good and Callie Bundy at the Go Big Show

Signing autographs in NYC

My first NBA show, Golden State Warriors

3 minute read

Princes, partying and prostitutes… As a professional acrobat my job has provided me backstage access to the most elite parties in the world and what money can truly buy you. 

At 19 years old I was travelling the globe full time on my own, from Austria to Australia, averaging 60 international flights per year. One afternoon I was called up and requested to perform in the Maldives over the next week, for a foreign Prince’s party. Before I agreed to the event I made one thing clear to the entertainment booker – ‘I’m an acrobat. I wear my costumes and I perform only my handstand act’. They laughed. ‘It’s ok – he’s flying out 150 escorts to the island, so you won’t be needed for anything other than your act’. Shocked but reassured, I agreed to the adventure and was on the plane within 24 hours.

Upon arrival I was forced to immediately sign an NDA (hence why I’ve not named the Prince or his country of origin) and was made to hand over my phone before entering any party. If you think my act was unusual, I was joined by an array of eccentric performers – from girls who swallowed swords, to seven dwarves and a very sexy Snow White. I even witnessed an eight foot robot shoot lasers from its… body parts.

On this particular night the Prince insisted on a beach party surrounding the hotel pool. Ten tons of sand was shipped inside with entire palm trees uprooted and replaced. An artificial beach party… despite being on a luxury island surrounded by beach. This was also the first time I was exposed to drugs, with silver platters brought around carrying a variety of shapes, sizes and doses. Although this became something of a norm in my career, I have never taken a drug in my life. As you’ll read, my life has always been entertaining enough without it. 

As my performance began I was quick to spot the ‘escorts’, who played in the pool alongside the Prince’s friends, dressed in nothing but their intoxicated smiles. They were made up of some familiar faces from Instagram, a former Miss Ukraine and a famous tennis player who was most definitely enjoying the match. I was later informed by a member of staff that 50 of the 150 escorts did not make it to the party as they failed the STD test. After some of the scenes I witnessed that night, I’m sadly unsurprised by what is now coming out in the media with the Epstein case. Let me assure you, he’s not the only one. 

As the night progressed things only became more intense. This party made the Wolf of Wall Street look tame.

And yet the one thing I was here for… was the one thing missing. Where was the Prince? Rumours started to spread faster than the alcohol consumption. According to some he was dead, or to others he’d never arrived and we were part of a new reality TV show. Perhaps he was the real life Jay Gatsby? Despite the missing ingredient, the show went on and I performed for an audience who were too wasted to watch and at around 3am made my way back to my room. 

I strolled the corridors of a hotel (literally) fit for royalty and as the electronic music faded I was greeted with a sound so far removed from what I’d just experienced – the keys of a piano. The melody crept through a door, left ajar, to what appeared to be a ballroom. Like a child to the Pied Piper, I was magnetised to the music and the one who was behind it. I gravitated closer and as I peaked through the gap – I saw an empty room with none other than the Prince and the piano. 

Here was someone who could have the world… but wanted none of it. In that moment I realised that being rich has nothing to do with money. I left the scene in silence in fear of being caught and spoke nothing of it until I was safely back in the UK. The next day the Prince decided to cancel the following week of parties he had planned and all of us on the island were still payed in full to enjoy the beauty of the Indian Ocean. It’s said that he had spent $20M on the week. 

Throughout my career I have worked for some of the wealthiest people in the world. Some of them have been the nicest and most generous souls I’ve ever met, whilst others have been debaucherous and power hungry. The difference was never how much money they had, but what they made of it. Money, in the right hands, has the value to change the world. 

2 minute read

At 18 years old I experienced my first ever break up. We all remember the pain of our first heartbreak right? Instead of seeing friends I stared at the bedroom ceiling, tears streaming – wondering if I’d ever fall in love again.

But two days in, my pitiful mindset began to change. What I thought was a lack of motivation to go out – was in fact quite the opposite. I was incredibly motivated; just to stay in bed. I remember asking myself, what if this pain could be utilised for something more powerful? 

Months prior I came up with a new concept for an act that involved a bow, an arrow and a crazy idea. Suddenly I had time to spend on myself – with more energy to train and a passion to pursue. Two days after my first breakup I bought my first ever bow. 

Other than watching my Dad shoot bows and arrows as a kid, I had no previous archery experience and my choice of bow was based on my minimal budget. After being rejected from multiple indoor training spaces (due to safety concerns), I settled for my local cricket field which was cold, quiet and the least likely place to get arrested for playing with weapons! I vividly remember dragging my suitcase stuffed with my new recurve bow through the muddy field; the air so cold I could see my panting breath. I had no teacher, no guidance and no archery knowledge – but what I lacked in resources, I made up for in drive. 

Let me tell you – the power of a broken heart is unstoppable. Instead of laying in bed for hours on end, I used the energy to train for 6 hours per day. I was so focused to avoid thinking of my ex that I became hyper focused on hitting my target. But most importantly, I was so desperate to fall in love again – I fell in love with foot archery. Despite the cold I managed to train every day for 6 months until I nailed my first bullseye… with my feet. That was the day I realised that pain can become your superpower. 

I began training foot archery with the hope to gain one extra gig per month but by April 2016 (one year from my heartbreak), it became my full time career that started taking me around the world. 

Have you ever noticed that I shoot at a heart target? I decided to do this as a reminder of my beginning – that even the most painful experiences can be turned into something incredible. 

The irony is that it all began with a broken heart – and now I break hearts for a living!