I’m often speaking with corporate social committee members or university student unions who are planning a party or event but have no idea what type of entertainment to choose. This post is a collection of the top 5 reasons I use to explain why the relatively unknown style of the vintage strongman show will exceed their expectations.
#1: You are remembered for bringing something unique: The main draw for for bringing a circus strongman to your event is that nobody has ever seen it before. It’s a rare opportunity in the era of online content and youtube to bring people something they can genuinely say they haven’t come into contact with. Everyone has seen magicians, comedians and bands, but when I show up in the striped outfit and start throwing around bowling balls, it’s a chance for you to be remembered as someone that brought something completely new into the lives of your audience. And with the era of social media, the effect of bringing a strongman show is multiplied, as people take photos and create posts about how their event planning committee decided to use a time machine to hire the entertainment this year.
#2: An opportunity to inspire your audience: There’s something visceral about seeing me bend a horseshoe or tear a pack of cards with my hands. I didn’t think I would ever become as passionate about it as I have, but this a huge reason why I have come to love what I do. There are times that I see a light go on in people’s heads when they see things like this, and they suddenly realize the potential for achieving strength in their own lives. The effort that goes into these feats often serves as a reminder to always go the extra mile and dig deep when facing your challenges, whether it happens to be an annual report, a term paper, or a horseshoe.
#3: They will be on the edge of their seats: When you hire a magician, you know you’re going to be seeing tricks and maybe some danger, but that it’s not ‘real’. When you hire a comedian, you know you’re going to laugh. When you hire a band, you know you’re going to enjoy some music. But when you a hire a strongman, or more specifically “Mighty Mike: The Funniest Strongman“, you get the best of all these: you have danger, comedy, music, but you also get to thrill your audience, because all of the feats are real. I pride myself in carrying on the tradition of the old time strongmen in that there are no ‘tricks’, and people can feel it during my show. I’m often told by my clients that I had their audience on the edge of their seats, while doing things like blowing up hot water bottles, balancing sledgehammers on my chin, or juggling bowling balls.
#4: The laughs are bigger! You may have heard of the principle that all comedy is tension and release. Well what better way to build tension, in a big way, than by risking my neck and pushing my body to its absolute limits… then breaking that tension with a self-deprecating joke or a silly dance! I play with this tension and push it throughout the show, always seeking to use my comedy as a way to balance out the seriousness of the feats, or the toughness that I have to display during the show. The fact is, when I have to bend a really tough piece of steel, I have to get into ‘the zone’ and it’s anything but funny… but I have worked for years on knowing exactly how to break that tension and bring the house down with a well written joke. This isn’t something that just happens by accident, this is a skill that I’ve crafted over years and thousands of shows, while testing each joke and routine on audiences all around the world.
#5: It’s a “sure bet”: When I’m invited back year after year to corporate events in Toronto, or university events in Ontario, I’m always told that the reason is that the entire process will be smooth sailing for my clients. Magicians can have problems with various stages or venues, and often can give your audience a ‘been-there-done-that’ feeling. Comedians might have an easy set up, but one wrong joke or improvisation on their part, and your reputation is now that you brought in the inappropriate act that crossed lines. And the headache involved in setting up, sound-checking, and accommodating a band can outweigh the benefits. I pride myself on being an act that can work with your venue, or be fully self-sufficient. Once the contract is signed, it’s ‘set and forget’, and the only correspondence you hear from me is when I’m working overtime to customize the show to your audience and answer your questions before they even occur to you.
Are you planning a corporate, university, or college event? Contact me today to discuss availability and let’s give your audience the show that they deserve!
