sideshow – Page 2 – Captain & Maybelle

That’s right! He’s the guy that’s fire breathing in “Catching Fire”, sequel to the blockbuster movie “Hunger Games”!

How does one land such a HOT role? Well, it certainly helps to be a talented (and pretty easy on the eyes) professional Fire Breather!

In July 2012, Captain Stab-Tuggo went on an audition for a movie. He knew it was for a “big film”, but, never having been a huge movie fan, he was fairly in the dark about the book-to-movie franchise of “Hunger Games”. Heck, I can barely get him to sit through a complete movie in one evening. He averages about 4 movies a year. Seriously.

He goes to the audition and performs up against about another dozen or so fire breathers. “We’ll call you, don’t call us” were the parting words he received and, to be honest, it pretty much left our minds at that point.

More than a month later, he receives a message that he landed the role. He actually filmed the footage you see in the movie back in September 2012. There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes hoopla and interesting stories to be told, but contracts forbid the sharing of those details.

Over the course of 3 nights, Captain used more than 2 gallons of fuel and blew over 500 FIRE BALLS!!! And it was well worth it! The crew loved it! We were unable to reveal that he was in the movie; we weren’t even really sure he would be included in the trailer.

As luck (perhaps) would have it, the trailer was to be released during the MTV Movie Awards 2013, on April 14th. Just so happens to be my birthday, and (this is when I learned if you use your birthday wish for someone else, it simply must come true) when I blew out all 35 of my birthday candles, I wished he would be in the trailer.

Later that evening, about 11PM, our phones and email started sizzling (we don’t have cable and were not watching said awards show). We quickly found out that he was indeed featured in the trailer! Awesome! There was a whole lotta celebrating that night (it was the birthday/amazing news one/two punch). Once the trailer was released, we were finally able to let our friends and family know to watch the film!

Now you know! And now… watch the trailer!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyPnQw_Lqds&w=560&h=315]

When Captain was a young boy, growing up in small town Georgia and running the hills of South Carolina, he was much like any other kid. He’ll tell you that as a child, he felt “different”. He always wanted to push limits, overcome boundaries and all too often tested his folks’ patience. He never settled for a simple “No” for an answer. If he was told something couldn’t be done, he set out to prove that it could be.

A universal infatuation most kids share is one with world records. Looking through books and seeing all the weird, unusual, mind-boggling and even death-defying feats accomplished by average people is inspiring. Captain was 8 years old when he made a commitment to himself that one day, he, too would hold a world record. He didn’t know then that he would grow up to be a Sword Swallower and entertainer. He certainly didn’t know that he would risk his life to accomplish a reality that was just a childhood dream. Yet, he did.

Captain has been swallowing swords for 8 years. While he started with a single sword, he soon began testing his physical limitations, really seeing what he was capable of. After sustaining a serious injury, he questioned if this was the path he should continue on. Perhaps it was more of a fleeting thought. He not only added more swords to his repertoire, he decided to add weight.

This is where it came together for Captain. Sword Swallowing set him a part from millions of other individuals. The extent of his sword swallowing skills and mastery of multiples put him in a league that very few people are in. Weighted Sword Swallowing would be the world record he would attempt.

After much research, prop development and body conditioning, he set the date and decided that he would make his attempt in conjunction with another major event, World Sword Swallower’s Day 2013. This event is held at different Ripley’s Believe It or Not! locations around the world on the last Saturday of February, every year. Having participated in this event annually, he would try to work in a new stunt or personal accomplishment each year. 2013 proved to be a life changing event.

Captain swallowed a 17″ sword blade, which had 84 lbs of weights attached, and held it for 5 seconds. This shattered the previous record of 69 lbs. That afternoon, in Orlando, FL, with his family cheering him on, he accomplished a dream he’d had for more than 32 years. Follow this link to see the official documentation:

http://www.recordholdersrepublic.co.uk/recordholdersdetails.asp?id=1119

He didn’t know what it would be. He just knew he was going to be a World Record Holder. See, kids? Dreams do come true. It takes determination, dedication and perseverance. And sometimes, a lot of risk. Thinking outside the box helped Captain achieve something that set him apart from every single other person in the world. He certainly is one-of-a-kind.

Tag: sideshow

Captain in “Catching Fire”

World Record Achievement